Unit 12: Paper 3 — History of Asia and Oceania (HL)
Topic 12.9: Politics and economy in Japan (1912–2020) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History (2028) Topic 12.9. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Choose1 mark
2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.3 - Q2
In what year was Japan's new constitution, containing Article 9, adopted?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.1 - Q3
Choose the person who became Japan's first commoner and first party-based prime minister, in 1918.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.3 - Q1
Which American general led the Occupation of Japan as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) from 1945?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.3 - Q5
By 1968, Japan had overtaken which country to become the world's second-largest economy?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.1 - Q1
Choose the correct description of the Twenty-One Demands presented by Japan in January 1915.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q2
What pretext did the Kwantung Army use to justify its invasion of Manchuria in September 1931?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q4
What was the outcome of the February 26, 1936 coup attempt by radical young army officers in Tokyo?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.1 - Q4
Choose the law passed in the SAME YEAR as the General Election Law that gave the vote to all Japanese men aged 25 and over.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.3 - Q3
Which government body directed cheap credit and protection toward strategic export industries such as steel, shipbuilding, cars and electronics during Japan's economic miracle?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q5
Which two developments in August 1945 together led to Japan's surrender?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q1
Which event is generally regarded as ending party-led (civilian) cabinets in Japan, since no elected-party politician served as prime minister again until after 1945?
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Unlock Question12Discuss15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q8
Discuss the view that the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was, in practice, little more than a Japanese empire disguised as liberation.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q10
"The atomic bombs, not the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, were the decisive factor in Japan's surrender in August 1945." To what extent do you agree with this claim?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q3
Which international body investigated the Manchurian invasion and, through the Lytton Report of 1932, found Japan guilty of aggression?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.1 - Q5
Choose the correct date and immediate consequence of the Great Kantō earthquake.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.3 - Q4
The Korean War (1950-53) boosted Japan's economy mainly because
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q7
To what extent do you agree that the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 was driven by the ambitions of field officers acting without government authority, rather than by decisions made in Tokyo?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q6
Evaluate the claim that economic desperation, rather than institutional weakness, was the main driver of Japan's descent into militarism in the 1930s.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.2 - Q9
Evaluate the claim that Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was a rational strategic gamble rather than a reckless miscalculation.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.9.1 - Q2
Choose the outcome of Japan's proposed racial equality clause at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.
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