Japan had elections, but elected politicians did not have firm control over the armed forces.
A civilian leader is a political leader outside the armed forces. Japan's civilian party politicians could lead the cabinet, the group of senior ministers headed by the prime minister. The elected lower house of parliament debated laws and spending. Party government became more influential during the Taisho period, 1912-1926. In 1925, voting reform removed the tax-paying requirement for male voters, allowing many more men to vote. Women still could not vote.
Winning votes did not put the army and navy firmly under the cabinet's control. The emperor stood at the centre of the political system. Military leaders claimed a separate right to command the armed forces in his name, rather than taking orders from elected politicians. Senior advisers and government officials also held influence. A cabinet could therefore favour restraint abroad but struggle to make officers obey it.
Party rivalry, corruption allegations and ties to large business groups, called zaibatsu, weakened public trust in politicians. Ultranationalism is an extreme form of nationalism that puts the nation above individual interests and can justify domination of other peoples. Its supporters attacked compromises such as agreements to limit naval forces, claiming politicians were making Japan weak. Such accusations made restraint harder to defend; they did not prove that compromise threatened Japan's survival.
Worked example: Who can make an order stick?
Imagine a cabinet that wants to limit expansion abroad, while officers want to advance.
- The cabinet can announce a policy of restraint. That tells us what its ministers want.
- If officers advance anyway and the cabinet cannot stop them, the order has not controlled military action.
- This is the weakness to explain: elected leaders hold office, but cannot reliably enforce their policy against the armed forces.
Watch out for this
Because Japan held elections, the cabinet could order the armed forces in the same way it directed government departments.
Military command had a separate chain of authority linked to the emperor. Elections increased representation without giving party politicians full control of military decisions.
Check your understanding
Which event most directly shows that civilian leaders could not enforce their decisions?
- Officers advanced abroad despite the cabinet's order to show restraint.
- The 1925 reform allowed more men to vote in parliamentary elections.
- Politicians were accused of being too close to large business groups.