Chapter 5 Fascist Japan

Focuses What led to the rise of Fascism in Japan? Failure of democratic govt. Corruption within govt. Failure of govt to solve economic problems. Rise of alternate power Worsening relations between the Japan & the West What was the impact of militarism on the lives of Japanese? Political Control – Foreign aggression policy Social Control – Education policies Economic Policies – Increase in number of factories and production

A Quick Glimpse History of Japan 1868 1912 1926 1989 Meiji Period (Meiji Restoration) 1912 Taisho Period - Democracy 1926 Showa Period - Military 1989

United Japan around the Emperor Accomplished a flourishing economy Started up a powerful Army & Navy Meiji Period (Meiji Restoration) Taisho Period - Democracy Democratic government elected Faced setbacks due to internal & external factors - With increasing emphasis on the Emperor & greatness of Japan, focus turned to their military might Showa Period - Military

Signs of Westernisation during Meiji Restoration

All groups & individuals must put aside self-interests for the nation. Fascism We all have a sense of belonging to our nation. We know that we are citizens of a great place. All groups & individuals must put aside self-interests for the nation. A strong leader is needed to create a strong nation. He cannot be answerable to anyone, not even a government.

The Rise of Fascism There were other factors and events that pushed the Japanese people to support Fascism. Recall: Fascism calls for a strong and united nation. All people must put aside their interests and put the Nation first

National Reconstruction! By the end of this chapter, We, the people of Japan, would believe in: National Reconstruction! Military Strength! Respect for Authority!

What led to the rise of Fascism? External Factors Internal Factors Worsening Relations between Japan & the West Changes within Japan

Internal Reasons

Genro (retired Japanese statesmen) 1. Failure of the Democratic Government Set up in the 19th Century (Meiji Restoration) Members of the Democratic Government Emperor Diet (Parliament) Genro (retired Japanese statesmen)

Taisho Emperor

Diet – Limited Power Diet met every 3 months to discuss national issues. But they could only question decisions made by cabinet ministers. They could not make any changes to the decisions. Real power was with the Emperor and Genro The Army & Navy ministers were more powerful than the rest of the cabinet. Had direct access to the Emperor and had veto power. E.g. Senior Army officers suggested using large part of the budget for Japanese Army. The Diet disagreed, but could not change the decision.

2. Corruption within Government 1920, Taisho Period, also known as Taisho Democracy, power transferred to the Diet from the Genro. To get into the Diet, one had to be elected. Participate in election campaigns. Zaibatsus were necessary to fund campaigns large, wealthy Japanese companies

As a result, the public lost confidence in the Democratic Government. Zaibatsus, who helped finance election campaigns, used their influence to pass policies that benefit big companies As a result, the public lost confidence in the Democratic Government. They no longer supported the government. I need your help in financing my election campaign. Can you assist me? I can only help you if you do me a little favour… Candidate Zaibatsus

3. Failure to solve Economic Problems In the 1920’s, Japan was facing severe economic problems. The democratic government could not solve these problems effectively. Farmer’s difficult living conditions Worker’s difficult living conditions Trade Imbalance Great Depression

New economic industries early 20th Century Shipping industries Textiles – silk and cotton goods Production of gas, electricity, glass and chemical Agriculture modernised Communication modernised Outcome – output & export shrank after WWI when European countries could not fulfil their supply orders.

Problems with Economic Development Population boom 1900 – 45 million 1930 – 64 million Limited land Mountainous area – little land for food production - Low food production, eg. Rice No natural resources Raw materials needed to be imported to drive industrial sector.

(a) Farmer’s Difficult living conditions - Half of all farmers had less than 1 ¼ acres of land (size of a soccer field) Could only grow limited amount of rice, therefore hardly any profit - Other half rented lands from landlords. They paid very high prices.

(b) Worker’s Difficult working conditions 1920’s - Working conditions: Lived in crowded, unhygienic rooms provided by company Worked more than 10 hours a day Could only leave workplace a few times a month Workers felt abandoned by their government (Democratic government did not care for them) Why such long hours?

Cheap electronic goods & textiles (c) Trade Imbalance Before 1926, Japan actually prospered from global trade. Cheap electronic goods & textiles Raw materials to run their major industries eg fuel (import) (export)

But, by 1921, most European countries had recovered from WWI, Japan began to face economic problems. Japan did not have enough raw materials to run its industries. Most had to be imported. Therefore, Japan suffered from a trade imbalance Imbalance was made worse when Japan had to import more food for its population

Great Depression happened in 1929. (d) Great Depression Great Depression happened in 1929. Countries wanted to protect their locally-produced goods, so they adopted a policy of Protectionism Protectionism is when a country taxes foreign goods. They do this so that their local goods will be cheaper and people will buy local goods, thus ‘protecting’ their own industries.

