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Why did the people of Japan choose the road to war
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April, members of a nationalist group
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gathered on the anniversary of
the death of a terrorist
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Tomeo Sagoya in 1930 he shot
the sitting Prime Minister
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who would later die of his wounds
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His victim had worked to promote democracy
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He enjoyed widespread public trust
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After that attack several liberal
politicians were killed in succession
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in acts of terrorism or attempted Coup d'etat
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The ideology that fueled these actions
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was spread by the biggest right
wing media outlet of the pre-war era
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Its archives were thought to have been lost
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But many issues were recently found in the
collection of a key figure from that era
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It held that the nation's fundamental identity
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based on the sovereignty of the emperor was absolute
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and aggressively denounced anything
that might lead to its disruption
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The newspaper was launched in 1925
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during an era of political liberalism
now known as the Taisho Democracy
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Japanese people had begun to embrace Western
culture including movies and music
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There was a thriving labor movement
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And people felt relatively free to express their ideas
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and for the first time adult men were allowed to vote
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The government enjoyed strong public support
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and managed to keep the military in check
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calling it a threat to the nation
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Just ten years later the Japanese people
were robbed of their freedom
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and the country was headed in a very different direction
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was a time of change for Japan
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I can say that the nation's point of view
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has been radically altered
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The country was rushing down the path to war
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World War II brought death and destruction to
the entire Asia Pacific region
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it ended in tragedy
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74 years later few traces of that grim history remain
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Many find it hard to believe
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That only ten years before World War II
liberalism was thriving in Japan
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and that the country could so quickly
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succumb to bloodshed and destruction
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Hajime Ogawa is a former member of
Japan's House of Representatives
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His grandfather's name was Heikichi Ogawa
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He was first elected to the House of
Representatives in the early 1900s
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During his time as the Minister of Justice
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Heikichi was known as an ultra-nationalist
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The first issue of the newspaper was published in 1925
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According to Department of Interior records
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it had a daily print run of sixteen thousand copies
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The newspapers aim was to spread the
nationalist ideology of Japaneseism
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It held the Japan's national identity
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with the emperor as the sovereign ruler was unique
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and published numerous articles praising Japan
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We found a list of people who supported the newspaper early on
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Many of them became vocal proponents of a strong military
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Fumimaro Konoe became Prime Minister 12 years later
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Kiichiro Hiranuma 14 years later
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Future Prime Minister Hideki Tojo was
then a lieutenant colonel in the Army
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They shared a belief embedded in the Meiji Constitution
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that Japan's imperial family was descended from the gods
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and that Japan was a special nation
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The imperial throne has been occupied by
a single dynasty since time immemorial
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Our emperor as a god incarnate
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undertakes his politics based on morality
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All government officials, public servants and politicians
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are to emulate the Emperor's infinite and eternal benevolence
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and act accordingly
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But in the rest of the media and in academia
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Japaneseism was considered out of date
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An article from the papers early days
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warned readers that communism would lead to the nation's destruction
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Students, Workers, Revolutionary thought
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during the Taisho democracy, liberalism was thriving
