The Japanese militarism was an ideological trend that prevailed in Japan during the first half of the last century. The principles of militarism are based on the fact that the armed forces are the ones that keep the peace, and peace is the priority in a nation.
Under this premise, it is accepted that the military have dominion over the State, thus establishing a totalitarian state.
This militarism had a dictatorial nationalist tone and the emperor became a symbolic figure.
For this reason, this concept is normally linked to undemocratic situations and violent confrontations.
Several Latin American countries were under militaristic mandates for most of the last century, but these were overthrown or fell from grace.
There are no nations in which militarism has been established and its effectiveness can be demonstrated. Therefore, it is an openly criticized ideology.
Background
Post-World War I Japan was severely weakened due to various circumstances.
The economic situation was close to being unsustainable and the authorities did not provide concrete solutions.
Furthermore, at this time Japan had a great ambition for territorial expansion. This led to the belief that only military strategies could be successful in such a mission.
The military forces were infiltrating power. By the 1930s, the central command nucleus was military.
The guiding objective of the Japanese state became the recovery of the nation through conquest.
Their hypothesis dictated that by expanding their territories they would have more wealth, with which they would solve the country's problems. But these problems kept growing. Due to this they initiated and propitiated many territorial battles.
Japanese militarism came to an end with World War II. After such a defeat and years of abuse, militarism could not sustain itself.
Japan after World War I
The situation in interwar Japan was delicate. The country had invested and lost a lot of money in the First World War.
From the spoils of the battle they were given some lands to the west of Germany. But it was not enough to make up for the investment.
Furthermore, the population increase that had been taking place since the last decades of the 19th century had reached its peak. In such precarious living conditions, famine had broken out.
Another aspect of destabilization was China's anti-Japanese campaign, which had hurt import and export businesses.
Submerged in this decline and being so vulnerable, the installation of militarism was allowed.
Main features
Japanese militarism had traits that responded to Japanese culture, such as veneration for fighting and honorable death, and respect for whoever defended the nation. These are traits deeply rooted in Japanese idiosyncrasy for millennia.
The Japanese military state was particularly violent. They believed that force was the only means to achieve objectives.
Through nationalist campaigns they managed to convince the population that they were the way, at the same time that they sowed a patriotic sense to the extreme.
The state was considered to be above the welfare of the individual, and that they had the mission of proclaiming the superiority of their race through occupation.
End of militarism
Japanese militarism saw its end with World War II. The two nuclear bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki confirmed the inferiority of the Japanese army. After the war, the United States occupied Japanese territory.
References
- The rise of the militarism (2017) britannica.com
- Japanese militarism (2017) american-historama.org
- The rise of japanese militarism. (2015) counterpunch.org
- Mlitarism in Japan (2017) questia.com
- Nationalist militarism in Japan. artehistoria.com