How did Protectionism affect Japan? High taxes on Japanese silk imported to USA Japan cannot sell as much silk Price of Japanese silk in USA rises Americans either bought silk or other clothes made in their own country Americans cannot afford to buy Japanese silk

Effects of Great Depression In 1932, price of Japanese silk was less than 1/5 of price in 1923. Led to economic depression in Japan How did economic depression happen in Japan? Read page 131 of your textbook

Fall in price of Japanese silk… Caused fewer goods being produced Caused businessmen who owned silk factories to go bankrupt Caused increased in unemployment as less workers were needed Caused Japanese to have lesser money in general Caused other businesses in Japan to lose profits

Japan was now going through an economic depression of its own. Unemployed farmers then joined the army and patriotic societies to bring changes to the country. National reconstruction, military strength & respect for authority were becoming more and more popular… (bring back the glory days) What did this mean for the Democratic Government?

4. Rise of Alternate Powers Showa Restoration Patriotic Societies Militarism as an option = RISE of NATIONALISM

a. Showa Restoration 1930’s in Japan Education System that taught: Nationalism Loyalty to Emperor Self-sacrifice Obedience Economic Effects of the Great Depression Foreign Opposition to growing empire

Sonno Joi! Emperor was glorified Promoted Japanese virtues of self-sacrifice & service to the nation Youths were blindly loyal to the Emperor and Nation. Militarism! Aggressive foreign policy!

b. Patriotic societies Extremely nationalistic and believes that Japan was superior to other countries Some societies wanted to set up a military dictatorship for the Emperor Some were either members or had close connections with Army and Navy

c. Army’s & Navy’s influence over the government Had a lot of independence from government Successful in acquiring more colonies in China & Manchuria (following the West) As their popularity grew, so did their influence Leaders that did not support their actions were shot

External Factors 1. Worsening relations between Japan & the West General Trends: i. America’s policies ii. Unfair Treatment 2. Resurgence of Chinese Nationalism

American Expansionism i. America’s policies - United States started to control many smaller islands in the Asia-Pacific region that were rich in resources Looks like they are threatening to control the region. We must do something about this! American Expansionism

(a) Discriminatory Immigration Laws 1924, USA tried to prevent Asian immigration as part of their Protectionism actions Asians could not marry Caucasians Asians attending separate schools No entry to all Asian immigrants In some states, Asians are segregated from the Americans Immigrants cannot become American citizens

Why did the Japanese feel insulted? (b) Washington Naval Conference, 1921-22 Aim was to reduce the naval forces of USA, Britain, France, Italy & Japan. Japan was allowed less ships than the Americans or the British However, Japanese felt that it still was unfair and an insult to their nation. Why did the Japanese feel insulted?

Why should we treat you equally? ii. Unfair Treatment (a) Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Japanese representatives requested to the League of Nations for all races to be treated equally, but the League refused. Why should we treat you equally?

Prime Minister, Hamaguchi Osachi agreed to: (b) London Disarmament Conference, 1930 Prime Minister, Hamaguchi Osachi agreed to: Further limit number of smaller battleships Accused of BETRAYING JAPAN Reduce spending on Army

2. Resurgence of Chinese Nationalism Japan gained from China’s weak & disunited government – Special rights to trade & controlled some Chinese territories. Eg.21 Demands Before 1927, Disunited since 1894 Could not effectively rule its territories After fall of Qing Dynasty, different warlords ruled different parts of China What happened after 1927?

Chinese Communist Party - 2 political parties tried to unify China Chinese Communist Party Kuomintang Initially, they fought among themselves, keeping China weak and disunited Decided to join forces in 1927 to unite China Japan’s control in China was now threatened. They wanted military action to occupy Manchuria & North China

Read page 138 of your textbook. Which new colonies did Japan take over? How did this lead to the Army & Navy becoming more popular?

Focus 2 What was the impact of militarism on the lives of Japanese? Providing Work Control of Workers Control of Opposition Control of Education

(i) Providing Work Provided employment for more people by expanding building programmes - Young men served national service, increased employment Women had the opportunity to work - No. of women working rose from 1,370,000 to 2,260,000. But they often lived in blocks of flats made for working women. Government could keep an eye on them both at work and at home

(i) Providing Work Impact? Economically – Increased employment and income made Socially – Women treated as more of equals - Govt monitored its citizens

(ii) Control of Workers - After WWI, rise in number of workers in trade unions - Govt did not ban these trade unions - Spread message of nationalism and need to self-sacrifice for the good of the nations through the workers’ unions. Impact? Socially – Provided the workers with an avenue to air their grievances and express their concerns. - Propagated their beliefs through this avenue

(iii) Control of Opposition - In 1925, government passed a Peace Preservation Law - It allowed the government to arrest and imprison anyone they thought was a danger to the government - Initially used as an emergency measure, but later used as a method to suppress political opposition - Government also made sure that its critics lost their jobs (eg Prof Minobe)

(iii) Control of Opposition Impact? – Politically - Government gained more control over its opposers and critics. - Governments’ power greater Socially People of Japan cannot openly criticize the government or make their views known publicly They would be arrested or lose their jobs. This instilled fear. (no freedom to express themselves)

(iv) Control of Education - Government provided six years of free compulsory education The government insisted on changing the curriculum to include more time to teach traditional values and skills. They used the schools as a place to spread government values - The curriculum also included exercise. Boys had to undergo military training exercises while at school. Universities and colleges also had to include military training into their curriculum

(iv) Control of Education Impact? Socially More of the population became educated as the government provided free education. This help in the development of its people. Political – Government could tighten control its people through the use of propaganda and specifically chosen information.