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Modernization and the idea of progress
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had transformed the Japanese lifestyle
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Freedom of speech and assembly led to the rise of unionism
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Major newspapers carried advertisements for works
that had helped spark the Russian revolution
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and moved to reform the Japanese society
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and scanned the titles for keywords
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Time and again, people and ideas that did not
conform with the newspapers world view
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were attacked with words such as traitors
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or unpatriotic
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One region was the target of particularly strong criticism
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Shimoina in Nagano central Japan
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Youth organizations were especially active there
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People often got together to study the latest political ideas
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A local Historical Research Institute
has recording a some of the members
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One of these activists was Yasokichi Kobayashi
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an elementary school music teacher
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We spoke to his son Kunihiko Kobayashi
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He says that his father was known throughout the region
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for promoting liberal education during the 'Taisho democracy'
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Yasokichi used music to promote the beautiful ideal of freedom
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but for the nationalists this was a dangerous tendency
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How to be advocates of Japaneseism
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plan to spread their ideology in the region
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We found documentation related to the 'Nihon Shimbun'
in the home of a local landowner
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Including the letter signed Takeyo Nakatani of the 'Nihon Shimbun'
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The letters outlined a scheme to enlist local opinion leaders
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then reach out to others
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We met his son Hideyo
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Nobusuke Kishi would later become Prime Minister
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that gave Takeyo a close friend since University
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a strong connection inside the government
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Takeyo was 26 years old
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and a permitted nationalist when
the 'Nihon Shimbun' was established
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He wrote editorials
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He also traveled throughout Japan
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to spread the Japaneseism doctrine among young people
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Yasokichi Kobayashi the freedom-loving educator
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attended one of Nakatani's meetings
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The teacher was asked to lead the audience in the song
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It was Yasokichi's first introduction to the newspapers ideology
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But for many its anti-liberal world view was still a relative out lier
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Advocates of Japaneseism had identified
another target: The Parliamentary system
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they claimed it needed structural change
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00:17:30,285 --> 00:17:35,302
the Japanese Imperial Diet was established in 1890
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00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:45,170
Yet the country was still ruled by an oligarchy
that included members of the aristocracy
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00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:59,485
In 1925 Universal male suffrage was established
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A new framework was created
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Debates among political parties their members elected by the public
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became the basis for making policy
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00:18:18,594 --> 00:18:22,537
the cabinet was made up of popularly elected members
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and it was able to keep a tight rein on the military
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00:18:32,434 --> 00:18:33,977
Ichiro Hatoyama
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who became Prime Minister after the war
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00:18:44,902 --> 00:18:50,010
Many people agreed with Hatoyama's call for free open debate
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00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,994
The people's hearts are calling out for freedom
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the principle of idealizing freedom
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and the refusal to accept intervention
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these will always form the foundation of humanity
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This is the belief flowing through our veins
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and cannot be eliminated
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00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,320
In the late 1920s the Imperial Diet
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was deliberating the country's policy toward
Asia, Europe and the United States
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00:19:27,931 --> 00:19:32,137
Gunboat diplomacy or International cooperation
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00:19:32,137 --> 00:19:34,937
Military build up or Disarmament
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00:19:35,142 --> 00:19:39,234
The country's future path was energetically debated
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00:19:49,165 --> 00:19:52,925
Many nationalists called for expanding the military
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00:19:52,925 --> 00:19:56,182
