Can you write me 1500-word papers (500-word for each topic)? Please find the attachment below for the assignment questions. I will provide you with the lecture notes.

ENGLAND AND JAPAN (2): ALLIES AND ENEMIES

1894: Britain is the first country to revise its “unequal” treaty with Japan, recognizing that “the time had come when dealings with Japan might be put on the same equal terms as exist between nations of European origin” (Edward Grey, British Foreign Office). Japan goes to war with China.

1902: Britain and Japan sign a formal treaty of alliance. This guarantee of military cooperation is very significant for both countries. Two years later

Japan goes to war with Russia.

1905: Britain and Japan extend their treaty. A new clause says that: “Great Britain recognizes the right of Japan to take such measures of guidance, control and protection in Corea as she may deem proper and necessary to safeguard those interests.” Japan quickly starts to act much more aggressively in Korea.

1910: The Japan British Exhibition opens in London and attracts over 8,000,000 visitors. It confirms British views of “two Japans.” There is the old, beauty-loving, artistic Japan. There is also the modern, imperial, militaristic Japan.

1923: The Anglo-Japanese alliance is dissolved because of American pressure. Naval agreements allow Japan 60% of the fleet strength of Britain and America.

1941-5: Japan goes to war, claiming that it is “liberating” Asia from Britain. The Japanese treat the “liberated” peoples far more repressively than the British had done, and there is soon intense hostility to the Japanese in former British colonies. Thousands of British soldiers are captured by the Japanese and many of these die in forced labour camps. “In German prison camps, the POW death rate was only 4 percent. In Japanese prison camps, it was 27 percent. The Japanese camps were seven times more lethal” (from Gavan Daws, Prisoners of the Japanese, 1994). The British find this hard to forget.

1964: The Tokyo Olympic Games symbolizes Japan’s reentry into the international community. (Japan wins sixteen gold medals, Britain four.)

1969: Emperor Hirohito visits Britain. Large numbers of British people are furious. However, the visit marks a normalization of relationships at the diplomatic and commercial levels. Japanese products start to pour into Britain.

1980s: The British media stays fairly anti-Japanese, but the emphasis shifts from wartime atrocities to Japan’s apparent desire for economic domination. Points repeatedly emphasized are that: a) The Japanese accept low living standards and work to make their country rich; b) Japanese men work 6 or 7 days a week, do not take holidays, and even die from overwork (karoshi); c) Japan has a huge trade imbalance. There is fear that British (and other) workers simply cannot compete with the “obsessive,” “workaholic” Japanese.

1991: A big Japan Festival is held in Britain to promote interest in Japanese culture; it is described as “the biggest festival devoted to the arts and history of a foreign country ever to be presented in the UK.” A second Japan Festival is held in 2001.

1990s: The fact that Japan’s economic growth starts to slow down gradually leads to kinder feelings towards the Japanese. There is increasing interest in Japanese popular culture, including manga, animations, and TV shows. For example, the Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle (風雲！たけし城), which was broadcast in Japan in the late 1980s, became popular in Britain in the late 1990s.

Some Images of Japan and the Japanese that Many British People Have

Mount Fuji, sumo, judo, karate, geisha, sushi, green tea, chopsticks, electronic products, cars and motorcycles, kimonos, Chinese characters (kanji), salarymen all dressed the same, workaholics, gangsters with missing fingers, high suicide rate, short-sightedness (wearing glasses), bad teeth, bowing, obsession with name brands, excessive politeness, great formality, karaoke, zen gardens, bonsai, sliding screens, Hokusai prints, origami, swords, superb trains, crowded cities, elderly politicians, men with sexual interest in young girls (buru sera), manga, violent movies, strong herd instinct.

CULTURAL CONTRADICTIONS

One of the strongest international images of the Japanese is that they are shy, quiet, not expressive, modest people who tend to dress in dark colours. One of the things that most strongly challenges this stereotype is Japanese television. As you know, this is often full of bright lights, bright colours, and expressive people shouting and exclaiming, etc. The BBC drama, Jonathan Creek, actually explored this contradiction in 2003. In the BBC story, “the number one show on Japanese television” is said to be a gameshow called Infidelity in which people are attached to a lie detector and asked questions about their sex lives.

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