Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919-37): Reasons for the Military's Dominance, ISC Class 11

What Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37) is about

Weightage: CISCE gives no Class XI unit weightage for ISC History. Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37) is topic 12 of the Class XI syllabus (World History) and can be asked anywhere in the 80-mark Paper I (Theory, 3 hours). Class XI is examined by the school, so your school sets the paper and decides how many marks each topic carries.Source: CISCE ISC History (851) syllabus, examination year 2028, Class XI

Key concepts

A political system that favoured the military

1. The Meiji Constitution (1889) made the Emperor sacred and sovereign; ministers were responsible to him, not to the Diet (parliament).
2. The 'right of supreme command': the army and navy chiefs could report directly to the Emperor, bypassing the cabinet, so the government could not fully control the armed forces.
3. Service ministers: the army and navy ministers had to be officers. By refusing to supply a minister, or by withdrawing one, the military could prevent a cabinet from forming or make it resign. This rule was relaxed in the 1910s-20s but restored in 1936, which greatly increased the army's power.
4. Advisers to the Emperor (elder statesmen, the Privy Council) were not elected, and the Emperor Hirohito (from 1926) rarely opposed the military openly.
5. Soldiers were trained to see themselves as loyal servants of the Emperor rather than of politicians, which made disobedience in the Emperor's name seem patriotic.

Worked example

[4] How did the Meiji Constitution help the rise of militarism in Japan? (Analysis)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Emperor sovereign; ministers responsible to him, not the Diet - 1 mark.
2. Right of supreme command: military reported directly to the Emperor - 1 mark.
3. Army and navy ministers had to be officers; military could topple cabinets - 1 mark.
4. Weak civilian control; soldiers' loyalty to the Emperor, not politicians - 1 mark.

Answer: The constitution made the Emperor sovereign and ministers answerable to him rather than the Diet; it let the army and navy chiefs report directly to the Emperor, bypassing the cabinet; it required service ministers to be officers, so the military could break or block a cabinet by refusing to supply one; and it bred an officer corps loyal to the Emperor rather than to elected politicians.

Weak and discredited party government

1. In the 1920s Japan moved towards parliamentary rule ('Taisho democracy'): party leaders became prime ministers (Hara Takashi from 1918), and the General Election Law (1925) gave the vote to all adult men.
2. But the same year the Peace Preservation Law (1925) allowed severe action against communists and radicals, and democracy remained shallow.
3. Corruption: the main parties (Seiyukai and Minseito) depended on the zaibatsu (big business houses such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi) for funds; scandals were frequent.
4. Instability: frequent changes of government; Prime Minister Hara was assassinated (1921) and Prime Minister Hamaguchi was shot (1930).
5. Failure to solve problems: governments could not end rural poverty or the economic crisis, and appeared to put business interests first.
6. As a result many Japanese, especially in the army and the countryside, came to see party politicians as selfish and unpatriotic, and looked to the military and the Emperor for leadership.

Worked example

[4] Why did party government lose public confidence in Japan by the early 1930s? (Understanding)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Corruption and dependence on the zaibatsu - 1 mark.
2. Unstable governments; assassinations of Hara (1921) and Hamaguchi (1930) - 1 mark.
3. Failure to deal with the Depression and rural distress - 1 mark.
4. Seen as weak towards the West (naval treaties) - 1 mark.

Answer: The parties were tied to the zaibatsu and tainted by corruption; governments changed often and political violence, including the shooting of Hamaguchi in 1930, showed their weakness; they failed to relieve the rural misery of the Depression; and by accepting naval limits imposed by the West they seemed to betray national interests, so people turned to the military.

Grievances against the Western powers

1. Paris Peace Conference (1919): Japan, an ally in World War I, gained Germany's rights in Shandong and some Pacific islands as mandates, but its proposal to include racial equality in the League Covenant was rejected, which Japanese saw as racist.
2. Washington Conference (1921-22): Japan had to accept a ratio of 5:5:3 in capital ships with the USA and Britain, and to return Shandong to China; the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was ended. Many nationalists felt Japan was being kept in an inferior position.
3. US Immigration Act (1924): excluded Japanese immigrants, an insult to national pride.
4. London Naval Treaty (1930): extended limits on Japan's navy; navy officers and nationalists accused the government of betraying the nation. Prime Minister Hamaguchi, who accepted it, was shot by a nationalist in November 1930.
5. Western tariffs during the Depression shut Japanese goods out of markets, strengthening the argument that Japan needed its own sphere in Asia.

These grievances helped militarists argue that co-operation with the West had failed and that Japan should rely on its own strength.

