"Modernization of Japan in the 20th century" - Japan has entered an era of modernization. To achieve this, Meiji carried out a number of radical reforms. Meiji Revolution. Japanese capitalism has entered the monopoly stage. On April 6, 1868, the Emperor made a solemn statement. Emperor Meiji. Features of the development of Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. Japan on the path of modernization in the 20th century. Japan's history late XIX– beginning XX centuries. Discovery of Japan. In the 80s A widespread movement for a constitution unfolded in the country.
“Year of Italy in Russia” - Spirituality. Theater. Large exhibition of Italian achievements. Music and ballet. Movie. Rafael. Art. Antonello da Messina. Ballet troupe. Rostov-on-Don. Language and literature. Year of Italy in Russia. Chorus of the Rome Opera House. Theatrical and entertainment events. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“US Sanctions against Iran” - American individuals and legal entities. Derivative liability. General preventive measures. USA congress. Aiding. Financial operations. Exceptions. Civil penalties. History and development of US sanctions. Foreign individuals and legal entities. Responsibilities. Correspondent. Attacks. Cancellation of exception for transit payments. Asset blocking. Required conditions. Additional examples.
"Missile Defense in Europe" - The deployment of missile defense systems in the Czech Republic and Poland will enable the United States to monitor missile tests being conducted at Kapustin Yar, a Russian test site located about 500 miles southeast of Moscow. It is possible that the US missile defense expansion is actually aimed at Russian nuclear assets and has no defensive value for Europe.
"Tiananmen 1989" - The number of wounded is usually estimated at 7 to 10 thousand. Gradually, the memorial meeting grew into a demonstration. On May 19, the PRC government banned all demonstrations by a special decree. The number of protesters increased; workers, office workers, businessmen and even police officers joined the students. Students put up posters with expressions of condolences and poems in dormitories and on the walls of houses. The Chinese government announced 241 casualties, but no list of those killed was published.
“Second half of the 20th century” - Western European integration. German attack on the USSR. Europe and the USA in the twentieth century. The emergence of the “socialist camp”. The Four D's Policy. Crisis phenomena. Cold War. Beginning of World War II. Unification of the western zones. The struggle for the rights of black people in the twentieth century. Ending. Berlin (Potsdam) Conference. Second World War. Germany after 1945. The end of the history of the “socialist bloc”.
International recognition
During the initial period of the Meiji era, the government focused exclusively on issues of internal development. In this regard, diplomats focused their efforts on ensuring the possibility of revising unequal treaties. Initially, they faced opposition from foreign partners, but their position in dialogue with foreign countries became increasingly stronger as the first fruits of the reform appeared. In 1894, Great Britain agreed to abolish its treaty privileges, and other states soon followed suit.
By that time, Japan felt itself a powerful enough power to more energetically defend its interests on the mainland, particularly in Korea, where China was its main rival. According to the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895, China recognized the independence of Korea and ceded the island to Japan. Taiwan. Only the intervention of Russia, France and Germany prevented Japan from seizing the Liaodong Peninsula in southern Manchuria.
Over the next few years, Japan increased its armaments. Confrontation with Russia over control of Korea and Manchuria intensified. The conclusion of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902 confirmed the trend towards strengthening Japan's international positions. Negotiations with Russia in 1904 ended in failure. The Russo-Japanese War brought a profitable treaty signed in 1905 in Portsmouth (New Hampshire, USA). In accordance with it, Russia recognized the dominant role of Japan in Korea, transferred the Liaodong Peninsula to it, and also ceded the southern part of Sakhalin and Russian rights in southern Manchuria.
These acquisitions provided Japan with a leading position in East Asia, which was confirmed by the events of the next 15–20 years. A clear example was the formal annexation of Korea in 1910. After the outbreak of World War I, Japan declared war on Germany, and Japanese armed forces seized German-owned islands in the North Pacific. Japan also attacked German bases in the Chinese province of Shandong, thus finding a pretext for presenting an ultimatum (21 demands) to China in 1915, which provided not only for the transfer of former German rights to Japan, but also for the provision of additional advantages throughout the country. On peace conference at Versailles in 1919, Japan was in the camp of the victorious powers and, although Chinese opposition prevented formal recognition of its new conquests on the continent, it managed to secure former German possessions in the Pacific Ocean and obtain a permanent seat on the Council of the League of Nations. At the Washington Conference of 1921–1922, China was forced to recognize Japan's economic interests in Shandong, and agreements with the United States and Great Britain to reduce naval armaments made Japan invulnerable in the Western Pacific.
Liberal 1920s.
