Lives like during militaristic Japan

During the era of the weak emperor Taisho (1912-26), the political power shifted from the oligarchic clique (genro) to the parliament and the democratic parties.
In the First World War, Japan joined the Allied powers, but played only a minor role in fighting German colonial forces in East Asia. At the following Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Japan's proposal of amending a "racial equality clause" to the covenant of the League of Nations was rejected by the United States, Britain and Australia. Arrogance and racial discrimination towards the Japanese had plagued Japanese-Western relations since the forced opening of the country in the 1800s, and were again a major factor for the deterioration of relations in the decades preceeding World War 2. In 1924, for example, the US Congress passed the Exclusion Act that prohibited further immigration from Japan.

After WW1, Japan's economical situation worsened. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the world wide depression of 1929 intensified the crisis.

During the 1930s, the military established almost complete control over the government. Many political enemies were assassinated, and communists persecuted. Indoctrination and censorship in education and media were further intensified. Navy and army officers soon occupied most of the important offices, including the one of the prime minister.

Already earlier, Japan followed the example of Western nations and forced China into unequal economical and political treaties. Furthermore, Japan's influence over Manchuria had been steadily growing since the end of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. When the Chinese Nationalists began to seriously challenge Japan's position in Manchuria in 1931, the Kwantung Army (Japanese armed forces in Manchuria) occupied Manchuria. In the following year, "Manchukuo" was declared an independent state, controlled by the Kwantung Army through a puppet government. In the same year, the Japanese air force bombarded Shanghai in order to protect Japanese residents from anti Japanese movements.

In 1933, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations since she was heavily criticized for her actions in China.

In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out. A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by the Kwantung army which acted rather independently from a more moderate government. The Japanese forces succeeded in occupying almost the whole coast of China and committed severe war atrocities on the Chinese population, especially during the fall of the capital Nanking. However, the Chinese government never surrendered completely, and the war continued on a lower scale until 1945.

In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) upon agreement with the French Vichy government, and joined the Axis powers Germany and Italy. These actions intensified Japan's conflict with the United States and Great Britain which reacted with an oil boycott. The resulting oil shortage and failures to solve the conflict diplomatically made Japan decide to capture the oil rich Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and to start a war with the US and Great Britain.

In December 1941, Japan attacked the Allied powers at Pearl Harbour and several other points throughout the Pacific. Japan was able to expand her control over a large territory that expanded to the border of India in the West and New Guinea in the South within the following six months.

The turning point in the Pacific War was the battle of Midway in June 1942. From then on, the Allied forces slowly won back the territories occupied by Japan. In 1944, intensive air raids started over Japan. In spring 1945, US forces invaded Okinawa in one of the war's bloodiest battles.

On July 27, 1945, the Allied powers requested Japan in the Potsdam Declaration to surrender unconditionally, or destruction would continue. However, the military did not consider surrendering under such terms, partially even after US military forces dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, and the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan on August 8.

On August 14, however, Emperor Showa finally decided to surrender unconditionally.

Reasons that led to the rise of military in Japan by the 1930s

Reasons that led to the rise of military in Japan by the 1930s

In the 1930s , Japan turned to militarism and this led to the overseas expansion of its empire to maintain its economic prosperity. Hence ,it decided to expand into China . This Japanese aggression was brought about due to several reasons.

     1.Rivalry between China and Japan.

In 1931, Chinese troops killed 2 Japanese agents in Manchuria.Japanese soldier retaliated by blowing up a section of the railway in Mukden.The Japanese soldiers blamed the Chinese troops for starting a conflict and taking control of Mukden. The Japanese made use of this incident as an excuse to control the whole of Manchuria.The Japanese troops occupied the whole of Manchuria within 5 months. They proceeded with the Occupation despite objections from the League of Nations. Japan then tried to extend its control over the other parts of China. It fought with China even though there was no official declaration of war. China retaliated by boycotting Japanese goods. In 1937 , the Marco Polo Bridge incident caused full-scale invasion of China. Japanese soldiers at the bridge wanted to enter the city of Wanping . But the Chinese troops refused their entry . This led to the second Sino-Japanese War. This shows that Japanese were aggresive towards China because of their rivalry.

