Evolution of the Concept of “Small Japan” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Abstract

After the Meiji Revolution, Japan developed a strong national inferiority complex. It was manifested, in particular, in relation to the size of Japan’s territory. Even though it was comparable to the major European countries, it was still considered “small”, since Japan compared itself with the collective and “hostile” West. In addition to the territorial “smallness, there was another meaning justifying the use of the term “small” with regard to Japan. During the Meiji period, Japan had an exceptionally rapid population growth. Malthusiantinged concerns about this began to be pronounced in the late 1880s. Economists and demographers started talking about the fact that the territory of Japan was “small” for the rapidly growing population. The measures proposed by Malthus to reduce the birth rate were not discussed in Japan for ethical reasons, and also because a large population was seen as the “power” and “vitality” of the nation. Instead of measures to change reproductive behavior, projects for the resettlement of the Japanese abroad began to be proposed. However, all plans to encourage emigration were frustrated by the reluctance of the Japanese to leave their homeland. In the emigration context, publicists of that time often regarded the attachment of the Japanese to their home area as a negative property. The debate about Japan’s overpopulation escalated in the 1920s due to the food problem. It could certainly have been solved, but it would have required considerable effort and time. However, the military-political elite showed impatience and decided that the main way to solve the problem of overpopulation was military expansion. Despite the continued population growth and increasing demographic pressure, a policy of encouraging fertility began to be implemented in the late 1930s.