As someone who moved to Japan not too long ago I was always fascinated with the country's unique history, particularly with the question of how did a country so completely isolated from the industrial revolution become a global superpower in just a few short decades? How did it manage to totally transform its society, military and culture? And finally, where did it all go wrong?
Join me and historian Christopher Harding, author of A History of Modern Japan, as we explore Japan's journey from the Edo period's isolation to the transformative Meiji Restoration, discussing how Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War marked its emergence as a modern power, only to later slide into the shadows of World War II fascism... But also, how the country faces new challenges today, balancing tradition with modernity in a world primarily marked by the rise of China.