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history c3 > explain why the military rose to power > Flashcards

explain why the military rose to power Flashcards

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1
Q

key reasons

A
  1. high respect towards the military
  2. political changes in Meji Japan
  3. economic challenges
  4. discontent of the military
  5. growing opposition to the civilian government
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2
Q

high respect for the military

A
  1. the Bushido spirit
  2. the education system
  3. Japan and the world in 1868-1912
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3
Q

the Bushido spirit

A
  • Bushido was originally a moral code for the warriors/Samurai
  • gained popularity in the Meji period through books and popular culture
  • Meji governement made use of it to be Japan’s “new” ideology
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4
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • militarist values like loyalty and honour becomes an important part of Japanese pride and identity (FEELINGS)
  • led to significant respect towards the military as modern day warriors/Samurai (OUTCOME)
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5
Q

link

A

thus, the adoption of Bushido created favourable conditions for the militarists rise to power

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6
Q

the education system

A
  • education, along with mass media encouraged nationlism (loyalty and devotion to one’s nation with the desire to promote its interest over other nations)
  • reinforced loyalty to Emperor, state, family and community
  • education also praised the military and military drills were a part of curriculum
  • military’s importance as protectors of Japan especially against Western Colonial powers were emphasised
  • military successes such as the Russo-Japanese war were also celebrated and emphasised
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7
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • led to the military being highly respected (FEELINGS)
  • had significant influence in Japanese society (OUTCOME)
  • laid the ground for the rise of militarism in Japan (OUTCOME)
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8
Q

link

A

thus, nationalist focus for education created favourable conditions for the militarists rise to power

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9
Q

Japan and the world in 1868-1912

A
  • Japan wanted to model itself after the British and become an empire and control lands with natural resources to continue growing its economy
  • Japan went to war with China over Korea (1894-1895) and won a stunning victory
  • war broke out between Japan and Russia (1904-1905), resulting in another stunning victory for Japan
  • it was the first time an Asian power has defeated a major European power in war
  • Japan has confirmed its status as a major power in the region
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10
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • led to the military being highly respected (FEELINGS)
  • had significant influence in Japanese society (OUTCOME)
  • laid the ground for the rise of militarism in Japan (OUTCOME)
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11
Q

link

A

thus, the key victories by the military created favourable conditions for the militarists to rise to power

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12
Q

political changes in Meji Japan

A
  1. structural problems
  2. ineffective civilian government
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13
Q

structural problems

A
  • Japan became a Constitutional Monarchy
  • in theory, the emperor must share power with his governement made of the Genro, Diet (parliament of civilian politicians), and the military
  • Meji government continued to encourage loyalty to the Divine Emperor and the government had very limited power
  • Emperor Yoshihito was sickly and too weak to exercise his authority over the politcians and military like how Emperor Meji did
  • many of the Genro who advised the emperor also retired due to old age
  • military also had their own ideas and began to act on their own
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14
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • absence of a unifying figure in the emperor led to the government now divided between court officials, civilian politcians of the Diet and the military (OUTCOME)
  • sets the background for the rise of militarism increasingly diregarding the emperor and running its own agenda during a period of weak civilian government (OUTCOME)
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15
Q

link

A

thus, structural problems of the government resulted in creating favourable conditions for the military to rise to power

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16
Q

ineffective civilian government

A
  • the civilian politicians in the Cabinet and Diet were also divided due to the emergence of party politics
  • political parties fought against each other for power and influence in the government eg. Seiyukai and Minseito parties who were elected into the Diet often clashed in the Diet
  • party politics made it difficult for the Prime Minister to gain support of the majority to pass laws — when one party supports, the other will reject, often due to being in opposing parties
  • military also resented the emperor appointed PMs and their cabinets for cutting the military budgets
  • military began to act on its own
  • PMs and Cabinets and even the Emperor himself had little control over them
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17
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • PMs and their Cabinets did not last long in this era
  • PM could not do anything about the Ministers of Army and Navy as they are not appointed by him
  • this weakened the government, causing fragementation and disunity, resulting in slow decison-making and ineffective problem-solving, ultimately impacting people’s lives (OUTCOME)
  • the Japanese lost confidence in the government, leading to increased support for the military
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18
Q

link

A

thus, lack of mass support and lack of control over the military led to the military’s eventual rise to power

