Crisis of Imperial Crisis of Imperial DemocracyDemocracy

Era of party ruleEra of party rule

Hara Takashi (Kei), Hara Takashi (Kei), first party cabinet first party cabinet 19181918

Regular alternation Regular alternation of Seiyūkai and of Seiyūkai and Kenseikai Kenseikai (Minseitō) from (Minseitō) from 1924-321924-32

Organizing from belowOrganizing from below

Working class Working class organizations in organizations in unions, considerable unions, considerable growth through 1920sgrowth through 1920s

Tenant farmers, Tenant farmers, likewiselikewise

Socialist and Socialist and communist party communist party organizingorganizing

Women act both Women act both within and outside within and outside these groupsthese groups

Response from above: two Response from above: two visions of “imperial democracy”visions of “imperial democracy”

1. The conservative vision (1918-22, 1927-29)

The Seiyūkai party, and bureaucrats inJustice and Agriculture/Commerce Ministries

•Stresses order and harmony, from above, with modest participation

•slight opening to participation, including women and wage workers (works councils)

•assertive foreign policy, re. China in particular

2. The liberal vision of imperial 2. The liberal vision of imperial democracy (1924-27, 29-31)democracy (1924-27, 29-31)

• universal manhood suffrage, 1925

• social programs-national health insurance, -stronger factory legislation,-unemployment insurance, -tenant dispute mediation law

Cooperative diplomacy in China,and in arms control (naval treaty, 1930)

Peak of the liberal visionPeak of the liberal vision

comes during second Minseitō administration(1929-31)

•proposed labor union bill, tenant farmer protection, civil rights for women

•1930-31 Diet session,passes lower house, killed in House of Peers

The view from the end of 1920sThe view from the end of 1920s

Unprecedented moves toward a democratic polity•universal male suffrage•party government routinized•gains for organized labor, farmers•greater participation for women

BUT: rising tide of criticism and unrest at home, resistance to empire in China, tensions with Westa fragile grounding for a liberal democratic system

Unintended developments, uncertain future:

Crisis of Imperial DemocracyCrisis of Imperial Democracy

•Causes: a multi-sided crisis sparked byglobal and domestic shocks

•Consequences:-A different sort of modern mass society

-repudiation of “imperial democratic”modernity;Elaboration of alternative “statist” modernity

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Stagnant 1920s--> banking crisis--> world depression

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Crisis in rural Japan

Landlord-tenant disputes

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Crisis in rural Japan

famine

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Crisis in rural Japan: more daughters to brothels

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Crisis in the citiesUnemployment

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Crisis in the cities

2. Small businessfailures skyrocket

1. Labor disputes surge

Depression Crisis: at homeDepression Crisis: at home

Gender anarchy?The modern girl

Depression Crisis AbroadDepression Crisis Abroad

Crisis abroad, two dimensions. (1) Tensions with West

(2) Tensions with China

Crisis of Imperial democracyCrisis of Imperial democracy

Perceptions of Japan at a dead end

Threats all around: abroad, at home, rural and urban, all connected

•diary of General Ugaki Kazushige: Fuehrer wannabe•A shared element in this critique, of left and right– common “radical” view of status quo

Breaking the ImpasseBreaking the Impasse

•Politics ofassassination, repudiating party rule

Breaking the ImpasseBreaking the Impasse

•takeover of Manchuria

Breaking the ImpasseBreaking the Impasse

•takeover of Manchuria•Continuing politics of assassination, repudiating party rule

•Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi, 1930•Finance Minister Inoue Junnosuke, 1932•Mitsui Chairman, Dan Takuma, 1932•Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, 1932•Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo

and several other cabinet ministers, 2/26/1936

Breaking the Impasse:2-26 (1936) incidentBreaking the Impasse:2-26 (1936) incident