Japan 1912-1932: From Taisho Democracy to the Rise of Militarism
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Flip to reveal answersWhat did Japan gain and lose at the Paris Peace Conference (1919)?
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All 12 Flashcards — Japan 1912-1932: From Taisho Democracy to the Rise of Militarism
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Question
What did Japan gain and lose at the Paris Peace Conference (1919)?
Answer
Gained Shandong (China) and Pacific islands as League mandates, but was refused the racial equality clause it wanted in the League Covenant.
Question
What was the Washington Naval Conference (1921-1922)?
Answer
A US-led conference that set a battleship ratio of roughly 5:5:3 (US:Britain:Japan), ended the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and confirmed China's territorial integrity.
Question
Define 'Taisho democracy'.
Answer
The growth of liberal, parliamentary and party-based politics in Japan, roughly 1912-1932, including party cabinets and universal male suffrage.
Question
Who was Hara Takashi and what happened to him?
Answer
Japan's first commoner and first party-leader prime minister (from 1918); assassinated by an ultranationalist in 1921.
Question
What did the Peace Preservation Law (1925) do?
Answer
Allowed the arrest of anyone criticising the emperor system or private property, passed the same year as universal male suffrage — showing the limits of Taisho liberalism.
Question
Why could the military bring down a civilian government under Japan's constitution?
Answer
The army and navy ministers had to be serving officers who reported directly to the emperor, not the prime minister, so the military could collapse a cabinet by refusing to supply a minister.
Question
What happened to PM Hamaguchi Osachi in 1930?
Answer
He was shot by a nationalist after accepting further naval limits at the London Naval Treaty; he died from his wounds in 1931.
Question
What was the May 15th Incident (1932)?
Answer
Young naval officers assassinated PM Inukai Tsuyoshi; afterwards, no party leader served as prime minister again until after 1945.
Question
Compare the aims of Taisho liberals and Japanese ultranationalists in the 1920s.
Answer
Liberals wanted wider suffrage, party cabinets and a freer press; ultranationalists wanted to glorify the emperor and military, and blamed 'corrupt' party politicians and zaibatsu for Japan's weakness.
Question
What is a zaibatsu?
Answer
A huge family-owned business conglomerate that dominated Japan's economy; ultranationalists blamed zaibatsu, alongside party politicians, for Japan's problems.
Question
Give three causes of the rise of militarism in Japan by 1932.
Answer
Economic hardship from the Great Depression, the military's constitutional independence from civilian control, and resentment over the Washington/Paris settlements combined with ultranationalist violence.
Question
What is the key judgement in the model Paper 3 essay on the decline of party government?
Answer
Assassinations were the most direct trigger for ending party cabinets, but they only succeeded because economic hardship and constitutional weakness had already discredited and disempowered civilian politicians.
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Topic 20.11 hub
Japan (1912–1990)
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