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The rise of Dictators and Nationalism In Japan. By Hazel Batista, Aylea Grant, Salvador Reina and Xavier Boone By. How did WWI affect Japan?.
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The rise of Dictators and Nationalism In Japan By Hazel Batista, Aylea Grant, Salvador Reina and Xavier Boone By
How did WWI affect Japan? • After World War 1, Japan enjoyed a period of economic prosperity and growing democratic government. The Great Depression hit Japan hard because its prosperity depended on foreign trade. • Japan experienced the deepest economic downturn in modern history during 1930-32. • In the 1930s, political and intellectual thinking gradually shifted from economic liberalism toward more economic control under state management.
What conditions led to the collapse of the old government? • The Minsei party government adopted to a policy to eliminate weak banks/firms and to prepare the nation for the return to the pre war gold party. • Black Thursday (October 1929) & the great depression in the world economy had a severe negative impact on the Japanese economy.
Who supported the totalitarian leaders and why? • Hideki Tojo (Prime Minister) supported Hirohito (Emperor). • The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state. • The people of Japan looked to the Emperor as gold, they worshiped him.
Background information • Many people turned to the military, which began to take matters into its own hands. By 1932, military leaders had set up a military dictatorship in Japan. • Japan did not have a single strong leader. Instead, a small group of military leaders dominated the government. • The government arrested critics, imposed censorship, and employed a secret police force to hunt down and punish so-called enemies of the state. • the government was interested in gaining an overseas empire. The empire would give Japan much-needed raw materials such as coal and oil. • the Japanese military invaded Manchuria, a province in northeastern China
How did the dictators seize power in Japan? • Japan had no real “dictator” in that sense of the word • Emperor Hirohito was the emperor the entire time. • Hideki Tojo was prime minister but became leader through democratic process, he controlled the decisions for war. Emperor Hirohito Hideki Tojo
What reforms did the dictator bring about? • In July 1941 Tojo was appointed as minister of war. He advocated an aggressive foreign policy and strongly opposed plans to remove Japanese troops from China and Korea. • Tojo became prime minister on 16th October 1941. He initially backed the foreign office's efforts to reach agreement with the US. When convinced that a negotiated deal was possible, ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December, 1941. • As well as prime minister Tojo also held the posts of minister of war, home minister and foreign minister. From February 1944 he was also Commander in Chief of the General Staff.
Could this happen here? • No this could not happen in the US because the government is not controlled by one single person. • We do not have a leader or dictator, our government is built on a democracy.