AD 1912-2000 Modern

In the early decades of the 20th century, Japan enjoyed an atmosphere of cultural openness. International influences were eagerly absorbed, and urban life largely resembled that in the West. However, when tough diplomatic and economic conditions threatened the stability of the government from the late 1920s on, Japan became increasingly militaristic and isolated. Although the Asian-Pacific war brought to some a sense of national unity, defeat left the population exhausted and the cities ravaged.

The Allied Occupation (1945-52) remodelled the Japanese political infrastructure to ensure the democratic process. The provision of weapons and supplies to the US forces fighting in Korea was the spark for a period of rapid industrial and economic growth. As in the West, nuclear rather than extended families became more common, and they enjoyed increased access to a wide range of consumer goods. There was instability in the early 1960s, with wide-scale protests as well as a burst of cultural experimentation.

The period of high economic growth came to an end in the 1980s, leading to a re-evaluation of attitudes towards work, life and society that had come to be taken for granted in the post-war period. Social expectations have become gradually less conservative, opening up new possibilities for employment, travel and creative activities in the 21st century.