U.S. & Japanese History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

U.S. & Japanese History - Essay Example The essay is related to the background of the Japanese history.The US-Japan economic relations are discussed in relevance to various example, then US-Japan defense and US-Japan social relations and US-Japan cultural relations are discussed.Then the treatment of Japanese citizens by the United States during the Second World War is discussed in a great detail. Lastly a conclusion is provided for at the end of the essay.The early Japanese people hunted and gathered food. Rice was introduced into the society in 300 BC. This led to the establishment of the societal hierarchy and numerous small villages (which later combined together to form lager tribes). Buddhism was introduced at around 538 BC. In 1912, during the First World War, Japan joined the Allied forces. During the Second World War (1937) Japan surrendered after two atomic bombs (one on Hiroshima and the other one on Nagasaki) were dropped. In 1942, Japan had a new constitution and in 1952, the Allied occupation of Japan ended ( japan-guide.com).After the World War II, Japan held a very sympathetic position, in the world's heart. Though the other countries had had damage, the nuclear bomb had been used in the two cities (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) of Japan. As a result of this, two cities were almost entirely wiped out of its people, natural habitat and wild life. And for generations to come people had health problem to contend with. Babies were born with deformities, young people looked like they senior citizens and nothing can be grown in the earth of these two cities. Thus, the entire world felt very sympathetic of Japan. Japan on the other hand, learned from a first hand experience about the dirty side of war. To this day, Japan fights with countries, the world over to prevent them from gaining nuclear access. Japan, with the help of the nations around the globe built it self up from the rubble of World War II. It learned to be flexible, to keep it's own heritage, but, at the same time be open to the ideas and experiences of the western world. Japanese society is one of the most conservative societies around the world. In addition, there is also a strict division between the roles of men and women. But, the Japanese people wear western clothes and their children listen to western music etc. This clearly shows a combination of the two worlds, the east and the west. By picking out the best in the two worlds Japan has been able to rebuild itself with amazing speed and has re-established itself as one of the foremost developed nations of the world. US-Japan: Defense Relations With the USA being a capitalistic country and Japan being a non-capitalistic one, there has always been a profound between the two nations. Whenever there is a difference between the types of governments in two countries friction is imminent. US-Japan: Social Relations In his book The Clash, LaFeber (1997) talks about the many aspects in which the Japanese people look-up to the Americans. One of the examples is that the Japanese dress like the Americans (though of course they have their own national dresses). Baseball is another such aspect. Japanese ball teams have been formulated on the designs of their American counterparts. In fact, a number of American baseball players have been asked to come to Japan and play on their teams. US-Japan: Cultural Relations Cultural conflict between the United States and Japan has been sufficiently summed up by Rosen (2000) as, "Interpretations of Japan, as well as other Asian cultures, often carries an implicit assumption that the West is rational (and superior) whereas the East is bound by ancient traditions (and is inferior). "Oriental-ism" has been identified as the particular form that a Western stereotypical understanding of Asian cultures has taken. Intercultural communication becomes highly problematic as long as stereotypes are