Carnegie Mellon University History of Japan Reflection

Below the is prompt to the assignment. The reflection only has to be 1-2 pages long double spaced.

This week we will continue examining democracy in pre-1945 Japan. The Meiji Constitution, however restrictive in its definitions of “people” and “power,” did provide a legal basis for democracy and its expansion. After the victory in World War I by liberal democratic France, Britain, and United States, liberal democracy was the dominant political philosophy that states such as Weimar Germany implemented. In the 1920s, Japan also experienced a period of liberalization and democratization, known historically as Taisho Democracy. As in Germany, proponents of democracy in Japan had to contend with authoritarianism, communism, and fascism.

As in last week, the reading has two parts. The first delivers a summary of the rise and fall of democratic government in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s. The second (Links to an external site.) is the current constitution of Japan, in force since 1947. It was written by American occupation authorities after Japan’s defeat in World War II.

What factors led to the expansion of democracy in 1920s Japan? What caused its demise in the 1930s? How is the Meiji Constitution different from the current Japanese constitution? How are they similar?

Citation information:
The Constitution of Japan, https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html (Links to an external site.).

Shinichi Kitaoka, The Political History of Modern Japan: Foreign Relations and Domestic Politics, trans. Robert D. Eldridge and Graham Leonard (New York: Routledge, 2018).