The Samurai legacy
The legacy of the Meiji constitution (1889) i.e. position of the military in government
Assassination of Zhang Zuolin 1928- Kwantung army insubordination (unpunished)
Weakness of Civilian government VS. Military Wing of Government
Strengths of the Military Wing of Government:
Prime Ministers 1929 onwards any pattern?
Establishment of Manchuria
Showa Restoration Attempt
- As a result of the Meiji Restoration, samurai’s lost relevance in terms of military positions, they become symbolic figures / landowners
- Before the Meiji Restoration and the reforms that were outlined by Meiji leaders, a traditional class system existed and society was often divided between ruling samurai aristocracy and commoners
- Traditionally the difference between the samurai class and peasant class was the right to bear arms, right was extended to every man in the nation (no longer a status symbol)
- made up of elite warriors with superior social status and played a significant part in Japan’s military hierarchy
The legacy of the Meiji constitution (1889) i.e. position of the military in government
- Meiji Revolution- brought domestic, social and political reforms
- Constitution held influences from other countries- German-Prussia Empire
- The Emperor had ‘supreme command of the Army and Navy’, ‘declares war, makes peace and concludes treaties’ (Chapter 1)- did not answer to the government, followed only Emperor’s direction
- ‘Japanese subjects may… be appointed to civil or military or any other public offices equally’ (Chapter 2) Obligation to the state- serving in the military, attending school, paying tax
- 1881: Japan sent military advisors to help modernize the army in Korea, led by King Kojong
- 1894-1895: Sino-Japanese War, Japanese military sent 8,000 troops to Korea in the name of ‘protecting Japanese residents’ (June 1894), many naval engagements
- April 1895: Japanese victory against the Chinese- winning control of ports, Taiwan, Liaodong peninsula and Southern Manchurian Railways- both economic and political value
- Taiwan was resistant to becoming a colony- 4600 Japanese troops Japanese soldiers died in combat
- Western influences- expanding of geopolitics, expansion in trade, investments and land
- 1905: Russo-Japanese War (military success)
- Industrialisation of the country, led to a rise in military power- ‘enrich the country, strengthen the military’, ‘Rich country, strong army’, Western ‘disease’
- 1873: nationwide conscription of all men over the age of 21, to serve at least four years in armed forces and three years as a reserve (enforced by the constitution)
- Hirohito (emperor): 1889 Constitution, 'a document that neither guided the exercise of power nor protected the limited freedoms and rights of Japanese subjects'
Assassination of Zhang Zuolin 1928- Kwantung army insubordination (unpunished)
- Date of assassination: June 4th 1928
- Zhang Zuolin maintained an independent Manchuria
- Tanaka Cabinet aided Zhang Zuolin (^) in the hope to accept Japanese presence in Manchuria
- Tanaka Cabinet & Zhang Zuolin, common enemy= Chiang Kai Shek
- Skeptical and unstable ‘so-called’ alliance thus formed between the Chinese/Japanese
- Colonel Komoto Daisaku (Senior staff officer of Kwantung Army) plotted and carried out the assassination of Zhang Zuolin
- Komoto (Japanese) was infuriated with his inability to stop the advancement of Nationalists
- Planted a bomb to explode Zhang’s private railcar
- Laid explosives on a bridge just outside of Mukden on the morning of June 4th
- Japanese claimed that Chinese were responsible, also killed 3 Chinese men vagrants (guerilla dress)
- Tokyo government shocked, but refused to take military or political advantage of calamity
- Press censorship to prevent the story of assassination on the newspapers
- The news regarding Zhang’s assassination was leaked, thus crippling the Tanaka Cabinet, which was forced to resign the year after
- Colonel Komoto Daisaku along with his KwanTung Army assumed that with Zhang Zuolin out of the way, that his power base in Manchuria would crumble. Zhang’s son-Zhang Xueliang (an infamous womaniser and opium addict), was clearly not a threat to power either
- Though within 6 months of the incident, Zhang XueLiang announced his allegiance to Chiang Kai-Shek and the Nationalists, joining his mass amount of forces against Japan
- Assassination of Zhang Zuolin resulted in the very things the Japanese Military feared most: A domestic government that was conciliatory towards China, a more unified China
- Conspirators of the murder remained in their positions and was never charged with punishment for the murder
- A crime of such prominence and severity was unpunished, and that raised questions and suspicion, therefore demonstrating the growing weakness of the civilian government.
