Industrial Workers
Between 1870 and 1913, the number of people working in manufacturing in Japan increased significantly from 700,000 to 4 million. Many of these workers were employed in small-scale units with fewer than five employees and no machinery or electric power. Interestingly, over half of the workers in modern factories were women, and they even organized the first modern strike in 1886. Although the number of male workers began to rise after 1900, it wasn’t until the 1930s that they outnumbered women.
During this time, the size of factories also grew, with an increasing number of them employing over a hundred workers. Despite this, there were still many small workshops with less than five employees, reflecting a family-centric approach to work. However, rapid industrial growth led to environmental issues, such as deforestation, prompting protests against industrial pollution. Tanaka Shozo, a member of the first House of Representatives, led one such protest in 1897, urging the government to address these concerns.
Paths to Modernisation: Japan Class 11 History Notes
Japan is a string of islands the four largest being Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido. The Okinawan chain is the southernmost, about the same latitude as the Bahamas.
More than 50 percent of the land area of the main islands is mountainous and Japan is situated in a very active earthquake zone. Japan succeeded in remaining free of colonial control and achieved fairly rapid economic and industrial progress throughout the twentieth century.
In this article, You will get to know about The Political System in Japan, the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji Reforms, the Remerging of Japan as a Global Economic Power, and much more about the Path to Modernisation of Japan.