page_title: Taiwan under Japanese rule
section_title: Dōka: "Integration" (1915–1937)
hierarchical_section_title: Taiwan under Japanese rule / History / Dōka: "Integration" (1915–1937)
caption_attribution_description: English: Xie Jieshi日本語: 謝介石中文: 謝介石
context_page_description: Japanese Taiwan was the period of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands under Japanese rule between 1895 and 1945.
  Taiwan became a dependency of Japan in 1895 when the Qing dynasty of China ceded Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The short-lived Republic of Formosa resistance movement was suppressed by Japanese troops and quickly defeated in the Capitulation of Tainan, ending organized resistance to Japanese occupation and inaugurated five decades of Japanese rule. Taiwan was Japan's first overseas colony and can be viewed as the first steps in implementing their "Southern Expansion Doctrine" of the late 19th century. Japanese intentions were to turn Taiwan into a showpiece "model colony" with much effort made to improve the island's economy, public works, industry, cultural Japanization, and to support the necessities of Japanese military aggression in the Asia-Pacific.
  Japanese administrative rule of Taiwan ended after the end of hostilities with Japan in August 1945 during the World War II period, and the territory was placed under the control of the Republic of China with the issuing of General Order No. 1.
context_section_description: The second period of Japanese rule is generally classified as being between the end of the 1915 Tapani Incident, and the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, which began Japan's involvement in what would become World War II. World events during this period, such as World War I, would drastically alter the perception of colonialism in the Western world, and give rise to growing waves of nationalism amongst colonial natives, as well as the ideas of self determination. As a result, colonial governments throughout the world began to make greater concessions to natives, and colonial governance was gradually liberalized. Taiwan-born Xie Jishi became a first Foreign Minister of Manchukuo.
  The political climate in Japan was also undergoing changes during this time. In the mid-1910s the Japanese government had gradually democratized in what is known as the Taishō period (1912–26), where power was concentrated in the elected lower house of the Imperial Diet, whose electorate was expanded to include all adult males by 1925. In 1919, Den Kenjirō was appointed to be the first civilian Governor-General of Taiwan. Prior to his departure for Taiwan, he conferred with Prime Minister Hara Takashi, where both men agreed to pursue a policy of assimilation (同化, dōka), where Taiwan would be viewed as an extension of the Home Islands, and the Taiwanese would be educated to understand their role and responsibilities as Japanese subjects. The new policy was formally announced in October 1919.
  This policy was continued by the colonial government for the next 20 years. In the process, local governance was instituted, as well as an elected advisory committee which included locals (though strictly in an advisory capacity), and the establishment of a public school system. Caning was forbidden as a criminal punishment, and the use of the Japanese language was rewarded. This contrasted sharply with the mostly hands-off approach taken by previous administrations towards local affairs, where the only government concerns were "railways, vaccinations, and running water".
caption: Xie Jishi, Manchukuo Foreign Minister
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