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19
Q

economic challenges

A
  1. high inflation and unemployment in 1920s
  2. Showa Banking Crisis and Great Depression
  3. challenges in the countryside
20
Q

inflation and unemployment + challenges in the countryside

A
  • Japan’s economy grew tremendously in the early 1900s, but it also swung from periods of economic boom and periods of economic recession
  • in the early 1920s, Japan’s economy faced problems like inflation and high unemployment as the decline in demand for Japanese goods forced companies to dismiss thousands of workers
  • at the same time, those living in the countryside did not enjoy the same rise in standards of living
  • farming technology such as better tools and farming are not spread quickly enough to the countryside and led to stagnation of farming productivity
21
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • economic problems in early 1920s resulted in growing resentment among the Japenese against the civilian government who seemed incapable of resolving the economic issues (FEELINGS + OUTCOME)
22
Q

link

A

thus, economic issues resulted in creating favourable conditions for the military to rise to power

23
Q

Showa Banking Crisis

A
  • in the 1920s, Japan had many banks, but many of them were small banks
  • they focused on small number of borrowers who tend to be from the same few industries
  • these small banks were vulnerable as if the industries they lent to were not doing well, they would have difficulty getting their money back
  • Japanese banks continued to issue loans, especially in 1923 where they issued loans to companies that were not stable
  • this was done during a period where the Japanese economy was not doing well
  • by 1927, banks did not have enough money due to these bad debts
  • led to the Showa financial crisis as people rushed to withdraw their savings and more than 20 banks collapsed, losing all the savings of those who saved with these banks
24
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • these events resulted in greater public resentment towards the civilian government
  • it also led to growing distrust in the government who believed that the civilian government cared only about the elites like the banks and Zaibatsus (FEELINGS + OUTCOME)
25
Q

link

A

thus, the events resulted in creating favourable conditions for the military to rise to power

26
Q

Great Depression

A
  • the Great Depression in the USA in 1929 affected Japan negatively in terms of trade
  • demand for Japanese goods fell tremendously and it led to a worsening of the Japanese economy
27
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • the events resulted in greater public resentment towards the civilian government
  • it also led to growing distrust in the government who believed that the civilian government cared only about the elites like banks and Zaibatsus (FEELINGS + OUTCOME)
28
Q

link

A

thus, the events resulted in creating favourable conditions for the military to rise to power

29
Q

discontent with the military

A
  1. tensions between Civilian government and military
  2. actions by the military
30
Q

tensions between civilian government and military

A
  • throughout the 1920s (late Taisho-early Showa), the military was beginning to believe that the civilian politcians and Zaibatsu were corrupt and self-seeking (served themselves and not Japan as a whole)
  • many young Japanese officers were from the poorer rural farming communities and the new urban middle classes, which was worst hit by the economic problems
  • they believed the civilian government no longer respected the military due to the cuts in military budgets and favoured Zaibatsu instead
  • further actions by the civilian government such as signing of the London and Washington Naval agreements that limited the number of Japanese Navy ships compared to western powers (5:5:3) made the military feel the government let them down
  • the Japanese navy presented this to the Japanese public as a betrayal by the civilian government
31
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A

as a result, the Japanese people’s trust in the democratic government was lost and more people supported the military and their calls for reforms (FEELINGS + OUTCOME)

32
Q

link

A

thus, tensions between the civilian government and the military created favourable conditions for the military to rise to power

