Editing Osaka (section)

=== Meiji to Heisei period ===
With the enormous changes that characterized the country after the [[Meiji Restoration]] (1868), and the relocation of the capital from [[Kyoto]] to [[Tokyo]], Osaka entered a period of decline. From being the capital of the economy and finance, it became a predominantly industrial center.<ref name="osaka-info.jp"/> The modern municipality was established<ref name="osaka-info.jp">{{cite web |url=http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/about/historical.html |title=Osaka city |publisher=Osaka-info.jp |access-date=May 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306155741/http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/about/historical.html |archive-date=March 6, 2010 }}</ref> in 1889 by [[City designated by government ordinance|government ordinance]], with an initial area of {{convert|15|km2|0|abbr=out}}, overlapping today's [[Chūō-ku, Osaka|Chuo]] and [[Nishi-ku, Osaka|Nishi]] wards. Later, the city went through three major expansions to reach its current size of {{convert|223|km2|0|abbr=out}}. Osaka was the industrial center most clearly defined in the development of capitalism in Japan. It became known as the "[[Manchester]] and [[Melbourne]] of the Orient".<ref name="osaka-info.jp"/> In 1925, it was the largest and most populous city in Japan and sixth in the world.<ref name="osaka-info.jp"/>

The rapid industrialization attracted many Asian immigrants (Indians, Chinese, and Koreans), who set up a life apart for themselves.<ref>Chisato Hotta, "The Construction of the Korean Community in Osaka between 1920 and 1945: A Cross-Cultural Perspective." PhD dissertation U. of Chicago 2005. 498 pp. DAI 2005 65(12): 4680-A. DA3158708 Fulltext: [[ProQuest]] Dissertations & Theses</ref> The political system was pluralistic, with a strong emphasis on promoting industrialization and modernization.<ref>Blair A. Ruble, ''Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka.'' (2001)</ref> Literacy was high and the educational system expanded rapidly, producing a middle class with a taste for literature and a willingness to support the arts.<ref>Richard Torrance, "Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890–1940," ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 31#1 (Winter 2005), p.27-60 in [[Project MUSE]]</ref> In 1927, [[General Motors]] operated a factory called [[List of General Motors factories|Osaka Assembly]] until 1941, manufacturing [[Chevrolet]], [[Cadillac]], [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]], [[Oldsmobile]], and [[Buick]] vehicles, operated and staffed by Japanese workers and managers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/ANA03/809150388/gm-had-early-start-in-japan-but-was-hobbled-by-nationalism|title=GM had early start in Japan but was hobbled by nationalism|date=August 25, 2008}}</ref> In the nearby city of [[Ikeda, Osaka|Ikeda]] in Osaka Prefecture is the headquarters of [[Daihatsu]], one of Japan's oldest automobile manufacturers.

Like its European and American counterparts, Osaka displayed slums, unemployment, and poverty. In Japan it was here that municipal government first introduced a comprehensive system of poverty relief, copied in part from British models. Osaka policymakers stressed the importance of family formation and mutual assistance as the best way to combat poverty. This minimized the cost of welfare programs.<ref>Kingo Tamai, "Images of the Poor in an Official Survey of Osaka, 1923–1926." ''Continuity and Change'' 2000 15(1): 99–116. {{ISSN|0268-4160}} Fulltext: [[Cambridge UP]]</ref>

During [[World War II]], [[Bombing of Osaka|Osaka came under air raids]] in 1945 by the [[United States Army Air Forces]] as part of the [[air raids on Japan]]. On March 13, 1945, a total of 329 [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] [[heavy bombers]] took part in the raid against Osaka. According to an American [[prisoner of war]] who was held in the city, the air raid took almost the entire night and destroyed {{convert|25|sqmi|km2}} of the city. The U.S. bombed the city again twice in June 1945 and again on August 14, a day before [[Japan's surrender]].<ref>Andy Raskin, "The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life".</ref>

In the decades following World War II, Osaka's reconstruction efforts and the industriousness of its residents brought the city even greater prosperity than before the war. Its population surpassed three million in the 1960s, initiating large-scale suburbanization within the prefecture, and eventually doubled to six million by the 1990s. With factories rebuilt and trade revived, Osaka rapidly developed into a major multicultural and financial center from [[Japanese economic miracle|the 1950s through the 1980s]]. Osaka Prefecture was chosen as the venue for the prestigious [[Expo '70]], the first [[world's fair]] ever held in an Asian country. Since then, numerous international events have been held in Osaka, including the 1995 [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation|APEC Summit]].

The modern municipality, which when it was established in 1889 occupied an area of just 15&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> including the districts of Chūō and Nishi, following three successive expansions has reached an area of 222&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. It was one of the first cities in Japan to obtain [[Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan|designated city]] status in 1956.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jacobs, A.J. |title="Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s"|journal=Urban Studies Research |date=2011 |volume=2011 |pages=1–14 |publisher=Hindawi, Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011), [[doi:10.1155/2011/692764]] |doi=10.1155/2011/692764 |doi-access=free }}</ref>