Democracy and Empire
1. Which two parties emerged as the main political parties?
The Seiyūkai Party and Dōshikai / Kenseikai Party (reorganisation of the party.)
2. Summarise their ideological differences.
Seiyūkai Party:
Kenseikai Party:
3. Party government ascended during the ‘Taisho democracy’. What evidence is there of a more democratic representative style of government at this time? Aim to mention significant individuals as well as policies.
They all needed to work together to realise how to properly represent and help Japan. The three parties needed to unionise and reorganise how Japan was being run. Helped people believe that the Diet could actually make a change and not just be for show.
4. On the other hand, what evidence is there that an elite oligarchy continued to rule Japan? Mention significant individuals as well as policies enacted.
The Seiyūkai Party itself was a very selective group. The group was all elite people from the Zaibatsu to foreign ministers. Therefore, this conveys a superiority and a hierarchy in Japanese society. Also the usage of the Emperor for their political decisions conveys the strong hold they had on wanting to keep the Japanese citizens in the dark about the actual powerless-ness of their Emperor.
5. Look closely at the Structure of Parliamentary government in Gordon. Outline the reasons behind oligarchy, compromise politics and a seemingly weak democracy. Spend considerable time on this.
Background
The Privy Council
House of Peers
Oligarchy
Compromise Politics
Weak Democracy
Weak democracy was been seen here mainly through the different groups - The Privy Council, House of Peers and Oligarchy. These elite groups are all fairly self-centred and are only focused on keeping those in Japan with a higher status happy. They have no regard for the common people in Japan or the working class. This was not how a democratic country was ruled.
6. What is ultra-nationalism? Outline the reasons for its ascendance in Japan during this period.
7. Was Japan an imperialist nation at this time? What evidence supports this view? What evidence does not support this view? Mention China largely in this answer.
For
Against
8. How was Japan treated by the western powers in treaties and other formal agreements? Give examples. (Paris, London, Washington)
9. What was the Universal Manhood Suffrage Act?
The Meiji constitution only gave suffrage to men who had paid annual taxes for over fifteen years, this was 5% of the population. 1892 A movement for to expand suffrage formed and continued until into the first decades of the 20th century. 1925 The Diet passed the Universal Manhood Suffrage Law, voting was now legal for all men over the age of twenty-five.
10. What was the Peace preservation Law?
The Peace Preservation Law was passed to try to control Japanese society and stop the assassinations of important key people in Japan as well as assassination attempts. This law made it illegal for any organisation that wanted to change the kokutai (imperial system of government.) Also illegal to advocate change within ending private property systems.
11. Is there a contradiction in the passing of these two laws?
These two laws do pose some contradiction. With the Universal Manhood Suffrage Act, all men over the age of twenty-five now had the opportunity to vote despite their status of job. However, this new freedom is stripped away through the Peace Preservation Law where Japanese society is controlled to stop the people from acting out again political distress or even changing the slightest thing within the Government. The Peace Preservation Law suppresses the new freedom given to Japan within the voting system.
The Seiyūkai Party and Dōshikai / Kenseikai Party (reorganisation of the party.)
2. Summarise their ideological differences.
Seiyūkai Party:
- More conservative party
- Political decisions were made in the name of the Emperor
- All Cabinet members were either party members or were from the Army, Navy or were foreign ministers - Practice of selecting party leaders for the formation of Cabinets wasn't established
- Allied with the elite of Japan - Zaibatsu, bureaucrats
Kenseikai Party:
- Liberal party
- Alternative methods to debate social and political change
- Socialist reformist coalition, support of the smaller-scale employees and small-businesses
3. Party government ascended during the ‘Taisho democracy’. What evidence is there of a more democratic representative style of government at this time? Aim to mention significant individuals as well as policies.
- 1924 Seiyūkai and Kenseikai with another party joined together to form the Reform Club - Launched rallies to return to a 'normal constitution government'
- Threatened to refuse to work with the cabinet
- Diet election 1924 Reform Club won the majority of the seats
- June 1924 three-party alliance took charge of the Cabinet
- 1918 Diet politicians gained executive power in consultation with bureaucrats
They all needed to work together to realise how to properly represent and help Japan. The three parties needed to unionise and reorganise how Japan was being run. Helped people believe that the Diet could actually make a change and not just be for show.
4. On the other hand, what evidence is there that an elite oligarchy continued to rule Japan? Mention significant individuals as well as policies enacted.
The Seiyūkai Party itself was a very selective group. The group was all elite people from the Zaibatsu to foreign ministers. Therefore, this conveys a superiority and a hierarchy in Japanese society. Also the usage of the Emperor for their political decisions conveys the strong hold they had on wanting to keep the Japanese citizens in the dark about the actual powerless-ness of their Emperor.
5. Look closely at the Structure of Parliamentary government in Gordon. Outline the reasons behind oligarchy, compromise politics and a seemingly weak democracy. Spend considerable time on this.