- According to the Meiji Constitution, the military enjoyed the ‘independence of the Supreme Command’. This meant that neither the Diet nor the cabinet had an authority over the military, and they only answered to the Emperor.
- With the small group of Meiji Restoration leaders slowly leaving the group, the military and civilian arms of the government had a new found sense of ‘freedom’, in which they began to interfere with politics
- By 1925: Army suffered a reduction of 4 divisions, which meant a cut of 35000 men; received budget cuts as well
- Military cuts were not popular amongst Japanese locals
- However, War Minister Ugaki Kazushige (served from 1924-27) introduced compulsory military training for all students from middle school and up, and reorganised reservist units from factories and local villages, thus increasing the military despite the official cuts
- Japan was seen as a hothouse environment for military growth, along with the heated events from China
Weakness of Civilian government VS. Military Wing of Government
Strengths of the Military Wing of Government:
- attitude of superiority present amongst the military which contributed to the increasing independence of the military
- Showa Restoration Attempt incidents had a negative effect upon the civilian government, although they were not successful, it weakened the government in a significant way; whereas, the Showa Restoration made the military even more powerful and stronger internally
- Military had the means to conduct political assassinations in which the civilian government had no control over (as seen from Showa Restoration attempt)
- Manchurian Incident had highlighted the fact that the civilian government barely had any control over the military
- this marked the point where the military was increasingly able and inclined to interfere in politics
- military not only had increasing influence of internal politics but as well as effective control of foreign policy
- there was rivalry and tension between two factions within the military
- “Imperial Way” Faction (Kodo) vs. “Control” Faction (Tosei)
- IWF believed in direct, violent action to rid of corruption in effort to pave the way to establish direct imperial rule
- CF believed in mobilizing Japan through technological and economical means for total war (to fight against China)
- Exclusion Act - showed that the civilian government had little control over foreign policy
- disrupted Japanese people’s sense of pride of ultra nationalism as they had a feeling that they were being rejected by the West, therefore, turned to support the military in effort to protect their national interest
- Peter Duus: stated that the Shidehara Diplomacy did not reflect a national consensus, Japanese felt looked down upon and condescended to
- Government under Prime Minister Saito Makoto was worried about the lack of national order, the cabinet consisted of incompetent political parties, bureaucracy and the military
- cabinet endorsed the Army insubordination (defiance of authority) in Manchuria and officially recognized Manchukuo
- there were no open disagreements with the military at this point
- Civilian government faced various social, economical and security instabilities
- where development of extreme nationalist sentiments thrived
- Rise in social movements during the Taisho period as well as the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923
- government vigilance + police eagerness to repress radicalism prevented Japan from moving towards having a representative government
Prime Ministers 1929 onwards any pattern?
- Osachi Hamaguchi
- 1929 - 1931
- Favoured domestic economic reform over military action
- Cut military spending
- Economic reform failed massively
- Right-wing were furious
- Wakatsuki Reijiro
- 1931
- Like Hamagucih, he couldn’t control the Army
- Economic crisis undermined him and forced him out
- Inukai Tsuyoshi
- 1931-1932
- Tried to boost economy
- Under extreme pressure from the Army to put more troops into Manchuria
- Had completely lost control of the military, they did what they wanted
- Military success meant that he stayed in power
- Eventually assassinated by 11 navy officersMarked the end of civilian political control until after WW2
- Saito Makato
- Heavy military ties
- Forced to resign after bribery controversy
- One of the longest serving PM’s in the inter-war period
- Effectively put in power by the military
- 1932 - 1934
- 1932 - 1934
- Keisuke Okada
- Admiral in the Navy
- Military man
- 1934 - 1936
- Admiral in the Navy
- Koki Hirota
- 1936 - 1937
- Hirota placated the military
