This paper discusses the use of coercion by the Japanese in the course of Japanese imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries in Asia.
This essay is a discussion of how great a role coercion played in the enforcement of Japanese imperialism in Asia. The paper focuses on the Japanese occupation of Korea, while also alluding to other areas that the Japanese controlled. Various examples of coercion are presented and discussed at length.
“In the course of Japanese imperialism, the Japanese used coercion extensively to maintain their rule, but also employed some other methods at times. Their coercive policies were often harsh and brutal, with the Japanese authorities refusing to relent until their goals had been reached. In certain instances, however, they allowed their subjects to have some level of choice in matters like education and employment. In response to the Korean Independence Movement that developed after World War I, for example, the Japanese appeared to “return to the Koreans a modicum of personal choice” and allowed them to publish their own newspapers, create their own schools, and to be employed in the government (Kang, 15). Such concessions certainly existed outside the realm of coercive policies, even though they were somewhat cosmetic in nature. The people were still often subjected to the same horrid treatment and the same unreasonable regulations that they had become familiar with from the coercive rule of the Japanese, but there were glimpses of light that shone through the dark cloud of Japanese rule.”