A cartoon showing the rivalry between Japan and China

    2 .  Expansionist policy adopted by Japan

Japan followed an expansionist foreign policy because it needed land for its increasing population and needed raw materials for its industrialized programs.After taking over Manchuria , which was renamed Manchukuo, the Japanese went on to expand further. It aimed to gain control of more and more land , hence continued to invade other parts of China. By 1937 , the Japanese had captured Beijing , Shanghai and Nanjing.

   3 . Weaknesses of the League of Nations

When Japan occupied Manchuria ,  the Japanese were condemned by the League of Nations.A commission led by Lord Lytton , a British , was sent to Manchuria to come up with a proposal. This did not deter Japan from controlling Manchuria . Manchuria was renamed Manchukuo . But the Allied powers did not wan to recognise this state. Japan then pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933. Thus it was clear that the League of Nations was simply incapable of stopping Japan from taking over the other parts of China. In fact , by 1941 , there were around 2 million Japanese troops in China.

 4 . Expansionist policy followed by Japan

The global economic depression had adversely the economic condition in Japan . Hence the desire for expanding its territories was the only solution as these new territories would proved them with raw materials and at the same time , act as captive markets . The rivalry between Japan and China were merely an excuse . Even if the League of Nations had been strong , Japan would have still proceeded on with its expansion in China

 4. Impact of the Great Depression

The Great Depression further worsen the bad economic of Japan. Unemployment was massive. When there are no jobs, there would not be money contributing to the economy, thus led to the increase of prices of food. People then blame the government.Government lost support and people turn to military. Believing that using violence is the only way to solve this matter.

INTRODUCTION TO JAPAN

INTRODUCTION TO JAPAN

A distance off the east coast of the Asian mainland across the Sea of Japan, lies a country which is home to approximately 121,047,000 people (1985) - Japan. Japan consists of four main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, and several smaller islands.The climate is generally moist and mild with four seasons, but as 70% of the country is made up of mountains, there are marked regional variations. 

In terms of its biogeography, most of Japan lies in the Palearctic Realm, but there is a strong Indomalayan element in the extreme south, and the southern Ryukyu Islands are sometimes regarded as belonging to the Indomalayan Realm. Japan lies on a major east Asian flyway for migratory birds. 

Government:

Japan has a constitutional monarchy, headed by the Emperor. The current emperor is Akihito; he wields very little political power, serving primarily as the symbolic and diplomatic leader of the country.

The political leader of Japan is the Prime Minister, who heads the Cabinet. Japan's bicameral legislature is made up of a 480-seat House of Representatives, and a 242-seat House of Councillors.

Japan has a four-tier court system, headed by the 15-member Supreme Court. The country has a European-style civil law system.

Yasuo Fukuda is the current Prime Minister of Japan.

Population:

Japan is home to about 127,500,000 people. Today, the country suffers from a very low birth rate, making it one of the most rapidly aging societies in the world.

The Yamato Japanese ethnic group comprises 98.5% of the population. The other 1.5% includes Koreans (0.5%), Chinese (0.4%), and the indigenousAinu (50,000 people). The Ryukyuan people of Okinawa and neighboring islands may or may not be ethnically Yamato.

An estimated 360,000 Brazilians and Peruvians of Japanese origin have also returned to Japan, most famously former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori.

Languages:

The vast majority of Japan's citizens (99%) speakJapanese as their primary language.

Japanese is in the Japonic language family, and seems to be unrelated to Chinese and Korean. However, Japanese has borrowed heavily from Chinese, English, and other languages. In fact, 49% of Japanese words are loan-words from Chinese, and 9% come from English.

Three writing systems coexist in Japan: hiragana, used for native Japanese words, inflected verbs, etc.; katakana, used for non-Japanese loanwords, emphasis, and onomatopoeia; and kanji, which is used to express the large number of Chinese loan-words in the Japanese language.

Religion:

95% of Japanese citizens adhere to a syncretic blend of Shintoism and Buddhism. There are minorities of under 1% of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.

