Transcript Japan Between the wars - Dr. Charles Best Secondary School

History 12 Ms Leslie
Though the Japanese government looked like the
British system; Prime ministers were not decided
by parliamentary majorities but by appointment
of a few men on office.
2. There was a division of military and civil
branches of government. This means the military
operated outside civilian control (the parliament
of Diet in Japan)
3. 100,000 people died in the 1923 Tokyo
earthquake, this help modernized the city during
the re-build.
4. The great Depression
1.
showed the strength of democracy with allied
victory in WWI
2. Western business philosophy infiltrated Japanese
businessmen.
3. In 1925 reduced the size of its standing army from
21 to 17 divisions.
4. People from all classes educated themselves with
Western Liberal thought.
5. The urban youth began to questions traditions of
family solidarity, paternal authority and male
dominance.
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Stressed nationalism, the superiority of Japan
Taught respect for the military which brought
acceptance of the military’s demand sin the
1930’s
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Ultra-nationalist groups emerged and
embraced terrorist tactics rather then electoral
results.
The Kitta Ikki (Black Dragon Society) led
the movement for a fascist reform of Japanese
Society.
Want an authoritarian regime ruled by emperor
Disliked influence from the west
Military wanted empire expantion
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Men enlisted at the aged of 14
Most officers came from a rural landowning
background, junior officers tended to have a
more fascist outlook.
This reflected the same resentment of
frustrated nationalist goals, fear of socialism
and resentment of capitalist excesses that
Japanese radicals still respected their emperor.
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Stock market, 1929, crash makes
Authoritarian movement stronger
American tariffs create tension between the
two countries
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Rice growers faced competition from with in
the empire, Korea and Taiwan.
Silk producers no longer had American Buyers
Poor peasant farmers were forced to sell their
daughters into prostitution to avoid starvation
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Invade Manchuria! Take their resources!!
Big Government spending
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Great Britain, France, Holland, USA and USSR
have empires… why can’t Japan?!
Felt they entered the imperial game too late
The size of Japan’s territory was seen as a
population problem.
The Whites held lightly populated parts of
the world and the Japanese were now
excluded from emigration.
The only option was expansion in to Asian.
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cabinet forced the Navy to accept it
Limiting Japan’s considerable fleet.
All this did was provoke open
insubordination by the Navy.
Manchuria was important for the mining of coal
and iron ore.
 Japanese military invaded with out letting the
civilian government know
 The military claimed Chinese troops tried to blow
up a railway.
 Within a few months a puppet government was
installed and Japanese troops were landed in
Shanghai.
 The League of Nations protested and Japan
simply dropped out of the league.
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raised the prestige of the Japanese military
made it possible for the military to pressure
the civilian government to undertake a policy
of imperialistic expansion.
This invasion was an attempt by the military
to help solve the problem of the depression.
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The Minister of Finance, Korekiyo Takahashi,
increase government spending by 20% in each
year of 1932, 33 and 34.
This provided workers with jobs and wages to
by manufactured goods and food.
By 1936 the economy was booming and
there was little unemployment.
refused to increase the military budget and so
army officers murdered him.
The military silenced many opponents through
fear.
 In 1932 the Premier Inukai was murdered, the
rational was to free the emperor from evil
advisors.
 Inukai was also a signer of the London Naval
Treaty and the head of one of the largest political
parties.
 The military created a cabinet consisting of
bureaucrats, politicians and military people, thus
ending true parliamentary democracy.
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In July of 1937 the Military swept south from
Manchuria to gain control of China’s ports and
great cities and the Yangtze River.
By 1938 Japan controlled much of eastern
China.
New markets needed to be found as well as
raw materials.
Japan looked to the European colonies in Asia
to fund her empire.
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Tension between the US and Japan was
furthered with the exclusion of Japanese
emigration based on race.
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Japanese leaders began to speak of “freeing”
the Asian colonies of the European nations
and bringing them into Japanese control
The Japanese clearly saw themselves and the
champion of the people of Asia.
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Western ballroom dancing was condemned and dance
halls closed
Golf and other luxury sports frowned on
An attempt to stop the used of English scientific words
Bilingual street signs removed
Schools to only used rote learning
Women discouraged to participate in intellectual life
Political witch hunts against educators and statesmen
who were accused of being against the emperor.
Those who brought about disarmament in 1922 and
1930 were pushed out of office or assassinated.