THE GREAT DEPRESSION’S EFFECT ON LEADERSHIP 2
Running head: THE GREAT DEPRESSION’S EFFECT ON LEADERSHIP 2
The Great Depression’s Effect on Leadership in Japan
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The Great Depression’s Effect on Leadership in Japan
Fascism is a form of a radical government that is characterized by a strong regimentation of society, forcible suppression of opposition, and dictatorial power that encourages political actions that are in support of nationalism. Such governmental regime commenced during World War one in Italy before its spread to other European countries such as Japan (Hedinger, 2013). Therefore, a fascist government or authority to make decisions that further the state’s power and also allow a conservative business that will increase wealth and maintain the property. On the other hand, a fascist also aims at using the country’s assets in the quest of improving its strength. In Japan, the Great Depression had an impact on the leadership of the country. The economic crisis also influenced fascism in the country, in which it forced the military to use power to strengthen the economy. Such forceful use of power included invading Manchuria, killing the prime minister, and attacking government officials. In this context, the paper discusses ways through which the great depression influenced a fascist military leadership in Japan.
Between the year 1929 and 1939, there occurred an economic downturn in the industrialized world that was historical. The devastating economic collapse was referred to as the great depression. The major causes of this great depression were over-production, stock market crash, drought, and bank failures. According to McCormack (1980), the crisis started in 1929 with the wreck of the stock market that wiped out millions of investors. During the great depression, there was believe that expansion through military conquest could solve the country’s economic collapse caused by the recession. However, there was a rapid growth in the Japanese population at that time which was estimated to be 65 million in the year 1930, and thus there was a massive demand for food importation (Ledesma et al., n.d.). On the other hand, for Japan to import food during this crisis, it had also to export. This could not be possible for Japan since other western countries were not opening up for trade with Japan. Also, during the great depression, Japan did not export any goods, which was the primary way through which the country gained its economic growth (Shizume, 2012). These actions led to Japan falling into a financial crisis; thus, the military and nationalists got fed up with their government. Therefore, Japan had no recourse to solve these problems at hand but rather to use force to meet the country’s demands.
Moreover, there was also military distrust in party government. Military men disagreed with the restraint that Japan showed Chinese Nationalists and required their country to take a harder line in China. Furthermore, since Japan was an island, there was a lack of resources and building places where structures could be built (Ledesma et al., n.d.). These led to effective use of power by the military to invade Manchuria in the year 1931 in the quest of extending their empire. The cause of invasion was the claim that the Chinese army had sabotaged the Manchurian railway, and also the Chinese military had recently executed a Japanese spy. According to Wilson (1968), the Chinese army was reluctant to fight back since they understood that their colleagues that is the Japanese military were looking for an excuse to invade Manchuria so that they could strengthen their empire. Another reason for invading the Chinese province is that the Japanese were looking for raw materials that would fuel their growing industries.
Japan did not only invade Manchuria but also took control over Taiwan and Korea. The country took these actions since these were places from which Japan imported more than 40 percent of raw materials and food substances. These forceful actions promoted industrial growth in Japan that later ensured that the country escaped the economic crisis earlier than most countries (Shizume, 2012). On the other hand, Japan decided to change its political decisions after the war. One of the legislative changes that were made in the country was choosing a prime minister. But, Ledesma et al. (n.d.) reveal that, due to the existence of distrust and disagreements between the government and military officers, the prime minister was killed in 1932. As a cause of the great depression, military officers also attacked key banking officials and other governmental officers. Additionally, economic and military leaders supported further conquests as the country was closing up to World War Two. The reason for these actions was to consolidate power and political control to capture other places in Asia that were rich in resources for the growth of their industries.
Furthermore, during the great depression, the military organized a dictatorial military leadership. This leadership comprised of not one specific leader but several individuals who had similar interests. Hence, Japan became dictatorial governed but not by one person but by a group of leaders (Hedinger, 2013). This led to the strong and tightened hold on Korea, and the Japanese suppressed its culture. Japan also forced its culture, habits, and language into Korean teachers. Korean citizens who at the time were referred to “Korean peasants,” were forced by the Japanese military to produce rice that could later be consumed by the Japanese population. The Koreans were only allowed to provide food for their country at an expense. Furthermore, during the great depression, the Korean people were forced to join the large Japanese population in training that was meant to “suffer” hardship, and young Korean men were forced to join labor groups.
In summary, great depression affected most countries in Europe. It caused low productions in the industries that later increased the demand for products such as food and raw materials. In Japan, the great depression had an impact on the government of the country and the military forces. Due to the economic crisis, the military was forced to use power to obtain goods for the country. The great depression also led to the invasion of Manchuria province in China, which was one way of expanding the Japanese empire. There was also a decrease in the exportation of goods to other western countries, which brought an economic crisis. Export of goods served as the primary gain of economic growth in the country, and thus the military took a forceful action and took control on Korea and Taiwan that were sources for most of its raw materials. This action benefited the industrial market in Japan. Additionally, the great depression led to the killing of the prime minister and attacking of government and banking officials that were not in support of the military’s dictatorial leadership.
References
Hedinger, D. (2013). Universal Fascism and its Global Legacy. Italy’s and Japan’s Entangled History in the Early 1930s. Fascism, 2(2), 141-160.
Ledesma, C., Arellano, K., Villa, S., & Landecho, V. (n.d.). Impact in Japan. Retrieved July 8, 2019, from https://post-ww1.weebly.com/impact-in-japan.html
McCormack, G. (1980). 1930s Japan: Fascist?. Social Analysis, (5), 125.
Shizume, M. (2012). The Japanese economy during the interwar period: instability in the financial system and the impact of the world depression. In The Gold Standard Peripheries (pp. 211-228). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Wilson, G. M. (1968). A new look at the problem of “Japanese Fascism”. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 10(4), 401-412.