Japan
- Dictatorship also came to Japan
-not through a political party but the military
- History
-rich military tradition
-feudal clans fought each other for dominance in Japan
-The Emperor presided over the Japanese government
-came form divine origin
-descendent of the Sun Goddess
-played minor role in the government
-he was above politics
-shogun had the political power
-ruled in the name of the Emperor
- Japanese Society
1. Landowning clans dominated
-protected by the samurai
2. Wealthy merchant class
3. Peasants
-most of the people of Japan
- Japan was very isolated until 1853 when US Commodore Matthew Perry sailed in to Japan and forced them to open their ports
- In the late 1800’s many Japanese were tired of being controlled by foreign countries.
-adopted western ways in hopes to keep Western Powers out of their country
- heavy industry
- modern army
- strong navy
- Showed off new power in several wars
1. Sino-Japanese War
-1894-95
-Japan won
2. Russo-Japanese War
-1904-05
-Japan shocked the world by beating Russia
-gained partial control of Manchuria
3. World War I
-allied with the US
-gained German Islands in the Pacific after the war
- 1920’s
-gave all men the right to vote
-signed the 4, 5 and 9 Power Pacts
-joined the League of Nations
-signed the Kellog-Briand Pact
- 1930’s
-Great Depression changed everything
-people blamed the government for tough times
-military leaders stepped in and took control
-said Japan had to expand in to Asia to help economy
-assassinated political leaders that opposed them
-took away people’s rights
- Japanese Military Honor
- fight to the death
- commit suicide rather than surrender
- gekokujo
-open defiance of superior officers by junior officers
-seen as a positive thing
-shows the spirit of the soldier
- Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
What did it prove?
1. The League of Nations could not enforce its authority
2. A major power could get away with using force
3. Great Britain and France wanted to avoid war at all costs
4. Other powers would see this as a sign that they could get away with the use of force
- Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini in 1936
-Italy lost its Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 Battle of Adua
-one of the worst colonial disasters of modern history
-Feb. 23rd, 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia
-Oct. 7th, 1935, League declared Italy the aggressor
-November 18th, 1935, Leagues sanctions begin (arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of Italian goods
-Feb 1936, League of Nations could not agree on critical oil sanctions mainly because FDR refused.. US controlled 50% world oil trade
-Feb. 29th, 1936, FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act (1. mandatory arms, embargo with warning nations - 2. mandatory ban on loans to warning nations)
-May 5th, Italy Occupied Adis Alaba - annexed all Ethipoia
Comments