6.7: Workers and Capitalists in Asia
The differences between American and European political and social systems made for different responses to the problems of industrialization, and cultural differences between eastern and western countries were significantly more pronounced. For example, in Japan, large corporations directly funded political parties. Movements that threatened the status quo were not only deprived of this funding; the state often squashed them. In China, the Communist Party organized labor and crushed any political or labor movements that risked becoming too popular or unruly.
Read this article about political protests in Japan. It uses a series of political posters and handbills to organize the historical accounts of the political unrest that spawned them.
Read this article on the history of labor unions in Japan. Pay special attention to the section about the first half of the Meiji Era (1868–1912).
Read this article which describes a labor protest in China. The author attributes the strike's success to cultural unity, suggesting that laborers elsewhere should follow their example.