Question

(history)

Why did democracy in Japan fail? Please include information regarding the worldwide financial crisis that caused Japans economy to fail

Answer 1

Great Depression Sets Back Democracy

Meanwhile, further reform of domestic politics was under consideration. Typically power transfers took place when the majority party reached an impasse and ceded power to the opposition, which then became the new majority party at the next election, but some argued for a more direct connection between elections and changes in government. There were also calls to give women the vote, at first in local elections and later in national elections. And with the introduction of universal male suffrage, the “proletarian” (socialist) parties gained a voice in national politics from the 1928 election onward.

However, under the heavy impact of the Great Depression that started in 1929, the tide began to turn away from democracy. Anticipating all-out war following the army’s provocation of the Manchurian Incident in 1931, the army and navy resisted toeing the line drawn by party politicians and strongly opposed further development of party politics and pursuit of international disarmament. And they undertook an unabashed propaganda campaign aimed at turning the people against the party-led government.

Amid the heightening discord between politicians and the military, Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated in the May 15 Incident of 1932, an attempted coup d’état. Saionji set up a temporary cabinet of bureaucrats, while calling for a future return to party politics. But with the February 26 Incident of 1936, another unsuccessful but destabilizing coup attempt, all hope of a return to “the normal course of constitutional government” was lost. Having ended its post–World War I domestic movement toward democracy, it was only natural that Japan would go on to reject the international order of the time.

An Important Turning Point

Japan’s democracy after World War II was based on a rebuilding of its democracy from between the wars—a return to the combination of popular rule at home and a foreign policy based on international cooperation. It was a revived and strengthened version of the country’s post–World War I Taishō Democracy. In that sense, World War I was an important turning point in Japanese politics, acting to open the curtain to the modern age in Japan in the same way it did in the West. As we look back in this centennial year, we are reminded once more of the clear fact that Japanese history is not some separate domestic matter but a part of global history. In the same way, today’s popular efforts to bring about a more peaceful world are inextricably linked to those of the post–World War I era.

Hope this is the same period you were looking for.