Modern History of Japan

Japanese history has always been in reaction to something:

1868 to 1945 - Japan in reaction to the West

1945 to 2003 - Japan in reaction to its past

Can Japan finally emerge from the shadows of history? Japan needs to find a way to live at peace with herself and the rest of the world, without losing any of its identity. A Japan like the United States is not Japan at all.

A good model to follow is perhaps Japan from the late 19th century to the 1920s, when it was building a strong liberal democracy and focusing on peaceful expansion and development, before militarism took over.