During World War I, Japan experienced rapid industrial growth. The production of textile goods expanded. The temporary absence of European competition created additional prospects for exports. Particularly rapid progress was observed in shipbuilding, as well as in coal mining and ferrous metallurgy.
In 1925, universal male suffrage was introduced. This measure was legislatively approved under pressure from new left-wing political organizations that emerged during the period of strengthening the position of moderate political parties. The formation of trade unions during the post-war depression and the spread of socialism under the influence of the revolution in Russia contributed to the emergence of radical groups. The Japanese Communist Party, created in 1922, was soon banned. The Law on the Protection of Order of 1925 provided for a ten-year sentence of hard labor for revolutionary activities.
Reactionary sentiments and the Second World War.
The difficulties caused by the global economic crisis that broke out in 1930 contributed to unrest among the population. Patriotic societies, uniting right-wing radicals and young army and navy officers, launched a campaign against the parliamentary form of government and “weak foreign policy.” In November 1930, Prime Minister Hamaguchi Yuko was shot and killed. Another prime minister, Inukai Ki, was killed in a failed mutiny in May 1932. A third narrowly escaped death in February 1936 when troops led by extremist young officers captured central Tokyo. The political activity of the military sharply reduced the authority of the parties and increased the influence of the highest command echelons in the army. Japan took a new course in international affairs, the first manifestation of which was the invasion of Manchuria by the Kwantung Army in September 1931. In 1932, this Chinese territory was turned into the pro-Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Meanwhile, the military continued to push for further expansion, culminating in full-scale hostilities in 1937. The following year, Japan occupied the most important and most populated areas of China.
The attack on China led to a deterioration in relations with the USA, Great Britain and the USSR. In 1936, Japan concluded a pact with Germany, and in 1940 entered into Triple Alliance with Germany and Italy. Japan's political parties were dissolved in 1940 and were replaced by the Association for the Support of Imperial Rule. The 1941 neutrality pact with the USSR and the subsequent German attack on Soviet Union eliminated the danger from the north. All these diplomatic events gave rise to persistent demands in the country for Japan to invade Southeast Asia in order to create the so-called. The Great Sphere of Co-Prosperity in East Asia under the auspices of Japan. This plan could only be threatened by opposition from the United States. As a result, after lengthy unsuccessful attempts to ensure neutrality in relations with the United States through diplomacy, under Prime Minister Tojo Hideki, a decision was made to eliminate this threat by attacking American targets in the Pacific Ocean. The first target (December 7, 1941) was the Pearl Harbor naval base on the Hawaiian Islands. Initially, Japanese troops were successful and within a few months expanded the zone of occupation to the Indian border and the Australian coast, extending their control over half of the Pacific Ocean.
In June 1942, an advance detachment of Japanese ships was stopped at Midway Atoll and, after a fierce battle, was forced to retreat. Beginning in 1943, naval operations under the leadership of American Admiral Chester Nimitz divided the central part of the Pacific Ocean like a wedge, which allowed the Allies to occupy the Mariana Islands by mid-summer 1944. At the end of 1942, the Japanese advance in the South Pacific was stopped at New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and the following year the armed forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur were already pushing the enemy in the opposite direction. The American army landed in the Philippines in October 1944. In the spring of 1945, Burma was returned, and the capture of Okinawa became the prelude to the defeat of the Japanese armed forces. In August 1945 the Americans dropped atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan, exhausted by the naval blockade and demoralized by the bombing, agreed to unconditional surrender.
Japan after 1945.
When the war ended, the country lay in ruins. 90 cities served as targets for American bombers, 20 of which were more than half destroyed. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were literally wiped off the face of the earth. As a result of air raids, approximately 8 million people were killed or injured and 2.5 million homes were destroyed.
The American presence in the country began with the adoption of a large-scale program of change in the social and political fields. Among the most important measures were agrarian reform, which led to the creation of a large class of landowners, the adoption of labor legislation that allowed trade unions, and the dissolution of the giant industrial and financial zaibatsu corporations that controlled the pre-war economy.
The Japanese began the task of economic reconstruction, receiving assistance from the United States in the form of technology, investment, food and raw materials. As Japan's economy grew, access to foreign markets became increasingly important. By the end of the 1950s, the conditions were set for an economic breakthrough. The strategic goal was not the creation of new industries, but the development of already existing promising industries. To do this, modern technologies were copied or licenses were purchased.
