Does Mcneil Use Japan As The Major Facilitators Of Globalization

In this paper I will address the major factors that McNeil describes as the major facilitators of Globalization. I will also use Japan as a case study to illustrate how these technologies have manifested themselves and continue to affect the country. First I will highlight communication and transportation as the main driving forces behind globalization and how cities have been the main breeding ground for the spread of ideas, Second, I will describe how Japan has had a complex history with the outside world and I seek to illustrate some influences in its early history as a trading partner as well as what problems the country faces as result of the modernization effects of globalization.

Communication and transportation have been the major facilitators of the spread of ideas and innovations from one society to the next. McNeil signifies that these two things have always changed behavior. This

He would return in a year for the Shoguns answer. In 1854 Commodore Perry returned to Japan and with the acceptance of the treaty Japan began opening its doors to the outside world.3 By the end of 1856 Britain, Russia, and France had also began trade relations with the country. After the emperor was restored to power in Kyoto, the Meiji Restoration began. The Japanese borrowed ideas from western cultures. From the United States they patterned their business methods, from Britain the navy, their legal system from France, however, it was Bismarck's Germany that impressed the Japanese the most.4 The machine military, authoritarian government, and the educational system were all modeled after Germany.4 The Meiji restoration kickstarted the country into catching up with the advancements of Western societies. Japan soon became the dominate power in East Asia. After WWII occupation by the United States brought democracy to the country and the 60s’ and 70s’ experienced economic