This is the first in a series of articles that were compiled from contributions by members of the Political and Diplomatic Review project of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research to the Jan. 30 forum on "Japan since the Meiji Restoration,"held to reassess the 150 years since the start of Japan's modernization. In Part 1, historian Kaoru Iokibe highlights patterns of adaptation and reaction in the diplomatic and constitutional history of modern Japan.

This year, private and public institutions around Japan are commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, an important milestone in the nation's history. The Japanese government has even established a separate office within the Cabinet Secretariat dedicated to planning and publicizing events and programs pertaining to anniversary in collaboration with other agencies.

Today's forum is not confined to the narrow topic of the Meiji Restoration, or to the Meiji Era, for that matter. To the contrary, I see it as an opportunity to attempt a sweeping assessment of Japan's political and diplomatic trajectory over the past 150 years.