Fascist Japan: 2007

2007年9月15日星期六

A looney toones cartoon making fun of the Nazis and Japanese.

2007年9月14日星期五

Brief History of Japan

History of Japan

>Began in approximately A.D 400.
>The Yamato clan managed to gain control of the other families in Japan.
>They formed up the imperial court, similar to that of China’s.
>The authority of the imperial court was undermimed.
>More and more people began to vie for the control of Japan.

Taisho Period

>An era of great righteousness
>30th July 1912 – 25th Dec 1926
>Under the reign of Emperor Taisho.
>Due to the emperor’s poor health, the authority was shifted from the genro (elder statesman) to the Diet and other democratic parties.

Showa Era

>It is an era of enlightened peace.
>25th Dec 1926 – 7th Jan 1989.
>Under the reign of Emperor Hirohito.
>Descended into political chaos.
>Threats of communism surfaced and gave rise to extremism (ultranationalism).
>After the defeat in WWII, Japan underwent many changes.
>Japan was occupied by a foreign power.
>They were unhappy.
>In 1952, Japan became a sovereign country once more.
>Japan became the second largest economy in the world.
>Expansion of many industries.
>Higher demand for workers

Great Depression

The Great Depression

>Massive retrenchment due to the Great Depression.
>Stock market fell.
>Did not help that there was an Earthquake that happened in 1923.
>Many farmers faced eviction.
>Led to a decrease of trade between America & Japan.
>Showed evidence of society collapsing.
>People began to lose faith in The Diet.
>Influenced Japan to adopt a Foreign Policy.

Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy
>Introduced during the 1920s
>Issues that were agreed: Equality with the Western Countries & the need for an empire.
>Issues that were disagreed: Whether imperialism should be done at a fast rate or a slow rate & one sided resolutions or world wide collaboration.

NO RACISM!

Civilian Responses

>They wanted self-determination!
>Wanted more democracy in the system!
>Supported the arms reduction.
>Was against the Siberian Intervention.
>They did not like the Chinese Military to interfere in their affairs.
>Opposed to collaboration with the Western countries.
>There was prejudice against the Japanese immigrants in USA.

Who were the diet?

The Diet

>Consists of two parties: House of Representitives & the House of Councilors.
>They are responsible for selecting the Prime Minister.
>They made the laws of the country.
>They were also in charge of approving the national budget the government hands in.
>They were also in charge of the sanction of treaties.
>The word diet derived from a Latin word.
>It is a common name for an assembly, especially in medieval Germany.
>The Emperor has a bigger say in things compared to The Diet
>The Emperor also had the power to choose the Prime Minister.
>During the Meiji Constitution, PMs were not chosen from and thus they lost faith in the Diet.
>Although it looked as if The Diet were the ones in charge, they did not have the power to make decisions.
>It could only question the decisions of the Cabinet Ministers.
>They were overpowered by the Emperor.
>Needs of the people were not satisfied. Many lost faith in The Diet.

Rise of Extremism

>Weakness of The Diet caused people to lose confidence.
>There was corruption. Some zaibatsus accepted bribes.
>Living and working conditions of workers were not addressed. They were still living in slums.
>There were many economic problems due to the Great Depression.

>Corruption damaged the democracy’s policies.
>Loss of trade between Japan and America.
>Trade was poor.

Factors leading to Fascism

They can be classified under INTERNAL and EXTERNAL:
Internal Factors :

-Economic Security
>Japan has many mountains. Which meant that they had little land to grow food which resulted in little raw materials.
>There was a growing population. With the increasing food shortages and the lack of jobs, it could not satisfy the needs of many.

Wall Street Crash

Wall Street Crash

> Lead to economic depression internationally.
> There was a decrease in world trade.
> Affected industrial production.
> Trade between Japan and America was affected.

Militarism

Militarism

> The people looked to the military for help.
> Hoped that they could solve their problems.
> Army received strong support from the people.
But there was a few attempts of assassination which made Japan seem weak against the Western Powers.
> Solution: Find new raw materials and new markets!