- Only active military men could serve in the cabinet, reducing military power in Japan
- Executed for WW2 war crimes
- The ‘odd one out’ in terms of the fact that he wasn’t that militaristic
- 1936 - 1937
- 18 September 1931
- Lt. Suemori Kawamoto
- Reminiscent of the assassination of Zhang Zuolin
- Field grade officers of the Kwantung Army exploded a bomb
- Section of the South Manchurian Railway was destroyed
- Zhang Xueliang had confined his 10,000 Chinese troops to their barracks to avoid confrontation
- The Japanese still blamed them
- Within hours the Kwantung Army opened fire on the barracks
- The senior Japanese staff officer ordered a takeover
- They were acting independently from the Chinese government
- Japanese commander in Korea sent reinforcements
- The actions were stunningly effective
- Nationalist leader Chiang Kaishek decided he couldn’t send more resources
- Ordered Zhang Xueliang to not put up any resistance
- The Kwantung ARmy now controlled most of Manchuria
- Military belief that the military alone understood the gravity of Japan’s interests in Manchuria
- They believed the civilian government were ignorant
- Kwantung Army commander-in-chief Honjo Shigeru cabled PM Wakatsuki Reijiro’s government urging military occupation of Manchuria
- Despite having prior knowledge of the plot, they couldn’t reign in the military
- War Minister Minami Jiro sent a representative to assert control
- He sent Major General Yoshitsugu Tatekawa → he supported the plot
- Spent the night of the incident with Geisha Girls
- Civilian government in Tokyo proved impotent in its aftermath
- The Wakatsuki Cabinet was to order to contain the hostilities
- But War Minister Minami was the ineffective link between the two → too nice
- Army ignored the cabinet’s instruction
- The Japanese line pushed further forward
- Even the Emperor backed the Cabinet
- Kwantung Army leaders, backed by the public support, railed against traitorous advisors to the throne
- Cabinet decided that the Emperor should refrain from commenting on the issue
- Army had won the showdown
- Cabinet didn’t want to lose face
- Had to explain to the international community a situation in which they had no role in planning
- For the next 15 years the military controlled foreign policy
- Control of Manchuria became the cornerstone of foreign policy
- ‘a source of raw materials… treasure house… a base for the development of heavy industry’
- ‘Diplomatic revolution’ - Peter Duus
- Effectively led to the Pacific War
- Step toward international isolationism
- League of Nations demanded Japan removes its troops by November 1931
- Deadline passed unmet
- Lord Lytton led a 5 man commission to investigate on behalf of the LoN in early 1932
- Kwantung Army set plans to establish a government in Manchuria
- PM Inukai Tsuyoshi had taken up the call for a peaceful settlement
- PM Wakatsuki’s cabinet resigned in December 1931
- Public was reeling from economic depression and didn’t want peace
- Kwantung Army relied on Aishingioro Puyi the deposed Emperor of China (the last Emperor of the Manchu dynasty)
- Puyi was the first president of the new state
- Formally established on 1st March 1932
- Puyi was enthroned as Emperor of Manchukuo
- He was a puppet of the Japenese (CY Leung of the 1930’s)
- Inukai refused to recognise it as a state
- Successor PM Saito Makoto did though
- This attempt to build a façade of independance was just before the report
- October 1932: Lytton Report denounced Japan’s actions in Manchuria
- Denied that the Army was acting in self-defense
- Insisted that independance wasn’t the result of local action
- Ordered Japan to withdraw forces
- Matsuoka Yosuke led his delegation out of the LoN
- Bar Germany and Italy no other country recognised Manchuria
- By 1934 Kwantung Army controlled four Chinese provinces → population of 30 million
- Japan controlled Manchuria, Taiwan, Korea
- Manchuria became a valuable source of raw materials
- Military argued over whether China or Soviet Union posed the main threat → isolation and insecurity
Establishment of Manchuria
- March 1st 1932-Establishment of Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo
- Occupation of Manchukuo lasted until the end of World War 2 (June 1945)
- The establishment of Manchuria was due to the Manchurian Incident (March 18th 1931), where the KwanTung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria following the Mukden Incident
- Aishingioro Puyi was appointed/served as the first ‘President’ of the New State
- 1934-Puyi enthroned as Emperor of manchukuo (elaborate coronation ceremony)
- PM Saito Makoto extended diplomatic recognition to Manchukuo in September 1932.
