The relationship between China and Japan has drastically changed a multitude of times throughout their history. The book China and Japan in the Global Setting, by Akira Iriye; divides the two countries relationship into three different dimensions of international relations: Military power, Economic Power, and Cultural power. It is within these three dimensions that a country tries to define their status as a world power. Iriye used this method of dividing them into categories because he feels that it best describes how a country deals with activities in both within and between countries. (Iriye, 7) Throughout the years; internationally, views of what makes a world power. There are over riding themes that standout and can be plainly seen over different time periods. In the pre-1914 period Military power was the overriding theme of that era. As was Culture the theme for the 1920's and 1930's, and Economics was the theme for the post 1945 years. (Iriye, 8) In the new era of time it is easy to see that Economics is becoming less of the determinate on a countries world power status. It will be based on how much a country will due to create a culturally interdependent world.
In the era of power being the determining factor of what makes a country a world power, each country believes that they must justify their existence by their ability to defend themselves. It can be seen that power was the main theme of the 1914 period, by the constant build up of arms and the rise in political tensions throughout the world. Both China and Japan showed a strong determination towards the build up of a strong and permanent, this is apparent when shown the figures for military expenditures of the two nations during this time period (this will be shown later in the writings). Historians will agree that China began to see the need to raise a strong national army after the Taiping Rebellion, during the Ching Dynasty.
