Empire of Japan

The **Empire of Japan** (Japanese: *大日本帝國*, Dai-Nippon Teikoku), commonly known simply as **Japan**, is a country located in East Asia. The Empire of Japan includes its Home Islands, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido, and other small islands such as Okinawa. Empire of Japan also has colonies of Taiwan and Korea, as well as treaty ports of Port Arthur (Japanese: Ryojun) and Qingdao of China. The Empire of Japan became the first Asian nation to modernize in 1868, and was later recognized as the first modern great power in Asia through the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. The Empire of Japan is now allied with the United Kingdom and the United States and remains hostile to the Soviet Union in the north.

## History

### The Meiji Period

In 1868, Tokugawa Shogunate, who ruled Japan for about 250 years, was destroyed by the new government forces advocating the restoration of the monarchy. Edo, the capital of Shogunate, fell and was renamed Tokyo, and soon declared the capital of the new government. These sweeping reforms carried out by the new government, which will later be called Meiji Restoration, were aimed at removing the remaining feudal remnants of Japan and transforming Japan into a fully westernized state. In 1871, the Abolition of the Han System was declared and the Iwakura Mission was conducted the same year.

Emperor Meiji has spurred state-led modernization and industrialization. In 1870, Shinto was declared the state religion of Japan and an attempt was made to deify the Emperor under the authority of religion. In 1872, Western-style education was legislated, and in 1882, Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors were distributed, declaring the Japanese army an army of Emperor. The Imperial Description on Education, which was issued in 1890, later became the basis for Japanese education. The attempt to turn Japan into a emperor-centered nation has been very successful.

However, not everything was simple. In 1874, the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, which calls for the establishment of the Constitution and democratization of the nation, took place all over Japan, and in 1877, Saigo Takamori, one of the leading members of the Meiji Restoration, revolted in Kyushu. But with the government's victory in the war, named Seinan War, those who impeded the reform of the Emperor Meiji were eliminated, and in 1881, he declared freedom to open parliament, preventing the radicalization of Freedom and People's Rights Movement. And finally, in 1889, Meiji Constitution, which recognizes the power of the Emperor as law, was proclaimed.

In Meiji Period, the Empire of Japan also had an aggressive expansion policy. Japan, which imposed an unequal treaty on Joseon with the Ganghwa Island Incident in 1875 and Japan-Korea Treasure of Amity in 1876, soon annexed Kingdom of Ryukyu(now Okinawa) in 1879. After 15 years of struggle for influence with the Qing Dynasty over Joseon Dynasty, Japan attacked the Qing Dynasty in 1894 and signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki the following year, ending the war as Japanese victory. The war made Taiwan Japanese territory and prompted Britain to sign an alliance with Japan in 1902 to keep Russia in check.

In 1904, Japan attacked Russia under British support and defeated Russian troops in Battle of Tsushima and Battle of Port Arthur, signing the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905 under American mediation. With the treaty, Port Arthur, the former Russian treaty port, became Japanese territory and soon after Japan forced Korean Empire to sign the Treaty of Eulsa, which took away Korea's diplomatic rights. After disbanding Korean army in 1907, Japan completely annexed Korea in 1910 and became a powerful imperialist power. Then, in 1912, Emperor Meiji died and his son, Yoshihito, ascended to the throne of the Emperor of Japan as Emperor Taisho.

### Early Taisho Period

Emperor Meiji's reign was successful in many ways, but it also left a dark shadow for Japan. Since the appointment of Ito Hirobumi, a native of Choshu Domain, as Japan's first prime minister in 1885, only figures from Satuma and Choshu Domain which led the Meiji Restoration have been appointed, and several political parties, including Rikken Seiyukai, have been formed but have exercised very low levels of influence. Complaints of this situation began to flare up even before the death of Emperor Meiji, and expectations for democratization were growing as Okuma Shigenobu, once a leader of Freedom and People's Rights Movement, became the first party politician to be appointed prime minister.

