Reasons for the World War 1 Boom
Consequences:
Significance:
2.The Economic Depression
3.The Social Aftermath of the Financial Crisis
4.Invocation of the Peace Preservation Law
5.Effects of the Global Depression on Exports
6.Social effects of the economy
Urban/Rural
C. Route to Military services
8.Kita Ikki
Beliefs
Kita Ikki’s last book, Outline Plan, influenced the attempted military coup in 1936. He was arrested and executed by the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police, as a result.
9.Economic impact on Japan of Manchuria
Hopes
A Partial Success
10.The belief in Japan’s role in Asia
11.Tanaka Giichi’s Policies vs Shidehara diplomacy
12.Rural-Urban tensions
- The greatest increase in exports
- During the early 1920s, World War I led to a fall in European textile exports. Even though Japanese goods were inferior to their European counterparts, the demand for them increased as a substitute to European goods because Europe at that time, suffered from huge labour loss(heavy casualties) and huge economic loss, and Japan was required very little military operation from allied countries in WWI (UK, France)
- Therefore, it leads to the capability for them to carry out the advancing technology, and the domestic price level more than doubled and real GNP surged an annual growth of close to 10%. In terms of GNP expenditure composition, exports rose while import suppressed due to global economic loss after WWI
- As a result, export-led boom was broad-based. All industries benefited. Among them, marine transportation and shipbuilding were extremely profitable and expanded most strongly. It also leads to the ability to capture overseas markets under the special condition of the European war, which artificially boosted both the demand for and the prices of Japanese exports. However, temporary (only as long as WW1 continued, which meant about 4 years), which is uncompetitive in cost and quality, compared to Europe. Furthermore, the quick import substitution was possible because European goods did not arrive, which makes most of the business expansion during WW1 was inefficient, excessive and unsustainable.
- Financially rich, Rich ideas and population, Rich agriculture, Rich civilisation, Urbanization, Maintain strong sense of agriculture
- Belief of strength and intelligence
- Colonization for further enhancing the strength and gain more resources
Consequences:
- —>Ultranationalism
- Japan should be the strongest power in the world
- Superior to their competitors
- Proved not only dominant in Asia, but in the world
Significance:
- Clear vision and visible goals
- Realistic targets to be aimed at
- Successfully established the process of restoration
- Represented an effort to modernize and industrialize the country
2.The Economic Depression
- In 1927, investigations lead to the discovery that banks had incurred huge debts that were the results of the inflation and weakening of the yen, caused by the immense cost of recovery and repair following the 1923 Kanto earthquake. Over 20 banks collapsed because of these debts.
- The financial crisis caused by the above event worsened when the 1929 Wall Street Crash occurred and caused a global depression
3.The Social Aftermath of the Financial Crisis
- Because of the economic situation, there was political tension between leftists and radicals, causing Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi to invoke the Peace Preservation Law to prevent leftist influence in the government.
- Following this, there was a mass clean up of any known leftists in March 1928 (over 1000 arrests were made) ,including Marxist economist at Kyoto University, Kawakami Hajime, and police maintained surveillance throughout the country to root out any leftist influence.
4.Invocation of the Peace Preservation Law
- Began in 1925
- Assassination attempt on Crown Prince Hirohito in December 1923 badly shook the government and prominent members of the Diet - as there were many more demands that led to increasing vigilance against ‘dangerous thought’, the Peace Preservation Law was passed
- The Peace Preservation Law was passed shortly after the Universal Manhood Suffrage Law. It gave the police special powers to end any organisation that advocated for the end of the private property system, or the altering of the imperial state of government, which led to the arrest of many political opponents such as Communists. It also greatly decreased the power of trade unions and parties opposed to the government
- It was used to make sure the government would not be overthrown and to show a zero-tolerance stance of the Japanese government to radical thought, as the Universal Manhood Suffrage law had increased the amount of voters drastically. It also led to people becoming more involved in politics, which posed a danger to the current government.
5.Effects of the Global Depression on Exports
- The Global Depression affected Japan heavily, as it led to falls in its main exports, textiles and silk. Japan’s exports relied heavily on silk, so when silk prices fell 70% in 1920 it caused an economic crisis for Japan. This also led to the fall of the Narikin, a class of nouveau rich people. The effects of this were seen in the economy mostly, as exports did not fall noticeably. This led to bailouts to bankrupt banks and government intervention in struggling companies. The Global Depression also led to an increase in Heavy and Chemical Industries, such as the production of artificial silk. The Depression also led to the formation of new Zaibatsus, which were different because they were mostly HCI based and did not own banks. Japan also tried to return the Yen to a fixed gold exchange rate, but the value of the Yen fell every time the policies failed.