In the field of domestic politics, the pre-war conservative parties under the leadership of the former diplomat Shigeru Yoshida took over the governance of the country. When new radical trade unions began to put pressure on company management and threatened to hold a general strike on February 1, 1947, D. MacArthur intervened and ordered Yoshida to hold general elections in April 1947. The Japanese Socialist Party was considered the leading party at the time, but managed to win less than a third of the seats in parliament. Socialist leader Katayama Tetsu formed a coalition cabinet with the center-right Democratic Party. The coalition government fell in early 1948 when it was denied support by the right wing of the Democrats. The new bloc under the leadership of the leader of the Democratic Party, Hitoshi Ashida, collapsed at the end of 1948, after facts of bribery of Ashida and other government officials became known. In the subsequent elections, Yoshida's Liberal Party won a landslide victory. The subsequent merger of liberals with Democrats, which resulted in the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955, led to the establishment of a conservative monopoly on power, which lasted until 1993. The weakening of the influence of the socialists was a reflection of changes in American policy in the East. Initially, the US administration sought to create a demilitarized Japan. However, due to the deterioration of Soviet-American relations after 1945, the Chinese Revolution of 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, they saw Japan as an ally who could help the United States defend its interests in the Western Pacific.
In 1951, a peace treaty was signed in San Francisco, formally ending the state of war between the United States and Japan. Unresolved were the problems associated with the United States occupation of the Bonin and Okinawa islands, Japanese sovereignty over which was restored in 1968 and 1972, respectively. In 1952, a separate mutual security treaty was concluded, according to which the United States committed itself to defend Japan in the event of an attack in exchange on the use by the Americans of military bases on its territory.
In 1960, Prime Minister Ikeda Hayato unveiled plans to triple national income by the end of the decade. Although met with a fair amount of skepticism, this goal was nevertheless achieved. Another success of the decade was the holding Olympic Games 1964, which contributed to the construction of the bullet train railway between Tokyo and Osaka and a network of first-class highways.
The 1970s proved to be a more difficult decade. The cost of gasoline, electricity, plastics, and many other products rose so much that in 1974, for the first (and only) time, post-war period national income did not increase, but decreased. A number of energy-saving measures were put in place to help companies maintain prices and maintain vital export markets. In the second half of the 1970s, national income increased annually by an average of 5%.
In 1974, the country was rocked by a political scandal related to the activities of the American aircraft manufacturing company Lockheed. Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka received a large bribe from this company in connection with the purchase of aircraft by All Nippon Airways. After his arrest, Tanaka formally resigned from the LDP, but retained his seat in the House of Representatives and continued to lead the largest faction in the party. The Lockheed scandal contributed to a decline in the number of voters who supported the LDP in state elections in the 1970s.
An important political step was the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1972, and then the signing of a treaty of peace and friendship in 1978.
During the 1980s, Japan's economy continued to grow at a rapid pace, although slower than in the 1970s. To a large extent, this process was due to the further expansion of exports, especially to the United States, in volumes that significantly exceeded the increase in Japanese imports. The influx of money from abroad, resulting from foreign trade transactions, provided Japanese banks with a strong position in international financial spheres and allowed Japanese investors to actively acquire property abroad. In an atmosphere of “easy” money, corporations provided huge funds to leading functionaries of the ruling LDP, often arranging lucrative deals with securities. One such episode in 1984–1986 caused a public scandal involving leaders of all major factions of the LDP, including both the incumbent Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita and his predecessor Yasuhiro Nakasone. Public outrage over the bribery of officials forced Takeshita to resign in 1989 and was replaced by Sasuke Uno, a loyal representative of the Nakasone faction. The LDP under Takeshita managed to introduce a nationwide consumption tax, which was strongly opposed by opposition political forces, including the country's largest women's organization, the Housewives Union, and the Socialist Party led by Takako Doi. As a result, the LDP was defeated in the Tokyo municipal elections in early July, and in the mid-term Senate elections at the end of July 1989, the Socialists gained an advantage over the LDP. As a result, Uno had to resign and was replaced by Toshiki Kaifu.
In 1991, Kaifu left his post due to problems associated with the reform. electoral system. Despite his resignation as finance minister in 1988, Kiichi Miyazawa became prime minister. The scandals that drove Shin Kanemaru from the political scene led to the fall of the Miyazawa government and a major setback for the LDP. When Kanemaru was fined a small amount for receiving $4 million in illegal donations from transport company, controlled by the yakuza (organized criminal circles), public indignation forced him to renounce his parliamentary mandate in October 1992. In the general elections in July 1993, held on Miyazawa's initiative, the LDP was defeated. Seven opposition parties formed an alliance that ended the LDP's 38-year monopoly on power. In August 1993, the founder of the New Japan Party, Morihiro Hosokawa, headed the government, and Takako Doi was elected speaker of the House of Representatives.