In this situation, in China, in 1911 Xinhai Revolution broke out. The army had dreamed of intervening in the revolution and expanding its power in the Chinese continent, but when the cabinet led by Saionji Kinmochi rejected it, the army deliberately attempted to topple the government. Later, when the Saionji Cabinet collapsed, the pro-military government took office, and however the people and democrats protested greatly. In 1912, the Constituontial Protection Movement won nationwide support and the collapse of the pro-military government raised hopes for democracy. But as the new cabinet also resigned over a corruption scandal, consensus began to build on the need for fundamental reform of the political system.

Then, in 1914, The Great War broke out. This has led to a more active liberal and democratic movement within Japan, which has helped liberal countries of United Kingdom and France, and fought against the German Empire honoring the Anglo-Japanese alliance. But the Second Okuma Cabinet, which was expected to introduce liberalism in Japan, rather forced China to adopt imperialistic Twenty-One Demands. Terauchi Masatake, who succeeded Okuma as prime minister in 1916, declared that he would help the White Army intervene in the Russian civil war at the following year when the Russian Revolution broke out, and in 1918, 70,000 troops were decided to advance to Siberia.

The people were vehemently opposed to the decision, and in 1918, the prices of food and daily necessities skyrocketed due to large-scale military activities. Terauchi Cabinet came under nationwide criticism for shutting down newspapers and suppressing demonstrations with the military, which eventually led to Terachi resigning shortly after. The political situation was chaotic, and to overcome this situation, Hara Takashi became the second party politician to be appointed as prime minister of Japan.

### Abolision of Hanbatsu Politics and Implementation of Party Politics

Hara Takashi, an authoritarian democrat and the leader of Rikken Seiyukai, knew that Japan could not weather a new crisis in an outdated way. Since he wasn't a nobleman, he gained huge popularity among the people as a 'Commoner Prime Minister', but he also maintained a good relationship with aristocratic politicians, including Yamagata Aritomo. He was afraid of democracy and was wary of the rapid spread of liberalism in Japan. Instead, he tried to get rid of the people's desire for democracy to elsewhere. First, prices were stabilized, and the rebuilding of infrastructure, including railways and roads, began. This was the same as what Rikken Seiyukai had argued before, and citizens were enthusiastic about the Hara Cabinet. It was the moment when Hanbatsu Politics (or Meiji Oligarchic Politics), which had dominated Japan for 50 years, changed to Party Politics.

Meanwhile, the global situation surrounding Japan was rapidly changing. In 1919, a civil war broke out in Germany against the communists, and in China the same year, the 5.4 movement against the Twenty-One Demands forced by Japan was occured. Hara Cabinet was originally intended to withdraw completely from Siberia, but at the request of United Kingdom and the United States to prevent the expansion of communism in the Far East, the army pressed on until the Nikolaveysk incident, in which many Japanese civilians brought to the region were massacred by the Red Army due to a mistaken command. As a result of this national outrage, Japan faced pressure from different groups both to end the campaign and to exact revenge. In a stroke of luck for the Japanese government, the USSR, desperate to free up troops for the rising conflicts in Europe and to push the horrific mishap under the rug, quickly advanced peace settlements to Japan, offering the territory the incident occurred in in return for a cesation of hostilities and withdrawal from the rest of Siberia, especially Vladivostok, which Soviet diplomats were ordered to assure the return of by any means necessary, and therefore carefully reminded Japanese emissaries that the city would be taken by force if not given over peacefully. The settlement was begrudgingly agreed to, neither outraging nor completely satisfying either of the groups calling for withdrawal or revenge. The expansion of communism in Central Europe soon made it easier to improve relations with Western countries pursued by Hara Cabinet, and in 1921, the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was decided upon.

In 1920, the 14th general election, held under an expanded vote to right, ended with a sweeping victory by Seiyukai against the anti-Seiyukai alliance formed by Kenseikai and Rikken Kokuminto. Shortly after his election victory, Hara passed the Peace Preservation Law, which suppresses the communist and leftist movements and increases police force, citing the German civil war that is expected to end in a victory for the Communists. The law ironically contributed to saving Hara's own life, as her assassination attempt in 1921 failed thanks to the police force augmented by the law. Hara took power for three more years after the assassination attempt, and Seiyukai's ruling system was further strengthened.

