Negative Effects Of Japanese Colonization

During the World War II from 1912 to 1945, Japan had an ultimate goal to be supreme in the “four corners of the world”, starting with the colonization of Asian countries. Although Japan’s dream of being ruling the world wasn’t realized, it left notable consequences on the nations that were under the colonial control of Japan. Japanese colonization of the Asian nations had a significant impact politically, socially, and economically because of the suppression and limitation of freedom to rule their own country. A typical example of the Asian nations that experienced these political, social, and economic impacts is Korea, Guam, and Taiwan. As a result, the governments of these countries had to get support from other powerful nations, developed

One of the examples of the negative economical impact is Guam. The semi-self sufficient economy of Guan was significantly damaged due to the Japanese colonization. The damages caused by the Japanese military occupations included a seizure of assets, and unreasonably low exchange rate from US dollar to Japanese Yen, the exploitation of labor for land development plans and fortifications, shortage of food and life necessities, and the destruction of homes (Wakako Higuchi, “Political Impact of Japanese Military Occupation on Guam). On the other hand, the domination of Japan over Korea initially fueled the economic development of Korea. For centuries, most Koreans lived as subsistence farmers of rice and other grains and satisfied most of their basic needs through their own labor or through barter (Donald S. McDonald). However, by forcing Korea to open trade in 1876 and by creating and improving strong infrastructure, Korea was able to modernize during the colonial period. Railway lines were extended, and roads and harbors and communication networks were improved, which rapidly integrated goods and factor markets both nationally and internationally (Myung Soo Cha “The Economic History of Korea”). Hence, with the help of Japanese colonization, Korea was able to develop a strong infrastructure for the growth of its economy. This wasn’t the only positive case of the economic advancement caused by Japanese colonization. Throughout the Japanese era, Taiwan’s economy grew enormously in an extremely rapid rate. The average lifestyle was even better than it used to be and introduced industrial revolution (qtd “An overview of the effects of Japanese Governance”, Mira Guo). Moreover, during the process of maturing Taiwanese economy by international trading and increasing the