During his ten-month tenure as prime minister, Hosokawa pushed through a compromise bill in January 1994 that would limit corporate funding of individual candidates and replaced the lower house's multi-member constituencies with single-member, proportional representation constituencies. The defection of several members of his team and violent opposition forced Hosokawa to resign in April 1994. Former Foreign Minister Tsutomu Hata became Prime Minister. The Khata government was in power for two months. In June 1994, another alliance, consisting of former opponents - the LDP and the Social Democratic Party, supported the candidacy of socialist leader Tomiichi Murayama for the post of prime minister. In the fall of that year, a special session of legislators began to redraw the boundaries of congressional districts.
In the early 1990s, Japan was at the height of its prosperity and economic power. However, her position could not be called strong. Asian neighbors, especially South Korea and Taiwan (followed by Thailand and Malaysia), have become large producers of low-cost products, including televisions, personal computers and cars, i.e. the very goods that made Japanese exports successful from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. To adapt to the new environment, Japanese industry has focused on advanced and technically sophisticated products such as optical communications, biotechnology, high-definition televisions, supercomputers, high-memory chips, aircraft and space vehicles.
Japan in the first half of the 19th century
Japan entered the 19th century as a typical feudal state. Since the 18th century, the country was ruled by the Tokugawa dynasty. Back in 1603, the Emperor of Japan gave Tokugawa Ieyasu the rights of shogun (commander-in-chief). In reality, the emperor’s power was nominal; the shogun (literally “tamed the savages”) ruled the country on his behalf. The top layer of the population were samurai, the second layer were peasants, and the third layer were artisans. Merchants were considered a lower class.
The first Europeans to visit Japan in 1652 were the Portuguese. Behind them appeared the British and Dutch. The Japanese bought firearms from them. Worried that foreigners would enslave the country, the shogun declared Japan a “closed country” in the mid-17th century.
Japan in the second half of the 19th century
In the 50-60s of the 19th century, Japan was forced to abandon its policy of self-isolation. On the other hand, the feudal lords, fearing popular uprisings, decided to sacrifice the shogunate regime under the slogan of restoring imperial power. In 1867, 15-year-old Mutsuhito was enthroned, and an armed clash broke out between the southern princes acting on behalf of the emperor and the shogun's supporters in 1868. The shogunate regime fell. These events went down in Japanese history as the 1868 Revolution. As a result of this revolution, the monarchy in reality became a bourgeois-landlord monarchy.
In 1868-1873, bourgeois reforms were carried out. Reflecting the interests of landowner-bourgeois circles, these reforms were aimed at eliminating economic dependence countries and create conditions for the development of capitalism. In accordance with the reform:
- To prevent the fragmentation of the country, the principalities were eliminated and prefectures subordinate to the center were created.
- A regular army was created.
- In 1871, the untouchable caste was eliminated.
- Samurai were allowed to master any profession.
- Freedom of trade was defined.
- Entered monetary unit- yen.
- The emperor's residence was moved from Kyoto to Edo. New capital was renamed Tokyo. Tokyo University was opened.
As a result of the agrarian reform of 1871-1873: 1) was eliminated land ownership princes and samurai; 2) land became an object of purchase and sale. As a result, two-thirds of arable land ended up in the hands of landowners, merchants and moneylenders. This reform created the conditions for the development of capitalism in the countryside, accelerating the process of stratification in society.
After the revolution of 1868, industry began to develop. The specificity of Japan was that, using scientific and technological achievements Western Europe and the United States, the industrial revolution was accelerated. By the end of the 19th century, the industrial revolution was close to completion. The state, at the expense of the treasury, built industrial enterprises and sold them at a cheap price to private owners. In the 80s of the 19th century, the monopolies of Mitsubishi, Yasuda, and Furukawa were formed.
After the implementation of bourgeois reforms, the emperor, relying on a European-style army, suppressed the actions of the samurai who were trying to maintain their previous status. To tame the mass popular movement in the country, the Law “On the Protection of Public Order” was issued. The police received the right to disperse public demonstrations.
To reduce discontent in the country and prevent possible democratic protests, the Constitution was adopted in 1889. The Emperor wanted to perpetuate his power with this Constitution. According to the Constitution:
1) the personality of the emperor was declared sacred and inviolable;
2) convening and dissolving parliament, hiring and dismissing high-ranking officials, declaring war and concluding peace as commander in chief - the emperor reserved all these functions for himself. The upper house consisted of deputies appointed by the emperor, and the lower house was elected (age limit: 25 years);
3) parliament adopted laws and approved the budget;
4) laws adopted by parliament came into force only after approval by the emperor.
Bourgeois-liberal parties received a larger number of seats in the lower house of parliament, forming an opposition to the government. To split the opposition, the emperor included representatives of the ruling parties in the government.
