Japan+1920-1930

Tracey Brown Story American History January 9, 2014
 * Japan 1920-1930**

__Timeline:__ March of 1921- Hirohito was the first Japanese prince to take a tour of Europe January of 1924- Hirohito marries Empress Nagako Kuni December of, 1926- Emperor Taisho died November of 1928- Hirohito was formally installed in Kyoto July of 1929- Tanaka is not strong enough discipline his army properly, Hirohito encouraged his resignation from prime minister

During the 1920’s and 1930’s Japan felt like it was outgrowing their island and wanted to expand. There were three main types of power in Japan during this time. There were the monarchy, the business, and the military. They would all disagree frequently, but all had the same goal of expanding. The two main leaders were Giichi Tanaka and Emperor Hirohito. Tanaka served as prime minister during April 20, 1927 to July 2, 1929, and before that was the war minister from 1918–1921 and 1923–1924.(Hackney) There was also the Emperor Hirohito that came to power when his father died in 1926.("Hirohito." Historic) The type of government that was prominent during this era was parliament from 1924 to 1927 when Japan took part in a time of liberalism.("Hirohito." Historic) There was also a monarchy because the Japanese idolized their emperor and saw him as a god. However Tanaka was an aggressive leader and wanted to take over land in China and other countries in the mainland. Japan was unsuccessful in making major gains in taking over new land, but it did lay down ground work for them to re-invade during WWII.

At the time both China and the Japanese were allies with the U.S. Although the U.S wanted to stay neutral, they stopped trading with Japan which meant to Japan that they were no longer allies.The embargo angered the Japanese and lead up to their bombing of pearl harbor. During WWII, Japan and Great Britain's relationship was hostile after Japan had attacked many of the British colonies in Asia. Japan had also tried to prevent the United States from coming into the war at first because they knew of the strong military that the United States had. That is why they bombed Pearl Harbor because it had one of the largest naval bases. By taking out Pearl Harbor they believed the U.S. would be at a disadvantage. Likewise, Japan was also trying to revolutionize their culture. They wanted to become more western. For example, they traded in their original Japanese kimonos for suits and ties. In conclusion, the 1920’s found Japan trying to expand imperialistically into China and using their land for their resources to support the war effort.( Hackney, "Hirohito." Encyclopedia, "Hirohito." Historic, Stokes, "Winston").

Japanese minister of war Giichi Tanaka is on the left with his other members of his cabinet.

Japans Geography in the 1920’s

The Japanese Emperor Hirohito

__Works Cited Page__ Hackney, Ryan. "Giichi Tanaka." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

"Hirohito." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. World History in Context. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

"Hirohito." Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994. World History in Context. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

Stokes, Brian. "Japan, from World War II." Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. Ed. Thomas Benjamin. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 665-667. World History in Context. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

"Winston Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain: May 10, 1940." Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History. Vol. 4: Europe. Detroit: Gale, 2013.World History in Context. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

__Pictures:__ [|__http://www.takaoclub.com/hirohito/hirohito.htm__]

"Map of Japan 1920." RSS. Meiji Showa, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014. [|__http://www.meijishowa.com/maps/914/70424-0001-map-of-japan-1920__]

"Giichi Tanaka." Image. Library of Congress. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.