> In 1931, they began to look at Manchuria.
> Manchuria was rich in raw materials, land and what’s better: It was close to Japan.
> Japan was interested in Manchuria’s oil coal and iron ore.
> The US was angered by Japan’s invasion in 1931.

External Factors

External Factors:

Western Countries
>There was racial prejudice.
>They prevented Japan from achieving it’s goal of equality.
>The Japanese saw this as an act of racism.
>Refused to go to war.
>There was little effort in stopping Japan’s Facism of expanding her colonies.
>The Western could not be bothered to defend China.

> Relationship between Japan and America was worsening
> Because of Japan’s invasion of Manchuria, it violated one of the rules of the Washington Naval Conference agreement.
> US refused to give any more oil to Japan.

Factors that support Militarism

Factors that supported Militarism

The Meiji Constitution.

Displeasure of the Military

Low economic status.

Totalitarian examples which were set in Europe.

Impacts of Militarism

Kamikaze

Literally 'god wind'. It refers to suicide attacks by military aviators from Japan. Similar to suicide bombers, kamikaze pilots would load their aircrafts with bombs and explosives and then crash into their enemies, dying with them. They were the special defensive units of the Japanese Combined Fleet in 1944-45. They were also suicide units that were able to cause considerable damage to the Allied navies.

Education

Thev government printed textbooks for children of all ages and this served as a form of propaganda. The citizens were educated differently compared to the Koreans or the Manchus.

Conclusion

We believe that for a country to become successful, a good and stable government is needed to overlook its country. From there, a good leader has to be selected with the following qualities:

1. Have a vision

In Singapore, our leaders have the 'vision' of predicting future challenges and they have came up with various precautions or methods to prepare for it.

The first example would be that of the public housing. 80% of the population owns a property or at least have a roof over their heads. This gives people a stake in Singapore and allows them to feel a sense of pride and responsibility towards their country. In 1989, the government introduced the 'ethnic integration policy'. It ensures that there is an even distribution of the various races in all housing estates. This creates a common living space. By living together, people from different races are able to interact with one another. It also reduces the chances of racial riots occuring as the people will feel more bonded to one another.

Another example is that of NEWater. Singapore currently has two agreements with Malaysia on water. However, both contracts for water supplies will end in 2011 and 2061. The government has anticipated this change and looked for an alternative method. Singapore will be able to have it's own source of water and not become dependent on other countries.

2. Make Decisions

This is a very tough thing to do as not many people will be happy with the governments decisions. But they have to make the correct ones so that the country will improve and grow. Leaders are not afraid to make decisions because they are confident that whatever they do will help the contry in one way or another.

Many people are not happy with the idea of drinking 'sewage water' but the government has not given up the idea of NEWater. It believes that this is a psychological barrier that many people have to overcome. What would happen if the government had listened to the people who opposed NEWater? There would not be a solution for Singapore's need for water. If Malaysia decided to end the water agreements early, where would Singapore get it's alternative source of water?

3. Communicate Effectively

The government must communicate with it's people to ensure them of their role in society. When the government makes important decisions, the needs of the people have to be considered. To learn about this, a communication between the government and the people is vital.

Singapore has channels whih includes theFeedback Unit and the media. The Forum Page in The Straits Times is one of such examples. During the 'Meet-the-People' sessions, the people are also encouraged to speak out or give their opinions to the ministers.

Although the Japanese employed harsh methods of government (extremism), they were not effective in controlling their people. The weakness of the Diet was one of the factors contributing to the failure in democracy in Japan. Corruption was also another factor that led to Japan's failures. Zaibatsu's (ざいばつ)were large families who controlled banking and industrial combines in Japan. Some of them accepted bribes from the people and this led to corruption. The living and working conditions of the workers were also overlooked. Because the problem of housing was not resolved, the people began to lose confidence in their government. One very important aspect of controlling a country is that there must be trust and confidence between the government and it's people. But the weakness of the Diet and the government caused the people to lose hope and confidence that their government is able to bring their country to further heights. There is a lack of communication. This is different to Singapore's method of democracy. Where everyone has a say in the government's policy. Mutual respect for each other will definitely help to grow our country.