### Seiyukai Domination Era

Seiyukai, who again won a resounding victory over Kenseikai and Kakushin Club in the 15th general elections on February 20, 1924, formed a new cabinet, and with Hara Takashi's announcement of retirement, Takahashi Korekiyo, who served as Treasure Minister in the previous cabinet, became the new prime minister. Takahashi, who had made a name for himself as an economic expert of Seiyukai, maintained the aggressive economic stimulus policy that Hara pursued and the people enthusiastically supported him. It was the culmination of the Seiyukai Domination, which has been running since Hara Cabinet.

But after Hara's retirement, opponents within Seiyukai, which had been regulated by Hara's outstanding political power, gradually began to emerge. To appease them, Takahashi embraced reforms that had not been carried out in Hara Cabinet, and the most important of which was the Yamanashi Reform. This sweeping army reform, made with the consent of Army Minster Yamanashi Hanjo, was warmly welcomed by the reformist factions within Seiyukai, who had hoped for the renovation of the corrupted army. But the decision began the division between Seiyukai and the Army, which eventually led to Takahashi's resignation due to continued friction between the military and the cabinet.

After Takahashi's resignation, Uchida Kosai, who was serving as foreign minister, became prime minister. Uchida tried to mediate the conflict between the military and Seiyukai using his outstanding negotiating power, which was quite successful. Still, Uchida failed to prevent some reformist factions within the party from escaping from the party, which soon led to the creation of Seiyu Honto. Uchida's reign, which was also socially peaceful, was, however, the last prime of the Seiyukai Domination era, and after the death of Emperor Taisho on December 25, 1926, Japan was thrown into chaos.

### Showa Economic Crisis and its Aftermath

On April 20, 1927, when Osaka's stock market collapsed, Showa Economic Crisis hit the Japanese Empire. The incident, which erupted at one time the contradictions and shortcomings of Seiyukai's decade-long economic policy, left many companies bankrupt and eliminated numerous workers' jobs. The newly inaugurated Emperor Showa found the cause of this incident in Seiyukai's lax fiscal policy, and to some extent it was true. Uchida Cabinet resigned en masse, and under orders from Emperor, the Kenseikai-Seiyu Honto coalition cabinet led by Kenseikai's Wakatsuki Reijiro took power for the first time.

Due to the crushing defeat in the 1924 election, the seat of Kenseikai, led by Wakatsuki, was much smaller than that of Seiyukai, which created a parliament that was not loyal to the Cabinet. Kenseikai wanted to resolve Japan's corrupt political-business collusion and eliminate the growing gap between the rich and poor in the wake of the economic crisis. But Kenseikai's bills failed to win parliamentary approval, and Zaibatsu, who were subject to reform, deliberately ignored Cabinet orders. Kenseikai's reforms, which failed to gain legal grounds, failed from the start. Within five months, Wakatsuki's cabinet resigned and the ambitious first move by Emperor Showa failed. But the abolition of gold export regulations, carried out by the Wakatsuki Cabinet, was the first move to break down the Seiyukai's protectionist system, and it later helped recover from the panic.

Meanwhile, after tasting the failure, Emperor Showa continued on to engage in strong political interference despite the dissuasion of her surroundings. Emperor Showa, who had been deeply disappointed by the corrupt Seiyukai since his days as Crown Prince, supported Kenseikai and were longing for a return to democratic systems. After Wakatsuki's resignation, Emperor called on Seiyukai, and Rikken Minseito, a new political party created by the merger of Kenseikai and Seiyu Hotdo, to create the National Unity Cabinet to resolve the current crisis. Seiyukai disapproved of the demand, but eventually accepted it, and Seiyukai's president Tanaka Giichi took office as Japan's new prime minister.

