Andrew Schafale

Ms. Burke

Honors World History 10

May 15, 2018

The Nationalist Revolution in Japan

Though World War I had just ended, the 1920’s and 1930’s were still difficult times in

many places. These 20 years saw revolutionary movements and economic depressions all

around the world. One country that was hit by both of these was Japan, which thrived in the

1920’s, but watched it fall quickly. The revolutionary movement in Japan was caused by the

rapid decline of the economy during the Great Depression, and resulted in Japan becoming

hungry for land and power.

During this time period, the Japanese economy rose and fell very quickly. During World

War I, Japanese trade rose greatly due to the nations at war needing Japanese goods. The

government was also thriving, making this a good time for Japan. That would change once the

Great Depression came. Countries around the world could no longer afford any unnecessary

Japanese goods, which caused trade to greatly decline and Japan to struggle economically. Many

people became poor or unemployed, and when extreme nationalists known as Ultranationalists

saw this, they used it to gain power to restore Japan to greatness. The Ultranationalist movement

would soon go on to impact a large portion of the world.

Once the Ultranationalists gained support in Japan, they were determined to gain power

and land for the Japanese empire. Japan had few natural resources and not enough land, so the

Ultranationalists planned to take China’s territory of Manchuria. To make it look like China was

the one who started the fighting, Japan blew up one of its own trains snd claimed China did it.
This would allow them to invade out of “self-defense” and not appear to be the bad guy to the

rest of the world. The Japanese did exactly that, taking Manchuria as a puppet state.

Meanwhile, back in Japan, the Ultranationalists were implementing their extreme ideas and

policies. When the West asked them to stop their expansion, they refused and criticized anyone

who agreed to the West’s orders. The Ultranationalists began to take more control, taking charge

of many aspects of citizens’ lives, such as schooling. Japan’s government had quickly become

like that of an authoritarian state. The situation in Japan had been similar to Italy’s when

Mussolini rose to power. Both Mussolini and the Ultranationalists used their countries struggles

and the peoples’ frustration to gain power, set extreme nationalist goals of power and expansion,

and set up an authoritarian government.

The Japanese economy rose fast and fell faster during the 1920’s. The struggles led to a

new government that was determined to make Japan great. Japan would go on to begin

expansion in places such as Manchuria, leading to it making more enemies. The Ultranationalist

movement in Japan was very good for Japan in the short term, but in the long run, it ended up

leading to many new problems.