Page:Japan by the Japanese (1904).djvu/11



the history of the world there has been no such wonderful development in so short a space of time as that of Japan. Less than forty years ago she was a nation at the mercy of the great Powers of the world, who on more than one occasion took advantage of her weakness. The intense patriotism of the Japanese people and the far-sighted direction of the Emperor and his statesmen have enabled Japan to reach a point in international affairs where she is predominant in Eastern Asia, and strong enough to have a voice of no mean weight in the councils of the world. And how has this change come about? The prime factor in the change has always been the necessity of keeping Japan for the Japanese. It was wisely recognised that to do this in the most thorough way it was essential that the Japanese people should be able to meet the foreigners on their own ground and surpass them. This system of universal excellence and efficiency has been carried out with the most absolute thoroughness, until to-day we see in Japan a country with a smaller foreign population than any other great nation, and one which has worked out its salvation by its own hands, not, however, disdaining the ripe fruits of experience in other lands. These methods of selection, which were followed by rapid and complete assimilation, until the country was furnished with an almost perfect organization in every department, have produced the present-day Japan. But this they could never have done had there not been already in existence a wonderful national civilization, which enabled Japan to adopt systems en bloc instead of obscure details. Japan has the advantage that her people can think as thoroughly as do the Orientals, and act on the result of her thoughts as decisively as do the Occidentals. To no other race in the world, as far as can be seen at the present moment, Rh