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Fascist Japan

What is Fascism? Japan before 1930s The beginnings of Fascist Japan in 1930s What were the external factors that contributed to the rise of

Fascism in Japan What were the internal factors that contributed to the rise of

Fascism in Japan

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Mussolini (Italy) Hitler (Germany) Franco (Spain)

Extreme nationalism A totalitarian system of government A one-party state Economic self-sufficiency (autarky) Military strength and violence

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Japan

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Tokugawa (Edo) Period 1603–1868 Unification and centralization Social class system

Meiji Period 1868–1912 “The opening of Japan” European/ US forced Japan to open up

ports to foreign trade in 1853 The drive for Modernization

Taisho Period (1912- 1926)

Showa Period (1926- 1989)

The government of more than 250 years had been overthrown.

Closed to the western world for about 2 ½ centuries

Japanese society and technological advances progressed very slowly

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1853: Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s ‘Black ships’ defied the shogun and sailed directly to the bay of Japan

o Japan was a convenient refueling stop on the San Francisco to Shanghai route

o Industrial Revolution in the West required new markets

o Used guns to threaten the Japanese

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Time of confusion and instability

Japanese leaders and foreigners were assassinated

By the end of the 15th Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu (1837-1913) resigned and the rule came to an end.

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The new leaders of Meiji Period were now convinced that Japan had to modernize itself

Adopt western technologies, system and knowledge

The Meiji restoration “Enlightened Rule’

Culture and Education Fashion Government and Society Army

Emperor Mutsuhito

1872

1873

However, to keep Japan from being vulnerable to the threat of Western colonisation…

Most impt aim: growth of national identity to unite the country

Nationalism led to the increase in Japan’s military power

a strong military tradition that imitated the Samurai’s code of behavior

They were proud to be Japanese (extreme nationalist)

They felt that Japan must be independent, superior to other countries and rule over them.

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A Samurai

Samurais

Code of Conduct for Samurais

The Meiji period came to an end with the death of the Emperor in 1912.

Taisho period (1912-1926): short period under democratic rule, rise in the influence of military

Showa period (1926- 1989): Emperor Hirohito

Emperor as a leading figure that actually had no power.

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1868 – 1912

Meiji Period

1912– 1926

Taisho Period

1926 – 1989

Showa Period

Height of Japanese militarism

Modernisation of Japan

Democratization of Japan

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General Hideki Tōjō

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

JAPANESE MILITARY

Japanese Diet (Democratic Govt)

From Democracy to FascismAuthoritarian Regimes: Japan

*SEQ Examinable

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Reasons for Failure of Japanese Democracy (Diet)

Limited powers of Diet

Corruption Could not solve

economic problems

Taisho Emperor - son of the Meiji Emperor. His reign was known as the era of Taisho Democracy (Reigned from 1912 – 1926)

The Diet’s Limited Power

2 houses House of Peers –

members of imperial family, Japanese nobles who’re nominated by Emperor

House of Representatives – Elected by Japanese pple. Emperor can dissolve house.

The Imperial Diet in session

The Diet’s Limited Power

However, real power was with Emperor, prime minister, army & navy ministers

Japan had no democratic tradition Emperor usually appointed ministers who

were loyal to him – many of these were old & conservative.

Many saw civilian politicians as weak & soft, esp. in Jp foreign policy

The Japanese Government

Prime Minister

CABINET

DIET (Japanese Parliament)

- Emperor had power to dissolve the Diet.

- Military generals had more power than the cabinet => Veto power

- PM and cabinet appointed by the Emperor

- Diet did not have powers to make decisions

Diet had little power toPush through with its decisionsOvershadowed by the Emperor and military

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Corruption

Zaibatsus (wealthy companies) were supporting & bankrolling politicians & their election campaigns

Had a lot of influence in the govt. Could influence law-making in their favour. Close ties between zaibatsu and democratic

leaders led to rumours of corruption Diet was unable to gain support of ordinary

Japanese

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Economic Problems

Rice farmers had little land & had to pay high rental

Workers also had to put up with low wages, long hours & harsh working conditions

Japanese rice farmers faced very harsh working conditions

Economic Problems

Trade imbalance– had to import more raw materials to manufacture goods and more food for the increasing population. This caused Japan to spend more than it earned

Money needed for imports

Money earned from exporting goods to the west

Great Depression

West stopped buying goods from Japan

Japanese exports suffered= no income

High unemployment & inflation

Japanese began to blame the democratic govt.

