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Tag Archives: Europe

Tsuyoshi Inukai and the Murder of Democracy

From 1931-1932, veteran politician Tsuyoshi Inukai served as prime minister, attempting to manage the multifaceted international crisis. While he made significant progress in coping with the Great Depression, the military slipped entirely out of control. A group of young officers effectively ended this period in Japanese democracy with direct political violence.

Giichi Tanaka and the Hardline Turn

From 1927-1929, Imperial Army-officer-turned-politician Giichi Tanaka attempted to guide Japan with a firm hand, aiming to crush radicalism at home and to use the iron fist in China. This hardline turn was resisted on many fronts, but the biggest problem emerged from the Army itself, which was slipping away from political control.

The Emergence of the Anti-Imperial Non-West

The notion that non-Western powers might band together to resist the depredations of Europe and the United States has been around since the late 19th century, but only now has the power balance shifted to a sufficient degree that the era of Western global dominance is actually coming to an end.

Shigenobu Okuma and the First World War

From 1914-1916, Shigenobu Okuma made an unlikely return as prime minister, this time establishing a more stable administration in cooperation with the conservative oligarchs. Okuma and his dynamic Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato led the nation into the First World War, which for Japan was a relatively profitable opportunity.

Sanctions on Russia Prove Another Failure of the West

The limited impact of economic sanctions on Russia represents an additional data point proving that the West, even when relatively united, no longer rules the world. Indeed, its losing streak in major 21st century military conflicts continues unbroken, and it serially overestimates its ability to shape global affairs.

Writing Kishida’s Political Obituary

Across the ideological spectrum, a consensus is emerging: Fumio Kishida is unlikely to last another year as prime minister, and even now, he is only lingering on because no credible and attractive alternative has appeared.