Could Japan be regarded as a ‘world power’ by the year 1922?

Yes. Japan can be regarded as a world power by 1922. After the success of the Meiji Modernization, Japan became a strong country. She fully satisfied all the conditions required to be a world power. Japan had a stable and centralized government run by enlightened rulers. She attained the highest literacy rate in Asia. She had a strong army and navy and became a rich country exporting goods to other places. Japan also had a constitution. Japan also won in foreign wars and gained concessions. In 1895, she defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War and gained most-favoured-nation treatment and extraterritorial rights. She also gained territories from China. In 1905, Japan defeated Russia and attained a world power status. Japan even joined the First World War and joined the allied powers. Seeing Japan’s power, foreign powers were willing to treat Japan equally. In 1899, the European powers were willing to give up extraterritorial rights in Japan. Also Japan and Brita...