and a more aggressive approach to diplomacy
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00:20:02,125 --> 00:20:04,891
We found a large map of Asia
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Northeastern China where Japan would build a puppet state
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is highlighted in pink
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00:20:22,620 --> 00:20:26,251
The Nationalists believed that Japan and not the West
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was destined to become the dominant force in Asia
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00:20:34,605 --> 00:20:39,980
In 1930, five years after the 'Nihon Shimbun' boon was launched
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The paper criticized the government's national defense policy
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This was the turning point
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Osachi Hamaguchi's cabinet which advocated
for shrinking the military
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had signed the treaty the Navy had opposed it
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Prime Minister Hamaguchi's party
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It had won that year's election in a landslide
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The London Naval Treaty marks a
new epoch in human civilization
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We have reached a stable era
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in which all nations will strive for
coexistence and coal prosperity
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The idea of a smaller military was very popular
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the turning delegation received an enthusiastic welcome
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It accused its members of violating the Constitution
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The issue in question was Supreme Command
set for in the Constitution
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which gave the Emperor control over the military
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The newspaper said that by signing the London Naval Treaty
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the cabinet had violated the principle of Supreme Command
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and thus the Emperor's jurisdiction
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had secretly joined forces with factions within the Navy
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They insisted that politics should be handled by the Emperor
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The issue of Supreme Command went on to
shake up the parliamentary government
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The opposition party jumped on the newspapers accusation
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They used it to attack the ruling party
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With regard to the military's Supreme Command
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the government has taken a bold step
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by making changes to the national defense plan
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against the will of the chief of the naval General Staff
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Prime Minister Hamaguchi responded in the Diet
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saying the Empire's National Defense is extremely strong
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but he did not offer any evidence
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Politics without proof is a form of political violence
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At this point, Hatoyama had no clue
that the Supreme Command issue
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would rob the house of its right
to engage in free and open debate
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Neither did the major newspapers which
treated it as purely political matter
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They did not foresee its devastating
impact on freedom of speech
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The military would later use Supreme Command
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as a shield to repel any opinion I didn't agree with
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and advance their own agenda
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The Nationalists had persuaded the public
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that the government had violated
the Emperor's Supreme Command
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Then they became even more radical
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was secretly communicating with Ikki Kita
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This political thinker had
called for reshaping the nation
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and had a strong influence on young officers
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In 1930, the year of the London Naval Conference
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Japan slipped into economic depression
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People were suffering
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but the government seemed powerless
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Many rural families were forced
to sell their daughters
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Young people became enraged
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They began to sympathize with the nationalists
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who themselves were growing increasingly radical
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00:26:23,668 --> 00:26:26,982
One of them was Tameo Sagoya
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He had drifted from job to job
then joined a right-wing group
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One month after the London Naval Treaty was signed
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Sagoya went to Tokyo Station
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and shotted Prime Minister Hamaguchi twice in the belly
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00:26:56,740 --> 00:27:00,982
Yoshihiro Sagoya is Tomeo's son
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Only once that his father tell him
about the moment he fired the shots
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00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:49,988
Signing the London Treaty had
made Hamaguchi immensely popular
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Huge crowds turned out for his funeral
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After the war Takeyo Nakatani had this to say
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about the incident that brought about
the collapse of the Parliamentary System