Worked example

[4] How did relations with the Western powers between 1919 and 1930 encourage militarism in Japan? (Analysis)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Racial equality proposal rejected at Paris (1919) - 1 mark.
2. Washington ratio 5:5:3 and return of Shandong (1922) - 1 mark.
3. US Immigration Act (1924) excluded Japanese - 1 mark.
4. London Naval Treaty (1930); Hamaguchi shot; Western tariffs - 1 mark.

Answer: At Paris in 1919 the Western powers rejected Japan's racial equality proposal; at Washington in 1922 Japan had to accept an inferior 5:5:3 naval ratio and return Shandong; the US Immigration Act of 1924 shut out Japanese immigrants; and the London Naval Treaty of 1930 extended naval limits, leading to the shooting of Prime Minister Hamaguchi. Militarists used these humiliations to argue that Japan must rely on force rather than co-operation.

Economic crisis and the Great Depression

1. The 1920s were troubled: a post-war slump, the great Kanto earthquake (1923) that devastated Tokyo and Yokohama, and a banking crisis (1927).
2. Silk: Japan's chief export, raw silk, went mainly to the USA. After 1929 American demand and silk prices collapsed, ruining millions of farming families who raised silkworms.
3. Rice prices also fell; peasants fell into debt and hunger, especially in north-eastern Japan, where some families were forced to sell daughters into domestic or factory service.
4. Exports fell sharply as other countries raised tariffs; unemployment rose in the towns.
5. The zaibatsu survived and even gained, buying up weaker firms, which made the contrast between rich business and poor villages glaring.
6. Many army officers came from rural families and blamed politicians and big business for the suffering. They argued that conquest of Manchuria and China would provide land for settlers, raw materials and secure markets.

Worked example

[4] How did the Great Depression contribute to the rise of militarism in Japan? (Analysis)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Collapse of silk exports to the USA - 1 mark.
2. Fall in rice prices; rural debt and hunger - 1 mark.
3. Zaibatsu prospered; parties blamed - 1 mark.
4. Army officers from rural families demanded expansion for resources and markets - 1 mark.

Answer: The Depression destroyed American demand for Japanese silk and pushed down rice prices, plunging villages into debt and hunger; meanwhile the zaibatsu prospered and the parties tied to them were blamed; and army officers, many from rural families, argued that only an empire in Manchuria and China could provide land, raw materials and markets.

Nationalism, ideology and the drive for empire

1. Emperor worship: State Shinto taught that the Emperor was divine and that Japan had a unique mission; schools stressed loyalty and sacrifice.
2. Ultranationalist societies and young officers (such as the Cherry Blossom Society, 1930) called for a 'Showa Restoration': rule by the Emperor through the military, free of corrupt politicians and capitalists.
3. Pan-Asianism: Japan claimed it should lead Asia and free it from Western domination.
4. Fear of communism, both inside Japan and from the Soviet Union, whose power was growing in the Far East.
5. Chinese nationalism: after the Kuomintang unified much of China (1928), Japanese interests in Manchuria (the South Manchurian Railway, mines, investments) seemed threatened.
6. Economic needs: Japan lacked coal, iron, oil and land for its growing population; Manchuria had coal, iron and farmland.
7. The army's leaders believed that Japan must control Manchuria and northern China to be secure and self-sufficient.

Worked example

[4] Why did Japanese militarists want to control Manchuria? (Understanding)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Raw materials: coal, iron and farmland - 1 mark.
2. Protect the South Manchurian Railway and investments from Chinese nationalism - 1 mark.
3. Buffer against the Soviet Union and communism - 1 mark.
4. Land for settlers and markets; national prestige and Pan-Asian leadership - 1 mark.

Answer: Manchuria offered coal, iron and farmland that resource-poor Japan needed; Japan's railway and investments there seemed threatened by Chinese nationalism after 1928; it could serve as a buffer against the Soviet Union and communism; and it promised land for settlers, secure markets and the prestige of leading Asia.

Direct action: Manchuria, assassinations and the military's dominance (1931-37)

1. Mukden Incident (18 September 1931): officers of the Kwantung Army (Japan's army in Manchuria) blew up a section of the South Manchurian Railway near Mukden, blamed the Chinese, and occupied Manchuria without the government's approval. The government could not stop them, and the public cheered.
2. Manchukuo (1932): a puppet state under the last Qing emperor, Puyi.
3. League of Nations: the Lytton Report condemned Japan; Japan announced its withdrawal from the League (March 1933), choosing isolation over compromise.
4. May 15 Incident (1932): young naval officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. Party cabinets came to an end; later governments were led by admirals, generals or bureaucrats acceptable to the military.
5. February 26 Incident (1936): young army officers attempted a coup in Tokyo and killed several leading figures, including Finance Minister Takahashi. The rising was crushed on the Emperor's orders, but the army leadership used it to tighten its grip; the rule that service ministers must be active officers was restored (1936).
6. Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany (November 1936).
7. Marco Polo Bridge Incident (7 July 1937): a clash near Beijing led to full-scale war with China.

