Japan 1 Flashcards
(25 cards)
Meiji Restoration
1868
Practical power to & consolidated the political system under the Emperor of Japan
Japan rapidly industrialised & adopted western ideas & production methods
Started due to problems with the Tokugawa Shogunate & foreign powers challenging Japan’s isolationist foreign policy
Japanese Imperial Diet
1889-1947
legislative body of Japan
Established by the Meiji Constitution from the same year
Faces controversy at first bc people felt the Diet was spending too much on the military & not enough on infrastructure & public services
1st Sino-Japanese War
1894-95
Conflict over influence in Korea
Korea was one of China’s tributary states, while Japan viewed it as a target of imperial expansion
Ended in unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki, where China lost influence in Korea to Japan & had to give Japan Formosa & the Liaodong Peninsula (which included Port Arthur)
Triple Intervention
1895
Intervention by Russia, Germ & France over the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki
Russia had it’s own sphere of influence in China, & worried the Treaty would cause instability there
Wanted the warm water Port Arthur to further consolidate it’s influence in Asia
Anglo Japanese Alliance
1902-23
Japan’s first Treaty on More equal terms with a Western Power
Marked end of England’s period of Splendid Isolation
Reflected successes of Meiji Reforms that helped Japan rapidly grow more powerful
They hoped it would deter other powers from encroaching on either country’s interests in Asia
Russo-Japanese War
1904-05
Fought over Rival ambitions in Manchuria & the Korean Empire
The Japanese KO’d the Russians
Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth when war ended, recognised Japan’s hegemony in Korea & awarded it the Liaodong Peninsula & Russia’s South Manchurian Railway
What two Political parties had emerged in Japan by 1918
Seiyūkai & Kenseikai
Describe the Seiyūkai
Pro-Government alliance of bureaucrats
opposed social reforms & supported bureaucratic control & militarism
Not that interested in constitutioal reform or extending of suffrage
Party President Hara Takashi became PM in 1918
Describe the Kenseikai
Led by Katō Takaaki
United by it’s opposition to the Policies of the Seiyukai under previous PM before Takashi
pushed for rights of labour unions
Political power was limited by the genro
Washington Naval conference
1921
Japan agreed to limit the size of the Japanese navy to 3/5 the size of the US and British fleets & give Shandong back to China
Agreed bc there was no way it could win a naval arms race with USA
Promoted friendly relations with West, which gave it security & allowed it to continue economic expansion in China
Public really unhappy
Kantō Earthquake
1923
Destroyed Tokyo & killed over 100 000 people
Kantō Massacre immediately followed, with Japanese govt implicitly approved
Japanese military Police & vigilantes murdered around 6000 people, mainly Koreans, Chinese, & Japanese communists, socialists & anarchists
Massive spending on recovery lead to inflation & severe weakening of banking system
Asian Exclusion Act
1924
Prevented immigration from Asia to the USA
Passed due to concerns about the US changing social demographic landscape (Too much racial diversity in other words)
Part of US Immigration Act that also prevented Jewish Immigration to America, caused European Jews to instead immigrate to Mandatory Palestine, spurring the Fourth Aliyah
Universal Manhood Suffrage Law
1925
Passed by coalition govt, gave all men over 25 the right to vote
However this liberal law was cancelled out by the Peace Preservation Law
Peace Preservation Law
1925
Allowed the Special Higher Police to more effectively suppress alleged socialists & communists
Criminalised criticism of the system of Private property
Used as instrument of thought control in Imperial Japan
Sparked by socialist & communist ideas spreading in Japan that posed threat to Emperor system
Tanaka Giichi becomes Prime minister
1927
Party of Seiyukai
Used Peace Preservation Law to dissolve 3 left wing parties & make over 1000 arrests
Emperor Hirohito takes the throne
1927
Aka Showa Emperor
Showa Financial Crisis
1927
Caused by 1920s economic slowdown after the post WW1 economic boom
Also caused by Kanto earthquake
In 1927, problems with earthquake bonds caused widespread collapse of banks
Ended PM Wakatsuki’s time in office & he was succeeded by Tanaka Giichi
Made worse by Great Depression, ppl turned towards extremism
Showa Restoration
1930s
Promoted by Japanese author Ikki Kita
Goal was restoring power to Emperor Showa & abolishing the liberal Democracy
Similar to Meiji restoration
supported by the Sakurakai, a secret Nationalist group of millitants
London Naval Treaty
1930
Revision of Washington Naval Treaty
Japan had to further limit it’s navy
Caused national resentment & inspired May 15 Incident & Manchuria invasion
Japan Invades Manchuria
1931
Done by Kwantung Army after Mukden Incident
March Incident by Sakurakai
1931
2 unsuccessful attempts by Seiyukai to assassinate Prime Minister & Replace him with General Ugaki
May 15 Incident
1932
PM Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated by 11 Naval officers in failed coup
Organised by Kwantung army & League of Blood
Trial was just a platform to increase popularity of militarism
Japan Leaves League of Nations
1933
Happened bc the League condemned Japan’s invasion of Manchuria
Amau Doctrine
1934
Japanese doctrine proposing that any intervention by western powers in the affairs of Japan and the far East would be considered a hostile act
