Revision Test Unit 2: Authoritarian Regimes – Japan
3b
“The political impact of military dictatorship on Japan is more [13]
significant than the social impact. Do you agree?”
L1
Writes about impact of militarism but without focus on the [1]
question.
Award 1m max
L2
Agrees OR disagrees, and identifies reason (s)
Award 2m for identifying 1 point for agreeing or disagreeing
L3
Agrees AND disagrees, and identifies reasons.
[3]
Award 3m for identifying 1 point for agreeing AND disagreeing.
E.g.
Agree. Political impact of military dictatorship is more significant, as it
meant that political opposition would not be tolerated, and that the
military was in charge of the conceptualization of domestic and
foreign policy, which will in turn affect the rest of society.
[2]
However, the social impact on the lives of youths, working men and
women cannot be discounted, as their lives were shaped increasingly
by the militaristic tendencies in society.
L4
Explains reasons for agreement OR disagreement
[4-7]
4-5 marks max for one point, with example and analysis
6-7 marks for two points, with examples and analysis
The political impact of military dictatorship on Japan was more
significant than the social impact, as it purged political opposition to
the military, which in turn ensured that militaristic values were
perpetuated throughout society. (Main point)
Military dictatorship started officially in 1932 with the assassination of
Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, and the military leaders utilized the
Peace Preservation Law of 1925 to purge any opposition to their rule.
For example, Professor Minobe, appointed member of the House of
Peers in 1932, was forced to resign in 1935 by the right-wing Baron
Takeo Kikuchi and General Genkuro Eto who said that Professor
Minobe’s theory that the Emperor has to be subjected to the rule of
law, represented by the Constitution, was tantamount to lest majesty.
The right-wingers also mobilized their supporters to launch
demonstrations against Minobe, in order to force Prime Minister
Okada to fire Minobe and to ban his works. (Example)
Therefore, the political impact was highly significant, as this meant
that any political opposition to the military dictatorship would not be
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tolerated, and that people who held dissenting ideas could be purged.
This use of terror sent a strong signal to the rest of Japanese society
that to hold similar views that the Emperor was below the law would
warrant persecution, thus reinforcing the belief that the Emperor is
divine, and should be above the law. This in turn reinforced the cult of
the Emperor that had been growing throughout Japanese society
ever since the Showa Restoration took place in 1926. (Analysis)
OR
However, we must not discount the specific social impact of
militarism on the lives of the masses, such as the youths, working
men and women who may not be as conscious about political
matters, but nevertheless experienced a change in their lives as a
result of the military dictatorship.
Youths experienced a change in their school curriculum from the
1930s, as it shifted away from student-centred learning of the post
WWI era to an education that increasingly emphasized on traditional
Japanese values, discipline and physical education. In line with the
emphasis on military discipline, boys had to undergo military training
while in school, college and university. (Examples)
Working men too had to serve a year of conscription, and had to join
workers’ groups that increasingly moved away from promoting the
rights of workers, towards one that emphasized on the need for selfsacrifice. The plight of the unemployed did improve in the sense that
while they did not receive state benefits, the government was keen to
increase employment opportunities through the introduction of public
building programmes. (Examples)
As in all militaristic societies, there was increasing surveillance on the
people, and working women were not spared either. Although there
was an increase in job opportunities for women, as the number of
working women in Japan increased from 1.37 to 2.26 million, as
women were required to fill in positions that men left behind while
administering military duties, these single working women were
encouraged to stay in communal flats so that the government could
keep an eye on them, and to prevent them from mobilizing
themselves against their employers, such as the strike carried out by
silk workers in 1886. (Examples)
Thus the social impact of military dictatorship was significant as it
influenced the lives of the youth, who were increasingly becoming
indoctrinated with militaristic values and self-sacrifice for the nation,
and for the working adults, whose rights as workers were being
curtailed, and were increasingly under the surveillance of the state,
through workers’ groups and communal living. (Analysis)
L5
Explains reasons for agreement AND disagreement
[8-10]
2
Award 8-9 marks for both sides of the argument, with examples and
analysis.
Award 10 marks for good and sustained argument with clear links
back to the question.
L6
Explains how far and reaches a balances conclusion based on [11-13]
explanation of factors in L5
How far – 11-12 m
Balanced conclusion – 13m
In conclusion, I agree that the political impact of military dictatorship
was more significant than that of the social impact, as the former, in
sending a clear message of warning against potential opposition
would have struck fear in the hearts of the people, by punishing one
to warn a hundred. Moreover, the assassination of Prime Minister
Inukai in 1932 would indicate clearly that no Japanese, not even the
Prime Minister would be safe from the power of the military. School
principles and employers would thus ensure that their charges below
them would adhere to the new norms to prevent incurring the wrath of
the military, thus creating a society that had been cowed and
indoctrinated into supporting the new regime. Therefore the social
impact was what followed as a result of the political impact, and thus
can be said to be less significant than the latter.
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