The limited domestic market of Japan and the lack of raw materials increased the country's aggressive appetites. The first target was Korea. In September 1875, fire was opened on Japanese ships from Ganghwa Island, and this became the reason for the war. Japanese military units were sent to Korea. In 1876, the Treaty of Ganghwa was concluded, according to which the Japanese were granted immunity and the right to duty-free trade. Korean ports were declared open to the Japanese.
Japan's aggression against Korea led to complications in relations with China. By concluding the Treaty of Tianjin in 1885, Japan gained time. The Korean problem was resolved as a result of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.
Japan at the beginning of the 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese capital began to influence China and Korea. One of the features of Japanese monopolies was their development on the basis of usurious and commercial capital. Japanese capitalism had a military-feudal character.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, political organizations were formed. On the initiative of Prince Ito, the liberal Seiyukai party was created in 1900, and in 1901, under the leadership of Sen Katayama, the Social Democratic Party of Japan was formed.
The struggle for spheres of influence Far East led to a deterioration in relations between Russia and Japan. The lease of the Liaodong Peninsula by Russia and the construction of the East China Railway further aggravated the contradictions.
The Anglo-Japanese Naval Alliance concluded in 1902 was a preparation for war with Russia. In January 1904 in the Korean port of Chemulpo Japanese fleet sank Russian ships - the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets". Thus began the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese army defeated the Russians at Liaoyang in August 1904. In February 1905, after a 10-month siege, Port Arthur fell.
In February 1905, near Mukden, the Japanese again won. In May, the Russian squadron was sunk in the Tsushima naval battle.
2. Japan in the first half of the twentieth century
By the beginning of the 20th century. Japan emerged as a rapidly developing state with a significant capitalist sector and lingering remnants of feudal relations in agriculture.
According to Asian traditions, Japanese monopolies were closely associated with feudal landowners and the monarchy. Back at the beginning of the twentieth century. The bourgeoisie used numerous pre-capitalist forms of exploitation - bonded hiring of women6 and children, a system of forced semi-prison-type dormitories, etc. The workers' standard of living was much lower than in other countries.
The global economic crisis of 1900 also affected the Japanese economy. Its result was the ruin of small and medium-sized capitalist enterprises and their absorption by large ones, as a result of which numerous monopolies began to appear in Japan. The predominant form of monopolistic associations of financial capital were trusts (dzaibatsu). At this time, such large monopolies as MITSUI, MITSUBISHI, SUMITOMO, YASUDA appeared in the country, which concentrated the lion's share of national wealth.
The rapid development of capitalism at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. began to be restrained by certain objective circumstances and, in particular, by the almost complete absence of its own raw material base... At the same time, Japan began to acutely feel the need for markets for the sale of its goods and investment of capital...
Trying to go beyond the boundaries of its territory, Japan at the turn of the century began to actively prepare for future military operations. Japan began to consider relatively closely located countries and territories – Korea, China and then Russia – as such objects. It took several years to prepare for these seizures. There was an active militarization of the country, supported by significant financial injections from the state and private companies.
In the war of 1904 - 1905. Japan inflicted heavy defeats on Russia on land and at sea. Russia's further struggle was interrupted by internal revolutionary upheavals. But Japan itself turned out to be severely exhausted and was unable to significantly expand and consolidate its victory. According to the Treaty of Portsmouth - 1905 - it received “exclusive rights” in Korea, received lands leased by Russia on the Liaodong Peninsula, the South Manchurian Railway. and the southern part of Sakhalin Island.
The outcome of the war freed Japan's hands in Korea. In 1905, an agreement on a Japanese protectorate was imposed on the Korean government, and since 1910, Korea generally became a Japanese colony.
In 1909, Japanese troops landed in Southern Manchuria (Kwantung Region) and actually forced the Qing court to agree to this annexation.
The Russo-Japanese War and the ongoing militarization of the country contributed to an even more rapid development of heavy industry, the concentration of capital and the strengthening of the positions of monopolies. But the country itself still remained agricultural.
In 1901, the Japanese Social Democratic Party was created in Japan, which was banned on the same day. Almost the entire first half of the century was marked by constant protests by workers. The government dealt extremely harshly with these phenomena and their leaders - repressions, numerous executions...
In August 1914, Japan entered the war with the Kaiser's Germany on the side of the Entente countries, but did not conduct military operations. Taking advantage of the situation, Japan began to alternately seize German possessions in the Far East and began to actively displace representatives of the Western capitalist world from Asian markets... Japan's main efforts were aimed at the expansion of China. In 1915, She captured the province of Shandong and issued an ultimatum to China with a number of demands that violated its sovereignty. But China was forced to accept them.