Japanese silk farmers feeding silk worms – silk was Japan’s major export in the early 1900s.

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Showa Restoration – education emphasized intense nationalism & anti-foreign sentiments

Also focused on blind loyalty to the emperor.

Showa Emperor or more commonly known by his name, Hirohito. (Reigned 1926 – 1989)

New education policies From the 1890s, the

education system of Japan emphasized nationalism, loyalty to the Emperor, self-sacrifice and obedience

The movement produced youths who were blindly loyal to the Emperor and nation

They were taught to believe in militarism and an aggressive foreign policy

Defending Japan’s

Economic Interests Strong

&Brave

Stand up to western powers

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Patriotic Societies

Ultra-nationalistic organisations

Pushed for aggressive foreign policy & militarism

Believed Japan’s destiny was to “go forth, conquer & rule!”

Many of these societies worked against the civilian govt whom they believed were soft

The rising sun flag of Imperial Japan. A symbol of Japanese aggression & imperialism

Black Dragon Society

Cherry Blossom Society

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Increasing Military support

Military had been successful in battles since 1895.

Made military very influential

People saw military action as the answer to their probs, also saw civilian govt as weak

Military were soon acting independently from civilian govt.

Sino Japanese War 1894-95 Gained Liaodong Peninsula & Taiwan

Military Takeover of Japan

PM Hamaguchi wanted to reduce naval arms, reduce military budget and improve ties with China betray Japan! (wounded in assassination)

PM Ki Inukai was also assassinated by army in 1932

His murderers served light sentences

Succeeding PMs felt increasingly pressured by military’s ambitions.

By the mid 1930s, Japan had become a military controlled government.

Internal factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Showa Restoration

Loyalty Movement/ Campaign

Patriotic Societies

Failure of democracyMilitary’s influence

Limited powers of Diet

Corrupt politicians

Could not solve economic problems

Failure to meet the needs of peasants and workersFailure to solve trade imbalance

Successes in wars (Korea, WWI, Sino-Jap, Russo- Jap)

Strong public support

Democratic leaders were assassinatedGreat Depression

caused sufferings and led to the support of Fascist ideas

Japan’s power in East Asia grew in the first 30 years of the 20th century.

However, it began to gather “enemies” and as it began to modernise, Japan’s eye for raw materials become bigger and bigger…

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Russo Japanese War (1905- 1945)

China-First Sino-Japanese war (1894-95)-Second Sino-Japanese war (1937- 1945)-Relationship rarely friendly-Japan wanted to obtain as much resources from China as possible before it became too strong (rise of Chinese Nationalism)-Wanted to replace China as Asia’s no.1 power

USA-Japan became a threat to USA’s trade and investments in China-American control over Hawaii and Philippines threaten Japanese military and economic interests.-Washington Naval Conference (1921)Japanese received unfavorable naval ratio. USA (5): Britain (5): Japan (3)-Strict immigration laws (1920s)-Protectionism: imposed high taxes for Japanese (foreign) goods

Britain, France and LON-Japan joined Br. And Fr. Against Germany in WWI 1914- 1918-During PPC (1919), LON refused to acknowledge the equality of races

Korea colonised by Japan 1905- 1945

Asia- a land area rich in raw materials

Germany-After WWI, the Kaiser abdicated and Germany came under the rule of the provisional government (democracy) however… was it popular?

Japan and the world in the early 20th century

External factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Economic competition in the Asia-pacific region

Washington Naval Conference

Immigration laws

Tax policies

Paris Peace Conference

Gain colonies in China before it became strong under united Nationalist government

Worsening foreign relationsRise of Chinese

NationalismNeed to remove obstacle

to solution

Need to be more superior, gain status

Need to solveover-popn

prob

Need to gain markets and raw materials

Need to gain markets and raw materials

Worsening Foreign Relations

Competition with America over Asia and Pacific islands

American control over Hawaii and Philippines threaten Japanese military and economic interests

Competition over the Pacific Islands strained Japanese relations with America.