Background
- The government was a compromise for the party leaders as well as the elite of Japan
- With an emphasis and importance on the Emperor and his successors
- Emperor Hirohito's reign - Shōwa (shining peace)
- Monitored the education the citizens of Japan received as well as making sure his rule revolved around an imperially centred constitution
- Followed British practices - Monarchy had a role to indicate and view ministers
- The Meiji constitution, didn't give the military or bureaucracy any power towards the parliament
- Military leaders could act independently to the prime minister
- Bureaucrats were kept away from the parliament
- Laws stated that budgets were designed and ratified by the Diet - Didn't owe their jobs to the parliament, served as appointees to the Emperor
The Privy Council
- Body of fourteen members
- 1889 Established by Imperial order as that would approve the Meiji constitution
- Met secretly, usually with the Emperor - Advised the Emperor on laws, analysing the budget or ratifying international treaties
- Had conservative members appointed by the Emperor such as, Itō Hirobumi, Kuroda Kiyotaka and Yamagata Aritomo
- 1920s Group struggled with the decisions of the Cabinets
House of Peers
- Bastion of Emperor-centred politics
- Membership was hereditary or received from Imperial appointment
- Peers were anxious to obstruct the initiatives of party politics
Oligarchy
- Oligarchs or elder statesmen
- Ensured the party leaders didn't contradict the ideas of elites not in parties
- Advised the Emperor and in a way selected the Prime Minister of Japan
- 1918 only to oligarchs left - Yamagata Aritomo and Matsukata Masayoshi
- Added new members to the group - Saionji Kimmochi and Makino Nobuaki
Compromise Politics
- 'Government by assassination' - American journalist
- Prime Minister Hara Kei was assassinated - Failed attempt to kill Hirohito when he was Prince Regent
- Assassin acted out of frustration towards political scandals involving Hara's party - Hara's party only sought after the well-being of his party not Japan
- 1920s University groups began to form labour unions
- 1920 May Day celebration - Red flags and banners to show the liberation of the working class, speakers' demanded pay rises, better working conditions and even quoted Lenin
- Feminist ideology spread through Japan
- Japanese women were described as 'caged birds' or 'fragile flowers'
- 'Women-centred feminism' - Led by Hiratsuka Raichō and Takamure Itsue - Continued the arguments of earlier female advocates and called for women to have special protection because of their special roles as mothers'
- Takamure called for local institutions to provide community care for mothers, formed an institution of marriage as disastrous for women
- Other feminists - Yosano Akiko - Called for women's liberation stating that they are also human beings in this world
- Yamakawa Kikue furthered this on by stating the feminism was linked with socialism - 'Revolution in the economic system that brought about women's problems'
- 1925 Universal male suffrage for all men over twenty-five who weren't on public assistance could now vote
Weak Democracy
Weak democracy was been seen here mainly through the different groups - The Privy Council, House of Peers and Oligarchy. These elite groups are all fairly self-centred and are only focused on keeping those in Japan with a higher status happy. They have no regard for the common people in Japan or the working class. This was not how a democratic country was ruled.
6. What is ultra-nationalism? Outline the reasons for its ascendance in Japan during this period.
- Ultra-Nationalism - Superiority (racial, ethnicity, entitlement), getting rid of the rule of other countries, so superior that we are the imperial power
- Sense of wanting to emulate the Western world
- Took over Japan in the 1930s - early 1940s
- Elite backgrounds - Zaibatsu, economic improvement
7. Was Japan an imperialist nation at this time? What evidence supports this view? What evidence does not support this view? Mention China largely in this answer.
For
- Prospect of emulating the West and becoming the big power within Asia
- Competition to have the greatest empire in Asia and beat China
- Having an Emperor - Form of monarchy (dictatorship / authoritarianism)
- Japan stretched its territory into China - Manchurian incident - Trying to expand the Japanese empire
- Impact of the Japanese Army - Convinced that taking over Korea and other countries within Asia was the only way to be secure
Against
- Japan had a Diet which helped to construct laws passed
- Japan was slowly adopting more democratic ideology from the West and implementing it within Japanese lifestyle
8. How was Japan treated by the western powers in treaties and other formal agreements? Give examples. (Paris, London, Washington)
- Japan wanted to be seen as equal with the Western powers
- 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance - Japan quickly joined the British side in the war against Germany
- Japan was in a way still being bossed around by the West - Japanese 21 demands, British and Americans disagreed with the radical demands and Japan had to remove some of its original demands for China
- Ishii-Lansing Agreement - Japan had to accept China's independence and not interfere with the US when it came to accessing China
- Woodrow Wilson didn't like the radicalness of the Japanese demands during the post-WWI peace negotiations - Angered Japan and helped them realise the hypocrisy of Western governments
- March 1918 the British, French and US sent troops to Siberia to protect allied war supplies in pro-Tsar areas, asked Japan to come and help but the Japanese Prime Minister (Terauchi) didn't really want to oblige - Japan promised to send 12,000 men but in reality sent around 70,000 over time
- 1922 Japanese troops were still in Siberia despite the other parties deciding that the anti-Bolshevik plot had failed
9. What was the Universal Manhood Suffrage Act?
The Meiji constitution only gave suffrage to men who had paid annual taxes for over fifteen years, this was 5% of the population. 1892 A movement for to expand suffrage formed and continued until into the first decades of the 20th century. 1925 The Diet passed the Universal Manhood Suffrage Law, voting was now legal for all men over the age of twenty-five.
10. What was the Peace preservation Law?
The Peace Preservation Law was passed to try to control Japanese society and stop the assassinations of important key people in Japan as well as assassination attempts. This law made it illegal for any organisation that wanted to change the kokutai (imperial system of government.) Also illegal to advocate change within ending private property systems.
11. Is there a contradiction in the passing of these two laws?
These two laws do pose some contradiction. With the Universal Manhood Suffrage Act, all men over the age of twenty-five now had the opportunity to vote despite their status of job. However, this new freedom is stripped away through the Peace Preservation Law where Japanese society is controlled to stop the people from acting out again political distress or even changing the slightest thing within the Government. The Peace Preservation Law suppresses the new freedom given to Japan within the voting system.