33
Q

challenges in the countryside

A
  • industrial growth resulted in increased standard of living for most Japanese living in the cities
  • they had greater access to cheaper and better goods, and improved services and infrastructure
  • those living in the countryside did not enjoy the same rise in standards of living
  • there was insufficient land for farmers due to large population growth
  • farming technology such as better tools and farming techniques were not spread quickly enough to the countryside which led to stagnation of farming productivity
  • many Japanese farmers were tenant farmers who rented land from landowners and paid their rent by a portion of their harvests
  • thus many farmers were left with little to eat
34
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • as a result, there were tensions in the Japanese, especially between the city and the rural folk
  • the government’s continued support of the wealthy Zaibatsu resulted in wealth concentrating on the big businesses while workers and peasants continued to live in poverty
  • this led to growing unhappiness towards the wealthy and the government
  • as a result, many Japanese supported the military who opposed the internationalist policies of the government (FEELINGS + OUTCOME)
35
Q

link

A

thus, the actions by the military created favourable conditions for the military to rise to power

36
Q

actions by the military

A
  1. assassination of Zhang Zhuolin in 1928
  2. Mukden Incident in 1938
37
Q

assassination of Zhang Zhuolin (1928)

A
  • Manchuria is rich in resources (iron and coal) and seen as a solution to Japan’s lack of natural materials
  • Japan created the Kwantung Army to protect Japanese assets in Manchuria
  • one Manchurian warlord - Zhang Zhuolin developed friendly relations with Japan but seemed unable to defend Japanese interests
  • the Kwantung army assassinated Zhang in an attempt to replace him with a more cooperative warlord
  • Japanese wanted to blame it on the rivalries among the Chinese warlords and force the Japanese government to allow the Kwantung Army to take over Manchuria
  • however, the emperor criticised the Kwantung Army’s action’s instead
  • PM was unable to punish those who were responsible for the assassination and showed the government’s weakness
  • the emperor criticised the Kwantung Army’s actions but was unable to do anything more
38
Q

Mukden Incident (1931)

A
  • Kwantung Army invaded China ater the Mukden Incident in September 1931 and controlled most of Manchuria and set it up as a puppet state with teh name Manchukua by March 1932
  • civilian government clearly had weak control oover the military and had little say over the foreign policy of Japan
  • Japanese public celebrated the invasion of Manchuria and saw it as a viable solution to the economic challenges faced by Japan
39
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • this weakness shown by the government and the emperor furhter emboldened the radical elements in military and they became more ambitious (FEELINGS)
  • military won the support of the Japanese people as they were seen as the ones who are actively trying to solve Japan’s problems (OUTCOME)
40
Q

link

A

thus, resentment of the peasants in the countryside led to the military’s eventual rise to power

41
Q

growing opposition to the civilian government

A
  1. rise of ultra-nationalist militarists
  2. May 15th incident
42
Q

assassinations by ultranationlistic factions

A
  • Japan saw the rise/growth of ultranationlistic military officers who were against civilian political leaders and the Zaibatsu
  • eg. Showa Restoration Faction Sakurakai (Cherry Blosson Society), Kodoha (Imperial Way Faction), and Ketsumeidan (League of Blood)
  • they carried out a series of political assassinations such as Former finance minister killed by League of Bloo din February 1932 and head of Mitsui Corporation (Zaibatsu) in March 1932
43
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • these ultranationalistic factions inimidated civilian opposition to drop their opposition against the military, giving the military greater control over the government (FEELINGS)
  • it also created a sense of instablity and gave the military an excuse to “restore order” (OUTCOME)
44
Q

link

A

thus, rise of ultranationalists pushed the military into taking action to achieve political control

45
Q

May 15th incident (1932)

A
  • PM Inukai was assassinated by League of Blood for criticising the army’s actions in Manchuria
  • Attackers also attacked Mitsubishi bank (Zaibatsu), Seiyukai (political party) HQ and several government officials
  • League of Blood hoped the Japanese people would support them in their coup attempt
  • people did not support them, and the League of Blood activists were arrested
  • military did not condemn the coup attempt, but issued a statement to excuse the actions of the officers and demanded political reforms
46
Q

explanation (feelings + outcome)

A
  • as a result of the incident, the emperor took the side of military and prevented the Seiyukai, the majority party in the Diet, from forming the cabinet, and appointed a navy admiral as the new PM
  • Japan has officially come under the rule of the Militarists (OUTCOME)
47
Q

link

A

thus, the May 15th incident was the trigger that led to the militarists taking over Japan

history c3 (2 decks)

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