25. The creation of a single political party system in Showa Japan
On October 12, 1940, Prime Minister Fumimaro Kanoe created the Imperial Rule Assistance Association as part of his implementation of the New Order movement (Shintaisei). By then Japan had nationalized all industries necessary to support the war in China, as well as the media and all labor unions. In November, the Photographic Weekly Report informed the Japanese people, “the New Order movement…will in a word, place One Hundred Million into one body under this new organization that will conduct all of our energies and abilities for the sake of the nation”. All women’s organizations were merged into one, under government control. So were all youth organizations.
Following the general elections in 1942, all members of the Diet were forced to join the Imperial Rule Assistance Association as a condition of taking their seats. The IRAA became the only political party in Japan, and made the Diet little more than an advisory body. The Japanese government had already passed the National Service Draft Ordinance, which enabled the government to conscript workers and assign them to critical war industries as needed. Before the war ended the IRAA was militarized, its members uniformed, and assigned to support the militia and Army in the defense of the home islands during the anticipated invasion of Japan.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Last Emperor”. Edward Behr. 1987
“The House of Nomura”. Albert J. Alletzhauer. 1991
“Hirohito and the making of modern Japan”. Herbert P. Bix. 2009
“Japan: The Making of Modern Japan”. Marius B. Jansen. 2002
“Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy”. Eri Hotta. 2013
“A Military History of Japan: From the Age of the Samurai to the 21st Century”. John T. Kuehn. 2014
“Japan at War: An Oral History”. Haruko Taya Cook & Theodore F. Cook, Eds. 1993
“China’s Trial by Fire: The Shanghai War of 1932”. Donald Jordan. 2001
“A History of the Japanese Secret Service”. Richard Deacon. 1983
“The Causes of the Second World War”. Andrew Crosier. 1997
“The Zen of Hitler Jugend”. Brian Victoria, The Asia-Pacific Journal. Online
“Certain Victory”. David C. Earhart. 2008
“The Silver Drum: A Japanese Imperial Memoir”. Princess Chichibu. 1996
“A Companion to Japanese History”. William M. Tsutsui. 2009
“The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire”. John Toland. 1970
“War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War”. John W. Dower. 1997
“Japan in the Fascist Era”. E. Bruce Reynolds. 2004
“The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific”. Akira Iriye. 1987
