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原題目題號：DSE-2016-Essay-07(以日本作為例子)
試以日本為例子，闡述「人禍往往導致新的政策及發展」此說法。
定義 「人禍」即由人為所造成的禍害，包括戰爭、人為政策失誤所造成的飢荒等。日本在1937年侵略中國，挑起亞洲戰線的爆發，及後於1941年突襲美國珍珠港，四處樹敵，使其最終以戰敗收場。 // 架構此「人禍」對日本帶來翻天覆地的轉變，在政治、經濟、教育、外交等方面均導致了新的政策及發展。
主旨句 政治方面，人禍促使日本出現新的政策。 // 舊的政策二戰戰敗前，日本在政治上實行《明治憲法》，規定天皇權力至高無上。而且，軍人在政策上獲得優厚待遇，例如軍部大臣可以直接覲見天皇，而且1936年重新恢復的「軍部大臣現役武官制」也規定內閣的成立必須獲得軍部支持才能成立，反映政策上是有利於天皇及軍人。 // 人禍及新的政策然而，隨著日本在二次大戰的戰敗，以美國為首的盟總佔領日本，令日本失去自主權。然而，此人禍卻令日本政治政策出現新的轉變，因盟總政府為日本實行新的政策，包括頒布《昭和憲法》以取替《明治憲法》，廢除天皇權力，並且亦取消了「軍部大臣現役武官制」及軍人的覲見制，軍人不再獲得超然的待遇。 // 對比(~20%) 相比之下，《昭和憲法》革新了日本原有的憲法，加上政策上廢除了軍人的特權，令到日本政治政策在二次大戰的戰敗後煥然一新，出現了蛻變，可見人禍導致了新的政策。
主旨句上述的新政策也導致日本政治發展由專制走向民主。 // 舊的發展二戰戰敗前，日本的政治是專制的，天皇擁有至高無上的權力，軍國主義者更操控了日本政治，同時日本政府的民選成份有限。 // 人禍及新的發展然而，二次大戰的戰敗反令日本政治發展由專制走向民主。因盟總在佔領期間為日本推行民主化改革，如於1947年為日本頒布《昭和憲法》，廢除天皇權力及允許所有成年男、女有投票權，同時也為日本剷除軍國主義勢力，如召開遠東國際軍事法庭，審判約6000名軍人及整肅超過20萬與日本擴張政策有關的人士，使軍國主義勢力受到剷除。 // 對比(~20%) 相比之下，二次大戰的戰敗使日本政治發展走專制走向民主，也將軍國主義徹底剷除，令日本政治不再受到天皇或軍人的束縛，真正走向民主，可見人禍促使了新的政治發展出現。
經濟方面，人禍也令日本出現了新的政策。二戰戰敗前，日本為配合戰爭需要，於1938年實行了《國家總動員法》，將軍費開支提高至國家總開支的70%，至1944年日本更將軍費開支進一步提高至99%。然而，二戰的戰敗雖然對日本而言是禍害，但卻為日本帶來了新的政策。因盟總政府為避免日本再次發動戰爭，故在1947年頒布的《昭和憲法》中，規定日本軍費開支不能高於國家總開支的1%，結果廢止了舊有《國家總動員法》，實行新的低於1%軍費開支的政策。相比之下，戰敗前日本實行《國家總動員法》的政策，戰敗雖然令到日本受到盟總政府的佔領，短暫失去了自主權，但卻有助廢除《國家總動員法》，確立了低於1%軍費開支的新政策，可見人禍帶來了新的政策。
戰敗也使日本經濟發展由崩潰走向重生。99%的軍費開支徹底拖垮了日本經濟的發展，日本的債務與國內生產總值的比率由1943年的133%提高到1944年的204%，經濟陷入崩潰狀態。加上，戰時日本政府依賴財閥提供資金及軍需物資，財閥壟斷日本經濟的情況持續。二次大戰的戰敗雖然使日本經濟雪上加霜，因日本國內受到戰火破壞，包括長崎和廣島受到原子彈摧毀，而且亦有大量退伍軍人失業的問題。然而，戰敗反使日本經濟出現重生的機會。因美國為了希望利用日本作為亞洲地區對抗共產主義擴張的屏障，故積極協助日本進行改革，例如頒布《土地改革法》(1946年)，解放農地以刺激農業生產力。此外，同時也頒布《禁止壟斷法》(1947年)以解散財閥，令日本經濟得到新的發展。相比之下，戰敗反令日本經濟得到欣欣向榮的發展，經濟於戰後急速發展，締造了「經濟奇蹟」，同時，財閥對經濟上的壟斷也不復再現，可見人禍使日本經濟得到了煥然一新的發展。
