The victory of the USA, Britain and France in WWI was regarded as the victory of democracy. Japan then turned into the path of democratic development and entered a short period of party politics in the period 1918-32. Lacking foundation in democracy, Japan’s political parties gained votes through cheating and corruption in elections instead of educating the public about democracy. After obtaining power, they continued to devote themselves on political struggle which led to frequent changes of prime ministers. The political parties in power failed to seize the opportunity to strengthen their position. They did not make any laws that gave them the right to appoint crucial positions, such as the Minister of Army and Navy as well as the Foreign Minister. Therefore, the military remained out of their control. At the end of the 1920s, the party government was severely criticized by the military which believed that the party politicians only worked for self-interests and thus destroyed national harmony. Moreover, the government failed to implement any socio-economic reforms to improve the living condition of the Japanese, therefore the people turned their support to the military which called for patriotism and overseas expansion.
- The Japanese especially the rich merchants supported the military because of internal economic needs
Japan was a small country with limited agricultural land and lacked natural resources. Thus, she relied heavily on the import of food and natural resources for her population and the development of her economy. When the US and European countries practiced economic protectionism in the 1930s, Japan’s exports dropped by half. She thus lacked capital to purchase her necessities from abroad. Under these circumstances, there was a growing demand among the militarists for foreign expansion. They hoped that Japan could establish an economic zone in Asia under her domination, so that a stable supply of natural resources and large export markets could be obtained for her industrial development. Businessmen of big financial groups supported the militarists to control the government in order to protect their own interests.
- The spread of extreme nationalism
Some extreme nationalists promoted a narrow sense of nationalism which encouraged the rise of militarism. Kita Ikki wrote a book “An Outline Plan for the Reconstruction of Japan” in 1919. The book proposed to overthrow party politics, to establish a military dictatorship under imperial rule, and to adopt an expansionist policy to regain Japan’s glory. Tanaka Giichi, the Prime ministers, submitted to the Emperor a proposal for invading China in1927.
EXTERNAL
- Many Japanese supported because they searched for glory and prestige
After WWI, Japan’s party government adopted a peaceful policy in 1920s which was regarded as a symbol of weakness. For instance, in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the western powers rejected the Japanese demand of putting a clause of ‘racial equality’ into the constitution of the League of Nations. In the Washington Conference of 1921-22, Japan was forced to return to China her rights in Shandong. The Conference also limited the tonnage of warships of the participating countries. The development of the Japanese navy was thus checked. The Japanese people thought the Western countries had discriminated against their country and wanted a strong government to gain equality with Western countries. The idea of the militarists to overthrow the democratic government therefore appeal to them.
- The military was affected by the success of totalitarian governments in solving their economic problems
The Great Depression that began in the US in1929 brought severe damage to countries all over the world. The democratic countries like the US, Britain and France faced great difficulties in dealing with the economic depression. Japan began to lose confidence in democracy. Meanwhile, Italy and Germany practiced totalitarianism and became more successful in solving their economic problems. Therefore, Japanese militarists in the 1930s deeply believed that democracy could never make Japan powerful. Militarism was the only way to solve her domestic problems