But the National Unity Cabinet, led by Tanaka, also faced many problems. Among them, the most representative conflict was the economic policy difference between Seiyukai and Minseito. Inoue Junnosuke, an economic expert of Minseito and a Treasury Minister, had a dispute with Takahashi Korekiyo of Seiyukai, who took over as Commerce and Industry Minister in all cases. Inoue sought a fundamental transformation of Japan's economy in the wake of the economic crisis, but Takahashi insisted that the economy should continue its previous economic stimulus based on realistic economic principles. The government, which failed to set a firm fiscal policy, lost its way, and eventually lost another five months, Japan's first National Unity Cabinet collapsed in the wake of the 1928 election.

In the 16th general elections in 1928, the people raised Minseito's hand. Those who firmly believed that Seiyukai had ruined the economy and made the gap between the rich and the poor rather wide during the decade-long Seiyukai Domination thought Seiyukai was continuing to hamper Minseito's efforts to revive the economy. Whether it's true or not, Minseito had a historic first win over Seiyukai, and soon the Hamaguchi Cabinet, led intact by Minseito's president Hamaguchi Osachi, was formed.

### The Rise of Minseito and Current Situation

There was no obstacle now for Minseito, which had a parliamentary majority. The new Prime Minister, Hamaguchi Osachi, was a very decisive and ambitious figure who has declared that he will change Japan's corrupt political and financial world with an end to the economic crisis. Launched in 1928 with Anti-Trust Law, Minseito's reform drive targeted Big-Four Zaibatsu, including Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Mitsui, and Yasuda. The government arrested the heads of companies on charges of corruption and oligopoly, and the public responded enthusiastically to the Hamaguchi Cabinet. Instead of Seiyukai, allied with Zaibatsu, Minseito gained national popular support through solidarity with urban middle class, and won votes in rural areas on behalf of Seiyukai, which was thought to have developed only cities. These far-reaching measures certainly worked, and by 1929, Japan's economic indicators began to recover reliably.

Taking a breather from the economic side, Hamaguchi Cabinet turned her sword to the military, which has been steadily growing its budget ratio since the Russian civil war. Hamaguchi completely suspended the implementation of the Eight-Eight Fleet Plan, which was proposed during the Hara Cabinet, to appease the Navy. In terms of the Army, Shirakawa Disarmament was adopted to reduce the number of divisions. This angered both Army and Navy and served as an occasion for the existing anti-government forces in the Army to turn their backs on Minseito completely. Some officers lost their jobs, but complaints were curbed because new jobs began to be created in rural areas instead.

However, as the London stock market collapsed on September 20, 1929, Hamaguchi Cabinet, which had believed in City of London's gold market and had been implementing economic austerity measures, was in grave danger. But Japan's economy quickly returned to normal as London Stock Market Crash failed to deliver more powerful ripple effects than expected. Rather, Minseito's regime has become stronger under the propaganda that the economic crisis in London has also been lightly resolved. In the 17th general election held on February 20, 1930, Minseito won a landslide victory, winning 100 more seats than Seiyukai. Hamaguchi enjoyed nationwide popularity and Minseito has completely removed the stigma of the past and emerged as a national party.

But Hamaguchi's days ended at a moment's notice. On November 14, 1930, Hamaguchi Osachi was suddenly assassinated by an ultra-rightist activist. Japan's political world has suddenly frozen, and the activities of all politicians in Minseito have been suspended as the danger of further terrorism has been reported. To revive the frozen political world and prolong the era of Minseito, they proposed a respected politician, Ozaki Yukio as the next prime minister. Ozaki, now an independent politician after leaving Seiyukai in 1924, could not refuse Minseito and the Emperor's request to take the position of the new prime minister. He soon succeeded Hamaguchi as prime minister.

OzakI Cabinet immediately drew OzakI's ShinseI Club, led by OzakI's close friend and political ally, Inukai Tsuyoshi, into a Minseito ruling coalition. The issue divided the ShinseI Club into pro-Minseito factions and pro-Seiyukai, which were under discussion for reunification with Seiyukai after a disastrous election defeat in 1930 Election. OzakI himself is an authoritarian liberal, as eased media censorship under the Peace Preservation Law of 1921 and passed the Agricultual Promotion Act to improve peasant rights. The next election is scheduled for February 1932.