教育方面，人禍導致了日本推行新的政策。二戰戰敗前，日本在教育上頒布了《教育敕語》(1890年)，規定灌輸忠君愛國的思想予學童，並且，日本在教育上只實行6年義務教育，免費教育的政策只限於基礎教育。然而，儘管二次大戰的戰敗令日本短暫地失去自主權，但卻有助日本教育政策得到革新。盟總政府佔領後，其為日本推行新的政策，包括1947年《教育基本法》規定教育為培養學童全面的人格，並非單單忠君愛國的意識。此外，同年的《學校教育法》也將免費教育由6年提昇至9年，使義務教育能夠進一步得到擴展。相比之下，二次大戰的戰敗令日本教育政策出現蛻變，政策由《教育敕語》改為《教育基本法》，義務教育政策亦由6年提高至9年，可見人禍促使了新的政策出現。
戰敗也使日本教育發展由思想灌輸轉變為思想培訓，同時也由基礎教育進一步擴展至高等教育。戰敗前，日本教育著重於灌輸忠君愛國思想，而且教育發展局限於基礎教育，即使在1920年，日本的小學入學率已經高達99%，但當時中學、高等院校的發展仍然欠完善，貧窮的農村人口較難獲得接受中、高教育的機會。然而，戰敗後，盟總政府為日本推行的教育改革不但使教育方針轉變為培養學童的全人發展，同時也大大擴展了中、高等教育的發展，往後日本政府也積極成立大量高等院校及專門技術學院，最終使日本的高等教育得到蓬勃發展，至1970年代，每7個日本人中便有1個為大學生，高等教育水平冠絕亞洲、媲美西方國家。相比之下，日本教育發展由思想灌輸轉變至培養全人發展，教育重心也由過往的基礎教育進一步提昇至高等教育，教育發展獲得了新的轉變，可見人禍導致了新的發展出現。
外交方面，人禍促使日本實行新的外交政策。二戰戰敗前，日本實行侵略性的外交政策，例如於1937年發動「七七事變」，全面進攻中國。而且，在東南亞方面，於1940年又以建立「大東亞共榮圈」為藉口，四出侵略東南亞國家。然而，二次大戰的戰敗雖然令日本成為一個戰敗國，但卻使日本外交政策出現新的轉變。於二次大戰後，日本受到盟總政府的佔領，不能再實行侵略性的外交政策，加上在美國積極援助日本進行改革的情況底下，日本成為了美國的盟友，外交政策上遂追隨美國，成為美國對抗亞洲共產主義擴張的重要屏障。相比之下，戰敗前日本實行侵略性外交政策，但戰敗後卻實行和平外交政策，同時政策上受到美國影響極大，可見人禍導致了新的外交政策出現。
戰敗也使日本與鄰國外交關係的發展由交惡走向改善。戰敗前，日本與鄰國的外交關係交惡。由於日本積極侵略別國，使中國、朝鮮等鄰國敵視日本，戰爭更是持續不斷，關係十分惡劣。雖然二次大戰的戰敗對日本無疑是一禍害，但卻有助改善與鄰國的關係。戰敗後，由於美國希望利用日本以圍堵共產主義在亞洲的擴張，故積極協助日本改善與其他亞洲國家的關係，例如在美國的協調下，日本與東南亞國家簽訂了《三藩市條約》(1952年)作為賠償條約；與台灣簽訂《日台和約》(1952年)以確定結束戰爭狀況，使日本與鄰國關係逐步改善。相比之下，日本外交發展於戰敗前與鄰國關係交惡，但戰敗有助日本改善與鄰國的關係，關係走向正常化，不再處於長期的戰爭狀況，可見人禍帶來了新的發展。
總括而言，雖然「人禍」帶來了許多破壞、損失，但卻往往帶來了新的政策和發展，從上述日本的例子中可印證題目引句所言。
Elaborate on the statement ‘Human-made disasters usually lead to new policies and developments’ with reference to Japan.