Showa Restoration Attempt
- most serious and influential ultra-nationalists served in the military
- had the means due to the power they held at their positions to act upon their views and beliefs
- Kita Ikki - important figure in the philosophical development of the concept of Japanese ultranationalism, due to the impact he had within the military
- originally advocated for the idea that Japanese deserved a leading role within Asia
- followed by advocating a return to direct imperial rule
- envisioned a coup d’etat to overthrow bureaucrats and politicians who stood in the way of the Emperor
- Kita wrote the “Outline Plan for the Reorganization of Japan” in 1923 which became extremely influential
- called for the overthrow of the current government system
- members of the military went on assassination sprees in effort to rid of the corruption to pave the way for imperial ruling to return
- all of these incidents combined had significant negative impacts upon the civilian government
- Showa Restoration attempt had clearly failed but the military took advantage of the February Incident of 1936 to rid of the factions within the army and purged the Kodo faction
- Military had veto power over the Cabinet on any decisions
- Tosei- dominated military increasingly call the shots
- Tosei- dominated military increasingly call the shots
- March Incident of March 1931 marked the first attempt to take action in restoring Imperial rule
- Sakurakai members were the one who organized the event
- attack politicians including the Prime Minister and installed War Minister General Ugaki Kazushige as head of military government, in which he withdrew his support and the plan fell apart
- Sakurakai members were the one who organized the event
- Second attempt in October 1931 for the civilian government to be replaced by General Araki Sadao but the plan fell through when Araki refused to cooperate
- these attempts aided the Kwantung army as the military thrived upon the instabilities of the civilian government
- Kwantung army intimidated government by supporting the military’s actions in Manchuria
- Kwantung army intimidated government by supporting the military’s actions in Manchuria
- 15th May Incident 1932 - Ketsumeidan due to concerns towards international security and the economic problems in Japan, attempted to overthrow the government to achieve martial law failed
- conspirators of this incident were hailed as heroes at the end of it, lack of sympathy towards the murdered victims
- conspirators of this incident were hailed as heroes at the end of it, lack of sympathy towards the murdered victims
- During 1935, violent tactics of the Showa Restoration started targeting members of the military, in contrast to only targeting the civilian government
- due to rivalry between Kodo and Tosei factions
- this led to the 1935 Aizawa Incident Major- General Nagata was assassinated by Lieutenant-Colonel Aizawa
- calls upon the consideration whether military could actually control its internal affairs and own ranks
- calls upon the consideration whether military could actually control its internal affairs and own ranks
- due to rivalry between Kodo and Tosei factions
- February Incident of 1936 - 1400 troops surrounded the Imperial Palace and went on an assassination spree
- the insurgence on the military’s behalf met little resistance
- signified the breakdown of Army discipline
- Emperor rejected the leaders of the Incident which put a stop to their actions
- the insurgence on the military’s behalf met little resistance
- June 1935: Anglo-German Naval Agreement, between Germany and the UK, isolating the Soviet Union- Hitler’s attempt to improve relations
- Japanese officers were shocked at the Naval Agreement: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
- Military leaders concluded the agreement was a ruse to allow the Nazi’s time to build its navy
- Comintern- the Third International, communist party (Russian)
- Foreign Minister, Hirota had tried to improve Sino-Japanese relations- efforts were basically aimed at paving the way for a more solid Japanese presence in China
- Hirota believed Japan's most serious security challenge was not China, but the Soviet Union, primary threat (context: World War Two, allies- US, USSR, UK, China, axis- Japan, Germany)
- 25 November 1936: Anti-Comintern Pact- Anti-Communist pact
- Committed Germany and Japan to exchanging information about the Comintern and to work to limit its effect, ‘to safeguard their common interests’
- Symbolised the unification of the Axis Power: Japan and Germany, later joined Italy (1937)
- Article I: The High Contracting States agree that they will mutually keep each other informed concerning the activities of the Communist International, will confer upon the necessary measure of defense, and will carry out such measures in close co-operation.
- Possible use of military forces
- Believed in threat of Communism would threaten ‘the general peace of the world’
- Anti-Comintern Pact made with Japan, Germany and Italy brought in Nazi ideologues who gained many Japanese supporters and injected Nazi-style anti-Semitic arguments into mainstream public discussions- where defamation of Jews was already widespread
- All Japanese governments shamelessly manipulated the popular image of the Jews, not so much to persecute them, but to strengthen domestic ideological conformity