6.Social effects of the economy
- Starvation
- Hardship for agriculture farmland leads to the rural to urban migration
- Rural to urban migration in 1920s
Urban/Rural
- Urban culture
- Agricultural culture
- Common education for six years
- Lack of formal education
- Strongly influenced by Western Culture
- Sustained traditional Japanese culture
- Mobos and Mogas (modern boys and girls)
- Traditional tenant system
- Popular sports
- Agricultural activities instead of entertaining sports
- Varieties of filming
- No advanced technology about filming
- press publishing readings for Japanese
- N/A
- High quality of life
- Relatively lower quality of life (less enjoyments)
- Secure, rigid work environment
- Risky, inconsistent occupational environment
- capable to explore the western cities due to higher income, with shorter hours of working
- received relatively lower income, with longer hours of working
C. Route to Military services
- Meiji’s willingness(Rich country and strong army)
- Rural and urban migration leads to the opportunities to make weapons
- Technology(capable to explore the western cities due to higher income, with shorter hours of working)
- Starvation led to the Japanese’s determination to find out external fields of products making agricultural products
- The Kokuhonsha was formed in 1924. The group was open to totalitarian ideologies, but wanted the Japanese to embrace a national spirit and push away all foreign “-ism”s (e.g. Communism). This helped ultra-nationalism spread, as it rejected foreign ideologies in favour of Japanese nationalism. The Imperial Military Reserve Association was formed in Japan to integrate Japanese society with Military values. They impressed military values on their members but they (the members) had no history of military service. This helped the growth of ultra-nationalism, as the members would pledge their lives to the Emperor and to the country. The Black Dragon Society is the oldest out of the previously mentioned societies. It soon became used for espionage, sabotage and assassination.
8.Kita Ikki
- An influential writer, Kita Ikki was very vocal about his radical national socialist views
Beliefs
- He distrusted the West, believing in Japanese self-sufficiency
- He believed democracy was an ineffective system
- He wanted the Emperor to have more direct authority by removing the Emperor’s obstructive advisors
Kita Ikki’s last book, Outline Plan, influenced the attempted military coup in 1936. He was arrested and executed by the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police, as a result.
9.Economic impact on Japan of Manchuria
Hopes
- Japan hoped that Manchuria would become the heartland of the new Japanese empire
- The collapse of trade with the West after the Depression and the fact that other Asian countries were suspicious of Japan meant Japan had to find economic opportunities elsewhere
- It was hoped that Manchuria would ensure the self-sufficiency of the Japan and fuel its economic recovery
- Many in Japan were dissatisfied by their country’s lack of natural resources, and saw the Manchurian conquest as a way of redressing the balance between Japan and other more resource-rich nations like Britain
A Partial Success
- Manchuria provided Japan with important agricultural and industrial resources
- Agricultural resources included cooking oil, soybean and salt
- Industrial resources included aluminium and iron
- However, production of oil and coal was not as significant as expected, meaning Japan was still partially reliant on foreign imports
- Furthermore, the increasing reliance of Japan on Manchurian goods meant that Japan was not self-sufficient
- The conquest and its mixed results also seemed to prove to expansionists in Japan of the need for further expansion into Asia
10.The belief in Japan’s role in Asia
- Seeds of ultranationalism sown within organisations that all promoted a belief of Japan’s unique role character and its ‘mission in Asia’:
- Ever since the Meiji Restoration, the government had promoted traditional Japanese values to encourage the kind of discipline and self-sacrifice necessary to accomplish the goals of rapid industrialisation and Japan itself
- The Imperial Rescript on Education (1890) based educational values on Confucian thought, such as being filial, harmonious, modest and moral, and also encouraged people to put the state in front of their self. By the 1930’s, this educational reform had formed a rapid and radical sort of nationalism within the youth of Japan
- The ‘kokutai’ (the imperial system of government) stressed the unique nature of the Japanese state and the close relationship between the people and the Emperor (even calling him ‘father’)
- Individuals in the state should act like individuals in the family, suppressing their own personalities and offering themselves in service to the state
- 1930’s: service to the state meant pursuing and promoting Japan’s special mission as the leader of Asia, as Japan was the only Asian nation that had successfully resisted Western imperialism due to its successes in industrialisation
- This ultranationalism, especially strong in the lower-middle classes, provided a strong base of military support for military adventurism, such as the Manchurian Incident
11.Tanaka Giichi’s Policies vs Shidehara diplomacy
- Tanaka Giichi employed an aggressive anti-China foreign policy. He also heavily oppressed leftists and socialists in Japan, and urged for Manchuria to be separated from Inner Mongolia. Giichi also didn’t respect China’s sovereignty. Tanaka Giichii relied heavily on the military, using it to suppress dissent both at home and abroad. This differs heavily from Shidehara diplomacy, which was more liberal and aimed to improve relations between Japan and China. Shidehara diplomacy was also more compliant to foreign powers, as evidenced by the London Naval Conference in 1930.
12.Rural-Urban tensions
- While people in urban areas benefited from industrialization and economic development, people in rural areas did not see much influence from this, and were disgruntled with how people in the city lived
- The cities had better wages, more readily available consumer goods and higher quality and varied foodstuff
- The people in rural areas felt that cityfolk snobbishly looked down on them as peasants and poverty that they suffered was largely ignored
- Rural people also felt that cityfolk were abandoning their traditions in favor of the new urban lifestyle that was steadily growing in the cities
- Rural people made up a large percentage of the total population of Japan, meaning that their dissatisfaction with their position in society when compared to city dwellers was problematic