Human-made disaster refers to any hazard caused by people, including wars and famine due to human errors. Japan started the invasion against China in 1937 that provoked conflicts in the Asian theater, and this was followed by its sudden attack on the American Pearl Harbour in 1941. By making enemies around the world, Japan ended up in a crushing defeat. This 'human-made disaster' had brought Japan sweeping changes that led to new policies and developments in political, economic, educational, diplomatic and other aspects.
Politically speaking, the human-made disaster led to new policies in Japan. Before its defeat in WWII, Japan's political structure was established in the Meiji Constitution明治憲法, under which the Emperor shall enjoy supreme power. The military were also treated preferentially. For example, military ministers had direct access to the Emperor and their support was essential to cabinet formation according to the Military Ministers to be Active-Duty Officers Law軍部大臣現役武官制 restored in 1936. These policies were clearly favourable to the Emperor and the military. However, with its defeat in WWII, Japan was under the US-led SCAP occupation and lost its autonomy. But this human-made disaster brought new changes to Japan's political policies. The SCAP government adopted new policies for Japan, including replacing the Meiji Constitution with the Showa Constitution昭和憲法, depriving the Emperor of his authority, and stamping out the Military Ministers to be Active-Duty Officers Law and the direct access rights覲見制 of the military, who had since stopped getting preferential treatment. Comparatively speaking, the Showa Constitution revolutionized the constitutional structure of Japan. In addition to the deprivation of special rights of the military, Japan's politics had undergone a profound transformation as to its political policies. It is therefore understood that a human-made disaster can lead to new policies.
The above new policy also redirected Japan's political development that was then characterized by democracy instead of autocracy. Before its defeat in WWII, Japan was an autocratic country in which the Emperor enjoyed supreme power and the militarists dominated its politics. Also, the Japanese government lacked electoral elements. However, the defeat turned Japan's once autocratically-featured political development into the one towards democracy. During its occupation, the SCAP government implemented democratic reforms in Japan. For instance, it promulgated the Showa Constitution for Japan in 1947, deprived the Emperor of his power and granted suffrage to all adult men and women. It also removed militarist influence in Japan by setting up the International Military Tribunal for the Far East遠東國際軍事法庭 put around 6,000 personnel on trial and to purge over 200,000 people affiliated with Japan's expansionist policy. As a result, the militarist influence was eradicated. Comparatively speaking, Japan's defeat in WWII guided its political development from autocracy to democracy and completely removed militarism there. Japan's politics were thus no longer restrained by the Emperor or the military and went towards genuine democracy. It is clear that a human-made disaster can bring about new political developments.
In economic aspect, the human-made disaster also brought about new policies in Japan. Before its defeat in WWII, Japan adopted the National Mobilization Law國家總動員法 in 1938 to support its war effort. The ratio of military spending to national budget was then raised to 70% and it further increased to 99% by 1944. However, the defeat led to new economic policies of Japan despite its harm to the country. In order to prevent Japan from starting another war, the SCAP government promulgated the Showa Constitution昭和憲法 in 1947, according to which the military spending of Japan shall not exceed 1% of its gross national expenditure. The old National Mobilization Law was abolished and replaced by the 'less than one percent' policy. Comparatively speaking, where Japan adopted the National Mobilization Law before its defeat, this policy was abolished after Japan lost the war and a new policy of keeping military expenditure below 1% of the total was established, despite the fact that Japan was under the SCAP occupation and lost its autonomy temporarily. It is therefore understood that a human-made disaster can bring about new policies.
The defeat also guided Japan's economic development from devastation to restoration. The 99% on military spending' policy totally overwhelmed Japan's economic development. The ratio of national debt to GDP for Japan increased from 133% in 1943 to 204% in 1944. The economy was on the brink of collapse. In addition, as the wartime Japanese government relied on the zaibatsu to provide capital and military supplies, their domination over Japan's economy continued. Indubitably, the defeat in WWII made Japan's economic condition even worse because the country was war-torn after destruction like the two atomic bombings targeted at Nagasaki長崎 and Hiroshima廣島, and the returning veterans faced unemployment problem. However, the defeat actually gave Japan a chance of restoration. In order to make Japan a barrier against communism expansion in Asia, the US actively assisted in its reforms, including the Land Reform Act土地改革法(1946) releasing agricultural land to boost productivity. In addition, the Anti-Monopoly Act禁止壟斷法(1947) was promulgated to dissolve the zaibatsu and bring the economic development of Japan to a new phrase. Comparatively speaking, the defeat, contrary to expectations, caused Japan's economy to thrive in the post-war period and led to an 'economic miracle經濟奇蹟'. Also, the domination of the zaibatsu over the economy ceased to exist. It is thus reasonable to conclude that the human-made disaster brought Japan new developments.
