Event

The First World War had an enormous effect on Japanese politics and society. Riding the wave of anti-militarism in Europe, Japan promoted political democratization. Interwar Japan has, however, also been regarded as a prelude to 1930s militarism. The “Total war system” (Kokka Sodoin Taisei) fashioned by the Japanese Army after World War I is typically seen as a milestone in the road to militarism. What was the “Total War System”? Was it, in fact, incompatible with Japanese democracy? Was it typical only of Japan? This paper compares war preparations in 1920s Japan to that in democratic Britain and America to reassess Japanese “militarism” in global context.

Yasuo Mori is Associate Professor of Faculty of Law at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. 

Lunch will be served.

Co-sponsored by the Center for the Integrated Study of Japan and the Center for East Asian Studies.