Result: by 1937 the military dominated Japanese policy, and Japan was set on the path of expansion that led to the Pacific War.

Worked example

[4] Explain the importance of the Mukden Incident of 1931. (Analysis)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Kwantung Army staged a railway explosion and blamed China - 1 mark.
2. Conquered Manchuria without government approval - 1 mark.
3. Government could not control the army; public support for the army grew - 1 mark.
4. Manchukuo (1932); Japan left the League (1933): path of aggression - 1 mark.

Answer: Officers of the Kwantung Army staged an explosion on the railway near Mukden, blamed the Chinese and conquered Manchuria without the government's approval. The civilian government proved unable to control the army, while the public cheered the success. The creation of Manchukuo in 1932 and Japan's withdrawal from the League in 1933 set Japan on a course of military expansion.

Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37) in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• The Constitution, Party Government and Grievances against the West
• Depression, Nationalism and Direct Action, 1931-37

Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37): key facts

Constitution

Meiji Constitution 1889

Emperor sovereign; right of supreme command; officer-ministers.

1920s politics

Hara PM 1918 (killed 1921); universal male suffrage and Peace Preservation Law 1925

Seiyukai and Minseito; zaibatsu.

Grievances

Racial equality rejected 1919; Washington 5:5:3 (1922); US Immigration Act 1924; London Naval Treaty 1930

Hamaguchi shot November 1930.

Economic shocks

Kanto earthquake 1923; bank crisis 1927; Depression from 1929

Silk and rice collapse.

Manchuria

Mukden 18 September 1931; Manchukuo 1932; left League 1933

Kwantung Army; Lytton Report.

Military dominance

Inukai killed 15 May 1932; February 26 Incident 1936; Anti-Comintern Pact 1936; Marco Polo Bridge 7 July 1937

End of party cabinets.

How the school exam asks Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37)

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Six reasons: 'C-P-W-D-N-A'

  Constitution, Parties discredited, West's insults, Depression, Nationalism, Army's direct action.

  Use it when: Eight-mark answer plan.

• Western insults in order

  1919 race, 1922 ratio, 1924 immigration, 1930 London.

  Use it when: Grievances against the West.

• Bullets and bombs

  1930 Hamaguchi shot; 1931 Mukden bomb; 1932 Inukai killed; 1936 mutiny.

  Use it when: Violence that intimidated civilians.

Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37): exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section D style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 8-mark question split into 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Describing Japan's wars instead of the reasons for militarism

  The syllabus asks only for reasons for the rise of militarism in the 1930s.

  ✓Do this: Use events (Mukden, assassinations) to show how the military gained power, not to narrate campaigns.

  Usually costs: 2-4 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Calling the Emperor a dictator like Hitler

  Japan had no single dictator; the military gained control within the imperial system.

  ✓Do this: Say 'the military dominated government in the Emperor's name'.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Mixing up the May 1932 and February 1936 incidents

  Both involved young officers and killings.

  ✓Do this: 1932: naval officers, Inukai killed, end of party cabinets. 1936: army mutiny in Tokyo, crushed.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Listing only economic causes

  Militarism had political, constitutional, international and ideological roots.

  ✓Do this: Use C-P-W-D-N-A to cover all six.

  Usually costs: 2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Wrong naval ratio

  5:5:3 is easily reversed.

  ✓Do this: USA 5, Britain 5, Japan 3.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

Practice questions on Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

   What was the Kwantung Army?

   Hint

   Stationed in Manchuria.

   Answer

   Japan's army stationed in Manchuria to guard its leased territory and railway.

2. Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level

   In which year did Japan withdraw from the League of Nations?

   Hint

   After the Lytton Report.

   Answer

   1933.

3. Q3 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   The naval ratio for capital ships agreed at the Washington Conference for the USA, Britain and Japan was:
   (a) 5:5:5
   (b) 5:5:3
   (c) 5:3:3
   (d) 3:3:5

   Hint

   Japan the smallest.

   Answer

   (b) 5:5:3.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level

   Which Japanese Prime Minister was assassinated on 15 May 1932?

   Hint

   Last party PM before the war.

   Answer

   Inukai Tsuyoshi.

5. Q5 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   [4] Explain the role of the zaibatsu in the discrediting of party government.