In educational aspect, the human-made disaster led to new policies in Japan. Before its defeat in WWII, Japan issued the Imperial Rescript on Education教育敕語(1890) that enforced indoctrination of ideas about loyalty and patriotism to schoolchildren. Also, there were only 6 years of compulsory education and only the elementary one was free of charge. However, the defeat led to educational reforms in Japan despite its temporary loss of autonomy. After occupying Japan, the SCAP government implemented new policies for Japan, including the Basic Education Law教育基本法 in 1947 in which education was stated as all-round development of schoolchild personality instead of indoctrination. In addition, in the same year the School Education Law學校教育法 was implemented to extend free education from six years to nine years, allowing further development of compulsory education. Comparatively speaking, the defeat led to transformation of Japan's educational policies - the guiding policy changed from the Imperial Rescript on Education to the Basic Education Law, and the compulsory education policy had its period extended from six years to nine. Therefore, the human-made disaster did contribute to new policies.
The defeat also guided the development of Japan's education from indoctrination to initiation and extended it from elementary level to tertiary level. Before the defeat, Japan's education focused on indoctrination of ideas about loyalty and patriotism, and its educational development was limited to elementary level. Even though the primary school enrolment rate of Japan exceeded 99% by 1920, the secondary and higher educational institutes there were still underdeveloped and it remained difficult for the impoverished rural population to receive such education. However, after the defeat, the education reforms by the SCAP government not only changed the objective of education to whole person development but also furthered the development of secondary and tertiary education. After its retreat, the Japanese government continued to set up many institutes of higher or further education. As a result, Japan's education developed rapidly at tertiary level and in the 1970s every one out of seven Japanese people was university graduate. The tertiary education standard of Japan became the highest in Asia and also on par with that of Western countries. Comparatively speaking, Japan's educational development changed its feature from indoctrination to all-round development, and its development focus also extended from elementary education to higher education. It is therefore understood that the human-made disaster led to new developments.
In diplomatic aspect, the human-made disaster led to a new Japanese diplomatic policy. Before the defeat in WWII, Japan adopted an aggressive diplomatic policy manifested in invasions like the July 7th Incident七七事變 of 1937 that marked the start of its full scale invasion of China. Also, as for Southeast Asia, Japan set up the 'Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere大東亞共榮圈' as a pretext for military aggression. However, the defeat caused changes in Japan's diplomatic policy despite making it one of the defeated countries. After WWII, Japan was under the SCAP occupation and not able to adopt aggressive diplomatic policy. Also, with substantial assistance provide by the US for its reforms, Japan became an ally of America and followed its diplomatic policy by playing the role of an important barrier against the spread of communism in Asia. Relatively speaking, Japan had an aggressive diplomatic policy before its defeat, while it adopted a peaceful one under significant American influence after that. Therefore, the human-made disaster led to a new diplomatic policy.
Japan's defeat also changed the development of its diplomatic relationship with neighbouring countries from worsening to improving. Before its defeat, Japan had a hostile relationship with its neighbours. Due to its aggressive behaviour, Japan attracted hostility from neighbouring countries like China and Korea and had continual wars with them. Their relationships were extremely strained. Although Japan's defeat in WWII was surely harmful to the country, this helped improve its relationship with neighbouring countries. After the defeat, since the US intended to use Japan to check the spread of communism in Asia, it actively helped Japan improve its relationship with other Asian countries. For example, under American coordination, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco三藩市條約(1952) with SE Asian countries for indemnity and the Treaty of Taipei日台和約(1952) with Taiwan to formally mark an end to their war. These gradually improved Japan's relationship with them. Comparatively speaking, the development of Japan's diplomatic relationship was worsening before the defeat and losing the war helped Japan improve its relationship with neighbouring countries and make it normal again. The country was then no longer involved in enduring warfare. Therefore, the human-made disaster brought about new developments.
In short, although human-made disaster can bring about considerable destruction and losses, it often leads to new policies and developments. The above example of Japan has proved the statement quoted in the essay question valid.
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