After the end of World War I, Japan undertook large-scale actions to seize Russian Primorye, Eastern Siberia and Northern Sakhalin. An intervention in the Russian Far East began, which was accompanied by cruel treatment of the civilian population... However, the actions of the Red Army and the unfolding partisan movement led to the fact that the Japanese were forced to withdraw their troops in 1922.
At the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, Japan achieved the transfer to it, in addition to Chinese Shandong, of the mandate for the Caroline, Marshall and Mariana Islands, which had previously been the possession of Germany - the Allies' payment for intervention in the Soviet Far East...
2.1 Japan in the 20s and 30s. XX century The beginning of the process of fascisation
In 1927, the cabinet of General Tanaka, a supporter of an aggressive foreign policy and reactionary domestic policy. Immediately after coming to power, the general formulated his vision of foreign policy, a document that later became known as the Tanaka Memorandum. This document outlined in detail the plans for Japan's future conquests - the countries of Southeast Asia, India, the seizure of Chinese territories (Manchuria and Mongolia), and then all of China. Then it was planned to capture Russia, war with Europe and the USA...
It should be noted that the rise to power of Tanaka and the reactionary circles in Japan that supported him was dictated by the deep economic crisis of the late 20s and beginnings. 30s A large number of people went bankrupt, especially among the middle urban strata and the middle bourgeoisie.
The elections of 1928 generally turned into massive pressure on voters. The elections were held in an atmosphere of corruption, outright bribery of deputies, and brutal police pressure on democratic deputies. All leftist and trade union organizations were closed. An important factor in the activation of the entire left wing of the labor movement was the participation of legal proletarian parties in the election campaign. Ronoto's election campaign, closely associated with Communist Party Japan, aroused the hatred of the ruling circles. The police dispersed rallies, arrested and expelled agitators. And yet, despite unheard of terror and tyranny, the proletarian parties received about half a million votes in the elections. The only representative of the Communist Party of Ukraine who entered parliament was killed the day after his first speech...
In March 1928, deputies of the proletarian parties created a joint action committee to expose government policies, which, in essence, was supposed to act as a parliamentary faction in the lower house of parliament. The success of the democratic forces in the elections showed the ruling camp that there was a growing force in the country capable of fighting against its aggressive policies. At dawn on March 15, 1928, arrests were carried out simultaneously in major centers - Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and then throughout the country. These police repressions were officially directed against the Communist Party of the Communist Party and other opposition organizations. In total, 1,600 workers and trade union activists were imprisoned / History of Japan, 1988, p. 234-235/.
The global economic crisis of 1929–1933, which began in October 1929 with the stock market crash in the United States, hit the Japanese economy particularly hard due to the close ties between the Japanese and American markets. This was also aggravated by the general economic weakness of Japan compared to other countries, the fragility of the economy, and the chronic crisis in industry and agriculture. Agriculture, which played a much larger role in Japan than in other capitalist countries, was among the first sectors of the economy to experience the impact of the crisis. The situation in sericulture was especially difficult, as it accounted for about half of all peasant farms in Japan. Until 1930, raw silk, mainly exported to the United States, accounted for about 30% of Japanese exports. As a result of the crisis in the United States, the export of Japanese silk sharply decreased, and as a consequence of this, there was a catastrophic drop in prices.
Lower prices for silk, rice and other products resulted in a 40% reduction in agricultural output. The volume of industrial production also decreased significantly, especially in the coal, metallurgical, and cotton industries. The narrowing of the domestic market, as well as a reduction in exports, led not only to a decrease in production levels, but also to the accumulation of huge inventories.
Faced with serious economic difficulties, Japan's ruling classes tried to shift the full brunt of the crisis onto the working masses. Mass layoffs and declines began wages. The number of unemployed increases during this period to 3 million. All this was accompanied by the massive ruin of small and medium-sized enterprises / History of Japan, 1988, p. 236/.
Fascization of Japan. The global economic crisis has led to a sharp deterioration in the situation of many segments of the population. The peasantry was especially dissatisfied. The middle bourgeoisie could not stand the competition either, and dissatisfaction with the “old concerns” of Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda grew among these strata. Naturally, there were a lot of people dissatisfied with the policies of the government, which was most often formed from parties associated with the same concerns...
"New concerns" - arose relatively recently during the First World War and later. They began to rise especially quickly on the wave of military orders of the 20s and 30s. Most often these are non-ferrous metallurgy industries, aircraft manufacturing, military factories, etc. They were closely connected with military circles, although they had a weak financial base and therefore waged a bitter struggle with the old financial oligarchy.
