On September 27, 1940, the Japanese signed the Tripartite Pact, becoming an official member of the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis - or the Axis Alliance. The Axis of Germany, Italy, and Japan became key participants in World War II (“Axis Alliance in World War II”). While a war was fought in the Pacific and Europe, various things were unfolding in the homelands of the many countries involved in the war. When the war began in September, 1939, Japan, an empire that had already conquered Manchuria in 1937 and turned it into the puppet state of Manchukuo, was in their late Showa Period (Hicks). ‘Showa’ literally means ‘Enlightenment and Harmony’. While the government liked to portray this as what life was like for Japanese civilians, at the start of the
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During the Emperor’s reign, he enabled the militarization of Japan by appointing Prime Ministers from the military rather than political parties. After two Prime Ministers were assassinated, Makoto Saito, an admiral of the Imperial Japanese navy, was put into office in 1932. There were then various other Prime Ministers chosen from the military after Prime Minister Saito, but by 1940, the Prime Ministers came from the Imperial Rule Assistance Association - Fumimaro Konoe in 1940, Hideki Tojo from 1940 to 1944, and Kuniaki Koiso, Kantaro Suzuki, and Naruhiko Higashikuni through 1944 and 1945. The government of Japan during the Showa Period was very manipulative of people, using the media and propaganda to alter the mindsets and opinions of the masses, encourage a strong sense of nationalism, and keep citizens unquestioningly loyal to the Emperor. Oddly enough, it would seem that, presumably because the Prime Ministers were taken from the military or IRAA and not elected from party candidates, that the Prime Ministers during this time were not very popular with the civilians …show more content…
From 1945 to 1952, Japan experienced Allied occupation of their country, headed by the US General, Douglas MacArthur. These political changes included the total deconstruction of the military dictatorship, involving the war crime trials that eliminated military leaders like Hideki Tojo, and the formation of a constitutional monarchy with the downgrade of the Emperor’s status to a figurehead and the introduction of a parliamentary system and a Prime Minister. A new constitution was formed that gave more rights to people, particularly to women, and temporarily took away Japan’s right to declare war and ability to have non-defensive armed forces. This new government, which still exists today in Japan (minus Allied interference) was accompanied by economic changes as well, which set up a free enterprise, competitive, capitalist economy. The Allied management attempted to deal with the crisis of taxes, inflation, and Japan’s lack of raw resources for industrial growth for a while, and eventually, during the Korean Wars, Japan was able to contribute by becoming a supply depot for the Allies, and their economy was boosted. Today, Japan is considered one of the most successful, first world democracies, which may not have been the case if the Allies had not reformed Japan after the war (‘Occupation and Reconstruction of
During the Emperor’s reign, he enabled the militarization of Japan by appointing Prime Ministers from the military rather than political parties. After two Prime Ministers were assassinated, Makoto Saito, an admiral of the Imperial Japanese navy, was put into office in 1932. There were then various other Prime Ministers chosen from the military after Prime Minister Saito, but by 1940, the Prime Ministers came from the Imperial Rule Assistance Association - Fumimaro Konoe in 1940, Hideki Tojo from 1940 to 1944, and Kuniaki Koiso, Kantaro Suzuki, and Naruhiko Higashikuni through 1944 and 1945. The government of Japan during the Showa Period was very manipulative of people, using the media and propaganda to alter the mindsets and opinions of the masses, encourage a strong sense of nationalism, and keep citizens unquestioningly loyal to the Emperor. Oddly enough, it would seem that, presumably because the Prime Ministers were taken from the military or IRAA and not elected from party candidates, that the Prime Ministers during this time were not very popular with the civilians …show more content…
From 1945 to 1952, Japan experienced Allied occupation of their country, headed by the US General, Douglas MacArthur. These political changes included the total deconstruction of the military dictatorship, involving the war crime trials that eliminated military leaders like Hideki Tojo, and the formation of a constitutional monarchy with the downgrade of the Emperor’s status to a figurehead and the introduction of a parliamentary system and a Prime Minister. A new constitution was formed that gave more rights to people, particularly to women, and temporarily took away Japan’s right to declare war and ability to have non-defensive armed forces. This new government, which still exists today in Japan (minus Allied interference) was accompanied by economic changes as well, which set up a free enterprise, competitive, capitalist economy. The Allied management attempted to deal with the crisis of taxes, inflation, and Japan’s lack of raw resources for industrial growth for a while, and eventually, during the Korean Wars, Japan was able to contribute by becoming a supply depot for the Allies, and their economy was boosted. Today, Japan is considered one of the most successful, first world democracies, which may not have been the case if the Allies had not reformed Japan after the war (‘Occupation and Reconstruction of