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00:28:42,020 --> 00:28:45,165
one year after the shooting of Hamaguchi
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00:28:45,165 --> 00:28:50,182
the spirit of 'Taisho democracy' changed drastically
208
00:28:51,782 --> 00:28:55,474
After staging the Manchurian incident as a pretext
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00:28:55,470 --> 00:29:02,068
Japan's imperial army invaded
northeastern China in September 1931
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00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:09,542
Meanwhile the schoolteacher Yasokichi Kobayashi
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00:29:09,542 --> 00:29:13,794
was still working to instill liberal values through music
212
00:29:23,230 --> 00:29:26,217
Many of his students were undernourished
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00:29:26,217 --> 00:29:31,700
The global depression had built the local
filth industry a devastating blow
214
00:30:19,074 --> 00:30:20,514
At the same time
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the country was rife with stories of
official corruption and bribery
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00:30:25,900 --> 00:30:30,582
People lost hope in the parliamentary system
they had once supported
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00:31:05,622 --> 00:31:07,417
Against this backdrop
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the same people who had advocated for shrinking
the military only a short time before
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00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:17,977
started enthusiastically backing the invasion of Manchuria
220
00:31:30,217 --> 00:31:33,730
that brought honor to the Japanese nation
221
00:31:39,580 --> 00:31:45,085
Yasokichi's diary entries took on an entirely new tone
222
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:59,000
The Emperor is at the core of the nation spirit
223
00:31:59,710 --> 00:32:03,428
The people must stand up and do their best
224
00:32:03,428 --> 00:32:07,908
to complete the mission of the great Japan
225
00:32:22,540 --> 00:32:28,697
I believe only in the military our work in
Manchuria is a great deed
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00:32:28,697 --> 00:32:31,828
brought about by our Imperial system
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00:32:31,820 --> 00:32:37,234
It is not an invasion, it is a holy war
228
00:32:42,571 --> 00:32:45,005
Yasokichi was disheartened
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he realized that freedom could not save people
230
00:32:52,822 --> 00:32:58,411
Then came a series of terror attacks
aimed at restructuring the nation
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00:32:59,668 --> 00:33:02,320
A year after the Manchurian incident
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former Minister of Finance Junnosuke Inoue was killed
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00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:15,542
that same year a group of young naval officers
killed Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai
234
00:33:19,542 --> 00:33:25,565
Politicians who valued that the democratic process
became the targets of terror attacks
235
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:30,377
Many ones influential voices were silenced by fear
236
00:33:31,782 --> 00:33:34,982
Inukai's attackers were court-martialed
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that they chosen to sacrifice themselves in order to save the nation
238
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,834
Many people showed compassion for the accused
239
00:33:57,874 --> 00:34:01,497
Prosecutors received letters from all over the country
240
00:34:01,497 --> 00:34:05,817
Some from children begging them to be lenient
241
00:34:08,340 --> 00:34:15,428
This banner reads prayers for reduced sentences
for May 15th incident defendants
242
00:34:18,011 --> 00:34:21,851
Nine young men cut off their little fingers
243
00:34:21,850 --> 00:34:27,805
and sent them to the authorities to ask
for a reduction of the sentence
244
00:34:36,540 --> 00:34:43,668
A conversation between an officer who directed
the attack and Takeyo Nakatani was recorded
245
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In Shimoina
246
00:35:08,011 --> 00:35:13,771
Yasokichi Kobayashi had left
his job and gotten involved in politics
247
00:35:18,731 --> 00:35:20,777
He'd launched a nationalist group
248
00:35:20,777 --> 00:35:23,965
and was immersed in editing its journal
249
00:35:25,714 --> 00:35:29,314
More than 30 of his friends had joined him
250
00:35:34,582 --> 00:35:40,262
The attitudes of the Japanese had changed
radically in just a few years
251
00:35:50,514 --> 00:35:56,617
People who had celebrated the 'Taisho Democracy'
spirit of freedom fell into despair
252
00:35:56,610 --> 00:36:02,354
and pledged their allegiance to Japaneseism
once considered a fringe ideology
253
00:36:14,354 --> 00:36:17,040
Then in 1935
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00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:21,740
a crucial incident helped put an end to freedom of speech
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00:36:21,740 --> 00:36:24,514
and the parliamentary system
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00:36:35,222 --> 00:36:37,977
The Organ Theory
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00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:43,451
The term appeared frequently in 1935
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00:36:46,770 --> 00:36:51,222
It referred to a generally accepted interpretation of the Constitution
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that defined the role of the Emperor
260
00:36:57,462 --> 00:37:02,205
The Theory held that the Emperor was just one organ of the state
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and he worked in concert with other organs of the governmental body
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00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:13,691
According to this interpretation
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the party chosen by the public assembled the cabinet
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00:37:18,194 --> 00:37:21,645
National policy was enacted democratically
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00:37:28,034 --> 00:37:33,885
The Theory was developed by Tatsukichi Minobe of Tokyo Imperial University
266
00:37:34,020 --> 00:37:38,388
He was a leading authority on Japanese constitutional law
267
00:37:41,188 --> 00:37:45,314
Dictatorial government is a one-party system
268
00:37:45,314 --> 00:37:48,445
Government opponents are labeled as traitors
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and their lives can be endangered
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00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:59,211
The advantage of the parliamentary system is its tolerance of opposition
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saying it shook the nation's foundations
