The Rise of Japenese Totalitarianism

In East Asia, dictatorship also came to Japan, but the form of oppression and the manner in which it developed differed from the models of Russia, Italy, and Germany. The driving force behind this transformation was not a political party or a single leader but the army. Japan has long possessed an ancient military tradition that dates back to the 1500’s. For centuries a feudal system governed Japan where the landowning class, supported by Samurais, dominated the peasant and merchant classes. At the top of this system was an emperor who played a minor role in political matters and served more as a figurehead.

As Western influence grew in Eastern Asia, the Japanese realized that they would be subjugated by Western nations if they did not turn to Western technology and organizational methods. An intense form of Japanese nationalism arose and the thought of Japan being second rate was be unacceptable. A new regime created a modern army, patterned after Prussia’s military, and transformed the Samurai class into a modern officer class. A naval, modeled after the vaunted British navy, was created sometime later. By the early 20th century, Japan had resisted European domination and became an important world power.

Despite this startling transformation, Japan’s traditional social structure continued largely unchanged. Landlords retained their importance and control over the peasants. A few great industrial families dominated the economy and subordinated the working class. The one major change was the government’s policy towards the Buddhist religion; it wanted to repress it in favor of another religion, Shintoism. This state sponsored form of Shintoism stressed ancestor worship, complete obedience to the emperor and the state.

Although the Emperor headed Japan’s new government, he served as more of a figure head than a day to day ruler. These duties fell to a premier, Diet (Japanese Parliament), and cabinet ministers. Due to Japan’s military tradition, the army and navy ministers held enormous amounts of power. During the 1920’s this began to change, and a movement towards lessening the influence of the military in government began. The lessening of the military’s influence was reversed in 1929 with the start of the Great Depression.

Like most nations during the Great Depression, Japan suffered economically and this helped to discredit the government because they were unable to stop the effects of the Depression. Army leaders took this opportunity to reassert control over the government. The military insisted that the way out of the economic dilemma was an aggressive campaign of imperial expansion. By gaining more colonies for Japan, they would lessen the problems of the Great Depression.

Japan’s military leaders encroached steadily on the government during the 1930’s. Japan gradually took on the characteristics of a military dictatorship. But in many respects, the transition was more subtle than in Italy or Germany. There was no mass political movement, no charismatic leader, no revision or suspension of the constitution. However, there was a steady erosion of civil liberties, encroachment on freedom of the press and other forms of expression, and imprisonment of critics of the regime.