Chapter 12: Nationalism and Revolution around the World
Section 5: Conflicting Forces in Japan
Growth and Expansion in the Early 1900s
During World War I, the Japanese economy increased at a tremendous rate.
Its exports soared.
Heavy industrial production grew, making Japan an industrial power.
Annexed Korea as a colony in 1910.
After the war, Japan took over former German possessions in East Asia, including the Shandong province in China.
During the 1920s, political parties grew stronger. Elected members of the Diet—the Japanese parliament—exercised their power.
But political parties were manipulated by the zaibatsu (business leaders) through donations to political parties. They pushed for policies that favored their own interests.
In 1925, all adult men, regardless of class, won the right to vote.
Read “Problems Below the Surface” on page 411 and make a list of the problems that existed in Japan in the early 1900s.
Rural peasants were still extremely poor. Their poverty drew them to the socialist ideas of Marx and Lenin.
Younger generation adopted Western fads and fashions. Also, they rejected family authority for the Western ideal of individual freedom, shocking their elders.
Conservatives criticized government corruption, including payoffs by powerful zaibatsu. They also condemned Western influences for undermining basic Japanese values of obedience and respect for authority.
A devastating earthquake struck the Tokyo area in 1923.
Killed 100,000 people and damaged more than 650,000 buildings.
45 percent of surviving workers lost their jobs because businesses were destroyed.
Why were the ultranationalists dissatisfied with the conditions in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s?
They condemned politicians for agreeing to Western demands to stop overseas expansion and wanted to increase Japan’s tiny empire.
Japanese nationalists were further outraged by racial policies in the United States, Canada, and Australia that shut out Japanese immigrants. They bitterly resented being treated as second-class citizens in other parts of the world.
As the economic crisis worsened, nationalists demanded an empire in Asia that would provide much-needed raw materials as well as an outlet for Japan’s rapidly growing population.
Why was Manchuria desirable for Japan?
This region was rich in natural resources, and Japanese businesses had already invested heavily there.
Manchurian Incident
When:
1931
Who:
Japanese vs. Chinese
Cause:
a group of Japanese army officers provoked an incident that provided an excuse to seize Manchuria. They set explosives and blew up tracks on a Japanese-owned railroad line. Then, they claimed that the Chinese had committed the act. Claiming self-defense, the army attacked Chinese forces.
Effect:
Without consulting their own government, the Japanese military forces conquered all of Manchuria and set up a puppet state there that they called Manzhouguo (man choo kwoo). They brought in Puyi, the last Chinese emperor, to head the puppet state. When politicians in Tokyo objected to the army’s highhanded actions, public opinion sided with the military.
When the League of Nations condemned Japanese aggression against China, Japan simply withdrew itself from the League.
The League’s member states failed to take military action against Japanese aggression.
What changes did militarists make when they came to power?
The government cracked down on socialists and suppressed most democratic freedoms.
It revived ancient warrior values and built a cult around Emperor Hirohito, whom many believed was descended from the sun goddess.
The government used schools to teach students absolute obedience to the emperor and service to the state.
In 1936, Japan allied with two aggressive European powers, Germany and Italy. These three powers signed the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, cementing the alliance known as the Axis Powers.
