Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

180 • MEIJI RESTORATION
Tokugawa Era of 1600–1868, and followed by the Taisho Era of
1912–1926. See also MEIJI CONSTITUTION; MEIJI EMPEROR;
MEIJI RESTORATION.
MEIJI RESTORATION. After several years of political and economic
discontent, armies led by samurai from the domains of Satsuma and
Choshu overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate in early 1868 and
forced the last Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, to cede his powers to
Emperor Meiji. Begun in 1600 with Ieyasu Tokugawa, two and a
half centuries of Tokugawa rule in Japan came to an end with what
was called the “restoration” of imperial rule. See also AIZU DO-
MAIN; ANSEI TREATIES; MEIJI ERA; SAIGO, TAKAMORI.
MEIROKUSHA. The “Meiji Six Society,” so named because it was
founded in 1874—the sixth year of the Meiji Era—was founded by
progressives Arinori Mori and Yukichi Fukuzawa to promote “civilization
and enlightenment” in Japan. Meirokusha held regular
meetings and published a journal that advocated such Western liberal
ideas as political democracy, public education, women’s rights, and
religious tolerance. Although short-lived as a formal society,
Meirokusha had a lasting influence among Japanese progressives in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. See also NISHIMURA,
SHIGEKI; PEOPLE’S RIGHTS MOVMENT.
MISSILE DEFENSE (BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE). Missile
Defense (MD) can be divided into a number of different categories:
Theater Missile Defense (TMD) for defense of U.S. allies outside the
United States and National Missile Defense (NMD) for defense of
the United States.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, one of the major problems
was proliferation of theater ballistic missiles. The Gulf War in January
1991 was a watershed for MD. In this war, Iraq launched about
40 missiles at Israel and 51 missiles at Saudi Arabia. This war rapidly
emphasized the need for TMD to defend American military forces
and U.S. allies close to the battlefield.
In August 1999, the United States and Japan agreed to promote
joint technological research on MD. Japan is currently equipped with
patriot missiles (PAC-2), but it has already decided to upgrade these