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00:38:13,428 --> 00:38:16,580
Political ideologue Muneki Minoda
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wrote 31 articles for the paper harshly criticizing the theory
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00:38:25,570 --> 00:38:28,251
Minobe's constitutional interpretation
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00:38:28,251 --> 00:38:30,800
unmasks his barbaric campaign
276
00:38:30,810 --> 00:38:35,657
to make us believe in the sovereignty of the people and democracy
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00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:39,462
Looking and see for yourself
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00:38:39,460 --> 00:38:44,445
this national identity and fringing barbarian of a philosopher
279
00:38:44,445 --> 00:38:48,948
whose theories would overturn the Imperial Constitution
280
00:38:48,948 --> 00:38:53,188
completely undermines the supreme power
281
00:39:02,788 --> 00:39:08,274
Muneki Minoda's family granted us their first ever interview
282
00:39:10,148 --> 00:39:14,000
His son showed us some of Munechi 's belongings
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00:39:20,811 --> 00:39:25,028
Muneki bitterly attacked people and ideas he opposed
284
00:39:25,028 --> 00:39:28,617
but at home he was a man of few words
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00:39:32,010 --> 00:39:35,645
His loyalty to the Emperor was unshakable
286
00:39:35,645 --> 00:39:39,634
Every morning the family had to pray at the household altar
287
00:39:39,630 --> 00:39:43,177
and chant the Meiji Emperor's poems
288
00:40:10,891 --> 00:40:14,354
Life is the principle of life
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00:40:15,108 --> 00:40:18,410
Life supports our lives
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00:40:19,028 --> 00:40:22,297
We call that: Japan
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00:40:24,605 --> 00:40:28,914
For Muneki Imperial Japan was holy
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00:40:33,908 --> 00:40:37,611
but denial of the Emperor Organ Theory
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00:40:37,611 --> 00:40:40,514
opened up dangerous possibilities
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00:40:40,514 --> 00:40:47,110
It could lead to the military using Supreme Command
as a shield and seizing control
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00:40:51,531 --> 00:40:56,530
The army used Muneki's theory to their advantage
296
00:41:02,034 --> 00:41:07,382
Army ministers Senjuro Hayashi denounced it in the Diet
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Unacceptable discourse should disappear from this world
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00:41:17,348 --> 00:41:20,822
We hope it ceases to exist
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00:41:27,588 --> 00:41:34,091
The movement spread ordinary people began
to attack the emperor organ theory
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00:41:49,268 --> 00:41:53,634
This album was discovered in a farmhouse in Nagano
301
00:41:56,605 --> 00:42:00,300
People in military uniform are on their way to Tokyo
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00:42:00,308 --> 00:42:04,091
to march and protest against the Emperor Organ Theory
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00:42:31,337 --> 00:42:34,560
This picture was taken at the demonstration
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00:42:34,937 --> 00:42:39,737
The music teacher Yasokichi Kobayashi was there too
305
00:42:46,990 --> 00:42:50,857
The movement drew the government to issue two declarations
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00:42:50,857 --> 00:42:54,388
dissolving the Emperor Organ Theory
307
00:42:57,977 --> 00:43:01,622
They said the theory should be eliminated
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00:43:16,490 --> 00:43:19,062
Minobe's book was baned
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00:43:19,062 --> 00:43:24,960
Four month after the declarations,
thugs stormed into his home and shot him
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00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:27,611
he was verily injuryed
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00:43:32,445 --> 00:43:35,451
Then after a 10-year run
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00:43:48,670 --> 00:43:52,777
was a time of change for Japan
313
00:43:54,034 --> 00:43:57,451
I can say that the nation's point of view
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00:43:57,451 --> 00:44:01,245
has been completely unaltered
315
00:44:03,005 --> 00:44:06,754
Cover our country's fate is now clearest
316
00:44:07,369 --> 00:44:13,279
Here with I express my deepest gratitude
317
00:44:23,874 --> 00:44:28,388
Heikichi Ogawa passed away in 1942
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00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:33,268
He didn't witness the ultimate consequences of his actions
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00:44:53,337 --> 00:44:58,434
The Japanese people who saw freedoms slip through their fingers
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00:44:58,434 --> 00:45:01,314
were now on the road to war
321
00:45:06,445 --> 00:45:10,240
Fading broke out across the Asia-Pacific region
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00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:19,988
Countless lives were lost
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00:45:19,988 --> 00:45:23,702
A land was left blackened and scarred
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00:45:33,062 --> 00:45:36,090
had helped fan the flames of war
325
00:45:37,497 --> 00:45:42,640
Six months after Japan's defeat he committed suicide
326
00:46:49,885 --> 00:46:52,685
Today Japan has a million border
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00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:55,668
and has entered a new era
328
00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:05,611
But 74 years ago
329
00:47:07,810 --> 00:47:11,828
Yasokichi Kobayashi the former liberal educator
330
00:47:11,828 --> 00:47:14,742
encouraged people to join the war machine
331
00:47:14,742 --> 00:47:18,880
As an active member of the Imperial rural assistance association
332
00:47:18,891 --> 00:47:23,005
which later helped create a totalitarian state
333
00:47:30,445 --> 00:47:36,011
After the war, he worked as
an office worker and raised six children
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00:47:36,170 --> 00:47:39,931
But he never discussed the war with his family
335
00:47:50,022 --> 00:47:53,005
This is Yasokichi's diary
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All the pages between July 13th 1945
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00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:30,994
and the day the war ended had been ripped out
29682
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