Imperialism and Chaos 1912-1931 Flashcards

Question

Korean Independence Movement

Answer 1

Very varied group: - Activities in Korea itself: contrast between leftists and moderate nationalists - Christian groups inside and outside Korea - Korean students in Japan (often communist) - Provisional Government in Shanghai: centrist and center-right, some progressive - Koreans in Manchuria/Russia: largely became part of Chinese communist groups

Answer 2

Seth: "The early 1920s saw a division among Korean nationalists that would profoundly shape Korean history: between the moderate, Western-looking cultural nationalists, and the more radical nationalists who tended to look toward the Soviet Union and Communist movements abroad for inspiration."

Answer 3

- Government in exile in Shanghai; though in reality just one of many independence groups - Advocates for Republic with presidential system and separation of powers - Not recognised internationally at first - But, some cooperation with KMT and later Nationalist government - Important figures: Syngman Rhee, Kim Gu - Government moves to Chongqing in WWII - Current ROK government sees this as start of modern Korean state

Answer 4

- Reign era of Teisha Emperor - "Taisho Democracy": Generational change from Genro "oligarchs" to parliamentary democratic system with politicians and political parties - Bitter rivalry between left and right - Period of progressive changes as well as reactionary oppression: -- 1918: first party cabinet -- 1925: universal male suffrage -- 1925: strict right-wing law to oppress disagreement -- Rise of the labour movement -- Rise of the zaibatsu

Answer 5

- Holding company with a banking subsidiary; with further industrial subsidiaries focused on different sectors - Big Four: Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Yasuda - Controlled by specific families - Existed from late 19th century but ubiquitous after WWI - Today: keiretsu

Answer 6

- Increasingly unpopular during 1910s and 1920s among left and right - Monopolistic control of major industries - Currency speculation - Efforts to keep down wages - In 1930s they try to clean up their image - 1930s Expansion into Machuria leads to new Zaibatsu not family owned

Answer 7

Mitsui: - Rikken Seiyukai political party (militarist, advocates expansion into Manchuria) - Imperial Japanese army Mitsubishi: - Rikken Minseito political party (more liberal, with conciliatory foreign policy) - Imperial Japanese navy

Answer 8

- WW1 brought a huge export-led boom to Japan - Growth of heavy industry: zaibatsu - Tremendous social changes: formation of industrial working class - 1918 sudden peak of economic breakdowns: inflation, stagnant wages, doubling of price of rice - 1918 Rice Riots --> Major uprising in cities and countryside throughout the summer - This economic bubble burst in 1920: recession

Answer 9

- Throughout 1910s various small labour unions arose: large strikes increasingly common - 1921: Japan Federation of Labour (membership: 100.000) - Influential in achieving universal male suffrage in 1925 and founding of Social Democratic Party - But "cooperative" stance leads to left-wing unions breaking away in 1925 - 1922: Japanese Communist Party formed; outlawed and forced underground in 1925 - All this makes conservative elites very uncomfortable

Answer 10

- Liberals and conservatives disagree: fierce struggle throughout 1920s - Liberal government: 1922 agreement with Western nations to reduce size of their navies and Japan agrees to halt expansionism into China - As a result, military spending and budget is dramatically reduced - Japanese conservatives, especially military officials, are outraged by appeasement of Western countries - Military officials criticize government corruption, especially politician-zaibatsu connections. Begin to advocate return to traditional Japanese values. - Debate: expansion into Manchuria?

Answer 11

- Aggressive tactics to eliminate opposition: censorship, arrests, assaults, and assassination - Many liberal politicians assassinated throughout 1920s - Laws suppressing leftist politics and dissent - Stimulated by genuine fear of communism and labour unrest - Pan-Asianism: critique of racial global order that discriminated Asians - All this will increase after 1930s - But, liberals try to articulate alternative politics until 1931

Answer 12

- 142.000 dead - Devastated Tokyo, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Shizuoka Kanto Massacre: - Three weeks of assaults on Koreans (as well as some Chinese, Ryukyuans, and Japanese socialists) condoned by the authorities: 6000 dead - Source of rumours was Interior Ministry: "Koreans are planning terrorism and robbery by arson and bombs"

Answer 13

- Reinforced and tightened similar laws of the early 20th century - Specifically designed to suppress leftist activism - Deliberately vague: anyone belonging to an organisation that wants to alter the "system of private property" can be imprisoned - Leads to massive crackdown on communists from 1928 - "Thought Police" established all over the country to target "Thought Criminals" - Passed before General Election Law for universal male suffrage: so less liberty, but more voting

Answer 14

- Economic downturn 1929 creates massive unrest around Japan - Call for radical solutions grows - Military officials and ultranationalists increase criticism of civilian government - Main criticism: halting of imperialist expansionism and appeasement of west - Militarists call for revival expansionary policy -- to gain raw materials for economy -- land for expanding population - Continued assassinations of liberal politicians

Answer 15

- Japan already very powerful in Manchuria since 1905 - Now militarists want full control - But liberal civilian leadership objects - Militarists stage "Mukden Incident" in Manchuria as pretext to justify Japanese invasion - Without approval from civilian government - Public opinion sides with militarists and days of moderate government are numbered - 15 May 1932: Moderate Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated. Now militarists in charge.