“Young officers” - junior and mid-level officer cadres of the rapidly growing army and navy... In their social composition they differed from the generals associated with the old aristocracy, the largest bureaucracy and the “old concerns”. They mainly came from small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and the rural elite - all these layers suffered particular difficulties during the years of crisis...
The union of “young officers” and “new concerns” became the Japanese version of fascism. The broad social base of fascisation was represented by the petty-bourgeois strata - representatives of the small and medium urban and rural bourgeoisie. Their programs and slogans often contained ideas of protecting the emperor from the dominance of the bureaucracy and financial oligarchy. In their arsenal there were many “democratic” appeals... Anti-capitalist and anti-American appeals were often encountered...
Emphasizing their devotion to the emperor, they demanded restrictions on the activities of the “old concerns”, opposed parliament, bourgeois-landlord parties, organized conspiracies and terrorist acts...
But it was the “new concerns”, not having a sufficient financial base, that were vitally interested in the speedy militarization and fascisation of the country, counting on government orders in the future...
Putsch. The alliance of these “new” forces decided to rid Japan of the “partocrats” through their physical destruction. One of the first victims was Prime Minister Hanaguchi, and then President Seiyukai and head of the cabinet Inaui.
In 1931, representatives of the “young officers” who were part of the Kwantung Army stationed in China provoked an incident in Manchuria and began military operations in Northeast China. Very soon, Manchuria was captured and the state of Manchukuo, “independent” from China, was created there, led by Emperor Pu Yi. At the same time, these units of the Japanese army occupied the so-called Inner Mongolia and intended, under the guise of “autonomy,” to also separate it from China...
The outbreak of hostilities in Northeast China was preceded by a slander campaign against the USSR and China in the Japanese press, inspired mainly by militaristic organizations and the reactionary bureaucracy. Operational plan war against the USSR, developed by the Japanese military in 1931, assumed the organization of provocations against Soviet borders, with the aim of creating a pretext for future military action.
The capture of Northeast China made it possible for Japanese militarists, together with Manchukuo troops and White Guard gangs, to carry out provocations and attacks on the borders and in the border regions of the USSR and the Mongolia. The CER became the object of unheard-of lawlessness of the Japanese authorities. Destruction of the track, theft of rolling stock, shelling and raids on trains, arrests of Soviet employees and workers made it urgent for the Soviet government to resolve the issue of the Chinese Eastern Railway. In an effort to put an end to tensions, stop the streak of continuous conflicts in this area, and achieve the establishment of peaceful relations with Japan, the Soviet Union in March 1935 signed an agreement on the sale of the Chinese Eastern Railway to the authorities of Manchukuo.
These events sharply worsened Japan's relations with Western countries. The League of Nations condemned this aggression and in 1933 Japan withdrew from it, which in fact was regarded in the world as the emergence of a future source of world war, which in fact will happen...
In the parliamentary elections in 1936, the workers' parties achieved significant success. This was the reason for a new putsch, organized by the “young officers” and fascist circles. It was attended by 1,500 people led by General Araki. Prime Minister Saito, Finance Minister Takahashi and some other prominent officials were killed. Several large administrative points were captured. However, this putsch was not supported by the army and was soon suppressed.
In 1937, the Konoe cabinet came to power, which was closely connected with the military and financial old concerns and court circles. He was able to achieve the consolidation of the ruling circles based on the implementation of a deep military program and tough domestic policy. All political parties were dissolved, many leaders of the Communist Party and other democratic forces were imprisoned. At the same time, a wide campaign of worship of the emperor began...
The Cabinet concluded in 1937 the so-called " Anti-Comintern Pact"with Nazi Germany. First of all, it was directed against the USSR, as well as against the USA and England in the event of their opposition in the event of a Japanese attack on China.
1937 war with China. On July 7, 1937, the Japanese armed invasion of Northern China began. Then hostilities were extended to the entire territory of China. The country's economy was put at the service of the war, which absorbed huge amounts of money - military spending began to account for 70 - 80% of the budget. This caused serious financial difficulties. The active development of heavy industry, especially military industry, to the detriment of industries working for the domestic market, could not but lead to the deformation of the economy, to its increasing adaptation to the needs of an aggressive war. The growth of the military industry and mobilization into the army led, however, to a slight reduction in the unemployed. The officially established working day of 12–14 hours lasted, as a rule, to 14–16 hours.
The situation was also difficult in the Japanese countryside. The crisis state characteristic of Agriculture, became even more aggravated due to the war. The mobilization of peasants into the army deprived the village of the most able-bodied segment of the population, and the cessation of the supply of industrial goods and chemical products led to a sharp drop in yields.
