Was Japan fascist?
Fascism — when we use this word, it usually refers to a far-right political ideology centered around a singular political figure, who wields unchallenged power.
According to Merriam Webster, fascism is defined as “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
The word first appeared in Italy to refer to certain political organizations and was symbolize by the Fascist Party led by a single political leader who seized total power, Benito Mussolini. Like its ally in the Tripartite pact Italy, Germany also had its own fascist party, the Nazi Party who was centered around one man, Adolf Hitler.
But what about the last member of the Tripartite pact, Japan? Was Japan fascist?
Before we go further, I want to clarify that this essayis not a defense of Japan nor fascists. Even if Japan during the World War 2 was not fascist, it was undoubtedly a brutal regime that caused countless suffering.
Let’s go back to the definition of fascism mentioned earlier. Merriam Webster defines fascism as a political ideology that satisfies the following:
- Exalts nation and race above the individual
- Stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader
- Severe economic and social regimentation
- Forcible suppression of opposition
We can all agree that Japan satisfied most if not all of these conditions. But notice the part that is bolded “a dictatorial leader.” Was there really a dictatorial leader like Hitler and Mussolini?
You might be wondering “wasn’t Japan an empire that believed their emperor Hirohito was literally a descendent of God?” The answer is yes. All Japanese were taught that the emperor was a descendent of God (more precisely a descendent of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu in the Japanese Shinto religion).
My grandfather told me that in elementary school, every child had to bow to a picture of Hirohito every morning and if you dare insult the emperor, you’d be arrested.
It seems like Hirohito was the “dictatorial leader” we are looking for. The entire country was centered around this one man who they believed was a literal descendent of the Sun Goddess. So much so that the leaders, even after America dropped two atomic bombs still tried to negotiate to keep the system of monarchy in the terms of surrender.
But it’s not clear if he wielded dictatorial power. The Japanese monarch survived over 1000 years by keeping some distance from politics and becoming solely a religious figure. That changed in the late 19th century when Japan shifted to westernized the feudal regime to a more modern empire. The emperor, called Tenō(divine king) in Japanese, became the equivalent of the Kaiser of Prussia at least in the Constitution.
However, this does not mean that he was the literal dictator. Yes, he was the “divine king,” but Hirohito was an indecisive man who lacked basic leadership.
At the Imperial Conference, a meeting of top civil and military leaders in front of Hirohito on September 6th, just three months before the Pearl Harbor attack, some of the war advocates at the conference suggested that a war was likely unavoidable.
Hirohito answered them by reading a poem:
I believe that every sea, to every other,
Is bound together as a brother.
Why is it now, the seas must rise
To strike each other with angry cries?
This is commonly understood as his expression of the discomfort of heading into a war. But of course, expressing an opinion by reading an ambiguous poem is nonsensical.
Some of the documents show that Hirohito was reluctant to go to war against a country that 70 times the size of the economy than his. But upon failures of negotiation between diplomats and insistence by some of the war hawks in the Imperial Conference, he relented.
This does, however, not mean Hirohito had no responsibility for the war and the atrocities committed by his country. As the “divine ruler,” he was the highest in command and was aware of some of the atrocities committed by his military including the Nanjing massacre.
However, these facts do cast doubt that if Hirohito was indeed really a dictator. Perhaps he was a part of the collective head of the totalitarian regime like convicted war criminals such as Hideki Tojo and Fumimaro Konnoe.