   Hint

   Funding, scandals, Depression.

   Answer

   (1) The main parties depended on the zaibatsu for funds. (2) Scandals linked politicians to business favours. (3) During the Depression the zaibatsu survived and gained while farmers suffered. (4) Nationalists and officers therefore saw the parties as servants of big business, not the nation.

6. Q6 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   [4] How did Chinese nationalism and the Soviet Union affect Japanese thinking about Manchuria?

   Hint

   KMT 1928; communism.

   Answer

   (1) After the Kuomintang unified much of China (1928), Chinese nationalists sought to recover rights in Manchuria. (2) Japan's railway and investments there seemed threatened. (3) The growing military power of the Soviet Union in the Far East alarmed Japanese planners. (4) Control of Manchuria was seen as a buffer and a base against both.

7. Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   [4] Why did the government in Tokyo fail to control the Kwantung Army in 1931?

   Hint

   Supreme command, popularity, fear.

   Answer

   (1) Under the right of supreme command the army reported to the Emperor, not the cabinet. (2) The army's success was popular with the public and press. (3) Politicians feared assassination by nationalists. (4) The cabinet could not order a withdrawal without risking the army refusing to supply a War Minister and bringing it down.

8. Q8 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   [4] 'Japan's militarism in the 1930s was a reaction to a world that had closed its doors to Japan.' Discuss.

   Hint

   Tariffs, immigration, naval limits; internal causes.

   Answer

   (1) Western tariffs in the Depression closed markets to Japanese goods. (2) The US Immigration Act (1924) shut out Japanese settlers; naval treaties limited its strength. (3) Militarists argued Japan needed its own sphere in Asia. (4) But internal factors (the constitution, weak parties, nationalism, rural distress) were equally important, so the statement is only partly true.

9. Q9 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   [4] Compare the rise of militarism in Japan with the rise of Fascism in Italy.

   Hint

   Grievances, crisis, leader, method.

   Answer

   (1) Both fed on grievances over the peace settlement and Western treatment ('mutilated victory'; racial equality, naval ratios). (2) Both exploited economic crisis and fear of communism. (3) Italy had a single leader and party (Mussolini, the Fascist Party); Japan had no single dictator, but the army gradually took control. (4) Italy's change came by a March on Rome and dictatorship; Japan's by army action abroad and assassinations at home.

10. Q10 · 8 marks · Long answerHarder exam level

    [8] (a) Explain how Japan's relations with the Western powers between 1919 and 1930 encouraged militarism. [4]
    (b) Explain how events from 1931 to 1937 put the military in control. [4]

    Hint

    (a) four grievances; (b) four events.

    Answer

    (a) (1) Rejection of the racial equality proposal (1919). (2) Washington: 5:5:3 ratio, Shandong returned, alliance ended (1922). (3) US Immigration Act (1924). (4) London Naval Treaty (1930) and the shooting of Hamaguchi. (b) (1) Mukden Incident and conquest of Manchuria (1931); Manchukuo (1932). (2) Withdrawal from the League (1933). (3) Assassination of Inukai (1932) ended party cabinets. (4) February 26 Incident (1936), active-duty rule restored; war with China after the Marco Polo Bridge clash (1937).

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What was the 'right of supreme command'?Show answer

   The armed forces' right to report directly to the Emperor, bypassing the cabinet.

2. 2.What were the zaibatsu?Show answer

   Large family-controlled business groups, such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi.

3. 3.Which report condemned Japan over Manchuria?Show answer

   The Lytton Report (1932).

4. 4.Who became ruler of Manchukuo?Show answer

   Puyi, the last Qing emperor of China.

5. 5.Which pact did Japan sign with Germany in November 1936?Show answer

   The Anti-Comintern Pact.

6. 6.Which incident began full-scale war with China in July 1937?Show answer

   The Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Meiji Constitution: Emperor sovereign; supreme command; officer-ministers (rule restored 1936).
• ☐1920s: party PMs, male suffrage 1925, Peace Preservation Law; corruption and zaibatsu.
• ☐Grievances: racial equality rejected 1919; 5:5:3 in 1922; Immigration Act 1924; London 1930.
• ☐Economy: earthquake 1923, banking crisis 1927, Depression: silk and rice collapse.
• ☐Nationalism: State Shinto, ultranationalist societies, Pan-Asianism, fear of communism and Chinese nationalism.
• ☐Mukden 1931; Manchukuo 1932; League left 1933; Inukai killed 1932; February 26 Incident 1936; Marco Polo Bridge 1937.

Rise of Militarism in Japan (1919–37): frequently asked questions