Shinto is the native religion of Japan, which developed in prehistoric times. It is a polytheistic faith, emphasizing the divinity of the natural world. Shintoism does not have a holy book or founder.

Most Japanese Buddhists belong to the Mahayana school, which came to Japan from Baekje Korea in the sixth century.

In Japan, Shinto and Buddhist practices are combined into a single religion, with Buddhist temples being built at the sites of important Shinto shrines.

Geography:

The Japanese Archipelago includes more than 3,000 islands, covering a total area of 377,835 square kilometers. The four main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Japan is largely mountainous and forested, with only 11.6% of its area arable land.

The highest point is Mt. Fuji at 3,776 meters (12,385 feet). The lowest is Hachiro-gata, at 4 meters below sealevel (-12 feet).

Positioned astride the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan features a number of hydrothermal features such as geysers and hotsprings. It also suffers frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

Climate:

Stretching 3500 km (2174 miles) from north to south, Japan includes a number of different climate zones. It has a temperate climate overall, with four seasons.

Heavy snowfall is the rule in the winter on the northern island of Hokkaido; in 1970, the town of Kutchan received 312 cm (over 10 feet) of snow in a single day! The total snowfall for that winter was more than 20 meters (66 feet).

The southern island of Okinawa, in contrast, has a semi-tropical climate with an average annual temperate of 20 Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit). The island receives about 200 cm (80 inches) of rain per year.

Economy:

Japan is one of the most technologically advanced societies on Earth; as a result, it has the world's second largest economy by GDP (after the U.S.). Japan exports automobiles, consumer and office electronics, steel, and transportation equipment. It imports food, oil, lumber, and metal ores.

Economic growth stalled in the 1990s, but since has rebounded to a quietly respectable 2% per year.

The services sector employs 67.7% of the work-force, industry 27.8%, and agriculture 4.6%. The unemployment rate is 4.1%.

Per capita GDP in Japan is $38,500; 13.5% of the population lives below the poverty line.

History:

Japan likely was settled about 35,000 years ago by Paleolithic people from the Asian mainland. At the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, a culture called the Jomon developed. Jomon hunter-gatherers fashioned fur clothing, wooden houses, and elaborate clay vessels. According to DNA analysis, the Ainu people may be descendents of the Jomon.

A second wave of settlement around 400 B.C. by the Yayoi people introduced metal-working, rice cultivation, and weaving to Japan. DNA evidence suggests that these settlers came from Korea.

The first era of recorded history in Japan is the Kofun (250-538 A.D.), characterized by large burial mounds or tumuli. The Kofun were headed by a class of aristocratic warlords; they adopted many Chinese customs and innovations.

Buddhism came to Japan during the Asuka Period, 538-710, as did the Chinese writing system. Society was divided into clans, ruled from Yamato Province.

The first strong central government developed in Nara (710-794); the aristocratic class practiced Buddhism and Chinese calligraphy, while agricultural villagers followed Shintoism.

Japan's unique culture developed rapidly in the Heian era, 794-1185. The imperial court turned out enduring art, poetry and prose. The samurai warrior class developed at this time, as well.

Samurai lords, called "shoguns," took over governmental power in 1185, and ruled Japan in the name of the emperor until 1868. The Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333) ruled much of Japan from Kyoto. Aided by two miraculous typhoons, the Kamakura repelled attacks by Mongol armadas in 1274 and 1281.

A particularly strong emperor, Go-Daigo, tried to overthrew shogunate rule in 1331, resulting in a civil war between competing northern and southern courts that finally ended in 1392. During this time, a class of strong regional lords called "daimyo" increased in power; their control lasted through the end of the Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa Shogunate , in 1868.

In that year, a new constitutional monarchy was established, headed by the Meiji Emperor. The power of the shoguns was broken.

After the Meiji Emperor's death, his son became the Taisho Emperor (r. 1912-1926). His chronic illnesses allowed the Diet of Japan to democratize the country further. Japan formalized its rule over Korea and seized northern China during World War I.

The Showa Emperor, Hirohito, (r. 1926-1989) oversaw Japan's aggresive expansion during World War II, its surrender, and its rebirth as a modern, industrialized nation.