Science and society: The case of agricultural science in Japan

This project concerns the intersection of Western science and technology and Japanese society in the period between 1858 and 1912. It particularly focuses on the processes and impact of transforming Japan's agricultural sector based on Western science and technology. In short, agricultural science is used as a case study to develop a strategic understanding of the role of "imported" knowledge in Japanese society at large through its various transformation (e.g., institutions, policies, actors, values, and networks).;The uniqueness and success of Japan's modernization lies in the fact that, by creating a highly centralized political system, the Meiji Government seized full control of and acted as the coordinator of the development of agricultural science. And, this case has useful implications for many developing nations whose governments tend to have very little control over the modernization process.