Need to remove threat

USA

Japan

Asia ???

Worsening Foreign Relations

LON refused to acknowledge the equality of races during Paris Peace Conference, 1919

Washington Naval Conference (1921) – Japan received unfavourable naval ratio USA (5) : Britain (5) : Japan (3)

The Imperial Navy resented being treated as a 2nd rate power, especially when it had defeated the Russians & Chinese in naval battles.

They felt that it was a deliberate attempt by the USA to restrict Japanese power and growth

Need to be more superior, gain status

Worsening Foreign Relations Strict American immigration laws

(1920s) due to isolationist and protectionist policy: forbade entry of all Asian immigrants

No American citizenship, no land also made Japanese feel inferior

By the early 1900s, many Japanese immigrants or issei had flocked to America in search of a better life

Why were the Japanese angry?

Japan needs to ease its population growth… so…

Japanese Military’s Reaction?

Need to solveover-population problem

Worsening Foreign Relations

USA imposed high import taxes to protect its industries, making Japanese goods very expensive in the USA and hurting the Japanese economy badly.

Need to gain more markets and raw materials

External – Rise of Chinese Nationalism Japan defeated China in 1894-95 Sino-

Japanese War Since then, exploited China’s weakness TOV awarded Shantung Peninsula to Japan

– sparked off May 4th Movt & anti-Japanese sentiments

Saw China’s vast resources as answer to economic problems

Wanted to replace China as Asia’s no. 1 power

Chinese protestors take to the streets in outrage over Japanese seizure of Shantung.

Rise of Chinese Nationalism

The foreign powers helping themselves to a piece of ChinaThe giant

killer

External – Rise of Chinese Nationalism 1920s: KMT (Nationalist) vs. CCP

(Communist) 1927: KMT joins CCP to fight

warlords and end all special concessions given to the Westerners and Japanese

They demonstrated and boycotted Japanese goods

The Japanese army stationed in Manchuria proposed that Japan occupy Manchuria and North China before China became too strong

Chiang Kai Shek (leader of KMT)

Need to gain more markets and raw materials

1911 Revolution

Qing/Manchu Rule

KMT Rule

Foreign powers

External factors that contributed to the

Rise of Fascism in Japan

Economic competition in the Asia-pacific region

Washington Naval Conference

Immigration laws

Tax policies

Paris Peace Conference

Gain colonies in China before it became strong under united Nationalist government

Worsening foreign relationsRise of Chinese

Nationalism

Need to remove threat

Need to be more superior, gain status

Need to solveover-popn

prob

Need to gain markets and raw materials

Need to gain markets and raw materials

The Manchurian ‘Incident’ (18 September 1931)

• What happened? Japanese soldiers patrolling the Japanese-owned railway line near Mukden heard an explosion and gunfire Believing they were under attack by Chinese, they called for backup and began firing back Large scale fighting broke out

• Many people believed that the explosion in the Manchurian ‘Incident’ was deliberately set by the Japanese to give them an excuse to ‘fight back’ and seize control of Manchuria

Manchukuo

• By end of January 1932, Japan was in control of south Manchuria and large parts of northern China – renamed Manchukuo

• Announced as an ‘independent’ state Not belonging to China, USSR or Japan However, its leader Pu Yi was chosen by the Japanese

• Only Italy and Germany recognised Japan’s control of Manchukuo

Pushed Japan into closer ties with these fascist countries

Political power

• In 1932, Prime Minister Inukai was assassinated for openly disagreeing with the army

• From this point on, the military was more open in its control of the government

• More assassinations took place to remove undesirable threats to military power

• The army, with the emperor at the head as a puppet, was in charge

Summary

Effects of Japanese Fascism by 1939

Every Exam Question

Step 1: Address the Question

Step 2: Provide Evidence

Step 3: Explain

Every Exam Question

SEQ homework

Do you agree that the impact of the Great Depression was the most important reason for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931? Explain your answer.