At the same time, having started the war in China, Konoe's cabinet intensified the fight against anti-militarist and anti-war sentiments in the country. Officially it was called the “movement to mobilize the national spirit.” All democratic organizations that, on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War, took anti-war positions were destroyed. On December 15, 1937, the police made mass arrests of communists, trade union leaders, and representatives of the progressive intelligentsia. The number of those arrested exceeded 10 thousand people / History of Japan, 1988, p. 257, 258/.
The USA and Great Britain, through their policy of non-intervention, actually encouraged Japan to take further military action, hoping that it would start a war against the USSR. In the summer of 1938, Japanese troops attempted to invade Soviet territory in the area of Lake Khasan (near Vladivostok), but were repulsed after fierce fighting. In the spring and summer of 1939 - a new conflict now on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic, with which the USSR had an agreement and Soviet-Mongolian troops defeated the Japanese at the Khalkin-Gol River...
This meant that the next sharp increase in oil prices in the late 1970s had no impact. significant influence on the Japanese economy. The second half of the 70s and 80s was a transition to a model of moderate rates of economic development, the most important features of which were the creation of knowledge-intensive production. The main attention began to be paid to industries operating for export...
Contradictions. As a result, the Far Eastern outskirts of Russia become an arena of class struggle, a place where the driving forces of the bourgeois-democratic revolution mature. International situation in the Far East in the second half of the 19th century. Despite the high rates of economic development in the post-reform period, Russia continued to lag behind such capitalist states as England, France, ...
The capitalist development of Japan, and the seizure of Fr. Taiwan and the Penghuledao Islands marked the beginning of the creation of the Japanese colonial empire. 6. Foreign policy at the beginning of the 20th century. Japan's preparation for world war Japan's international influence grew. Japan obtained from the European powers and the United States the abolition of unequal treaties. England was the first to refuse such a treaty - July 16, 1894. In the end...
Human. The process begun in Helsinki was continued at subsequent meetings of representatives of OSCE participating States. However, further actions of the Soviet and American leadership led to the fact that in the second half of the 70s. the process of détente faded and the Cold War resumed. The USSR decided to replace the obsolete SS-4 and SS-4 missiles with new, more powerful SS-20 missiles. There were new missiles...
As everyone probably knows, the middle of the 20th century for Japan was overshadowed by the tragic events associated with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And this period was very difficult for the country, because its economy was also greatly weakened.
The only chance to restore the country from ruins was a complete renewal of the production base, as well as powerful leaps in technology. Acting with maximum effort, the Japanese managed not only to develop the production of computers, cars, and any new scientific technologies according to Western models, but also to make their own adjustments to them, due to which the whole world started talking about the country.
Thanks to its own additions, Japan has formed its own system of education and sports, which fully reflects the essence of the culture of this country. And now the hard work of the Japanese has made their culture attractive to all peoples of the world, as well as to people of all ages. Having taken one of the first places on the world stage, Japan now strives to improve every day, creating more and more beautiful, unusual and new things and technologies.
Reflection of national art in the culture of the 20th century
Enriched with new knowledge, Japanese culture allowed cinema to transition to new level. At first, the Japanese began to produce films that were somewhat reminiscent of ordinary theaters, but after a while the acting style was reformed towards realism. And in every still reflects the essence of the country, which demonstrates simplicity, contemplation and laconicism.
By the way, in the middle of the 20th century there were already six large film companies in Japan, and around the same time the creation of gorgeous films by the world famous .
Also, the art of Japan has been enriched with a new genre - which has gained worldwide popularity. At first, there was imitation of their Western colleagues, including Disney, but then the Japanese decided to enlarge the eyes of the characters in order to give their heroes distinctive features.
Japanese literature has made a real revolution in the minds of readers, captivating them with drama and frankness, as well as combining reality and mythology. And, perhaps, we should name the names of the writers who became the founders of such art in Japan - And .
Of course, we must not forget about Japan. At the beginning of the century, shakuhachi and shamisen instruments were especially popular, but they soon faded into the background. After all, Japanese hearts were conquered by synthesizers and electric guitars, which later were able to gain worldwide recognition.
The influence of culture on Japanese fashion in modern times of the 20th century
Of course, the culture and art of the 20th century around the world, as well as Japan, left their mark on fashion, which has retained its trends to this day. With the advent of anime, the Japanese, and subsequently residents of other countries, began to imitate the heroes, dressing up as cartoon characters and copying their gestures, behavior, and statements.
In some areas of Japan you can meet young people who identify themselves as belonging to a certain subculture. For example, supporters of the Gothic movement constantly dress in black outfits, lace frills, and leather gloves. Fans of RnB and hip-hop often visit solariums to give their skin an unnatural shade of tan, which is not typical for the Japanese, and also dye their hair white.
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