Japan, 1918–1931

Hybrid Regime · Monarchy · East Asia · Interwar Years era

Taishō-era Japan, a period of party cabinets and broadening suffrage, before economic crisis and the military tilted the state toward authoritarian expansion.

The Taishō period saw the growth of party-based cabinets, an expanded electorate through the 1925 manhood suffrage law and a lively urban culture, alongside a 1925 peace preservation law used against the left. Civilian party government coexisted uneasily with the military and bureaucracy. Economic crisis and the 1931 Manchurian Incident shifted the balance decisively toward military-led expansion.

Open Japan 1918–1931 in the interactive 3D atlas →

Dominant patterns

  • Militarization
  • External Expansion
  • Great-Power Rivalry
  • Personalist Rule

Political-science factor profile

Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).

Centralization of Power55
Media Control45
Repression45
Nationalism68
Militarization65
Economic Stress52
External Conflict55
Cult of Personality55
Elite Fragmentation55
Institutions60
Social Polarization52
Corruption & Patrimonialism48
Ideological Mobilization55
External Sovereignty100

Economy & society

GDP per capita$2100 (intl-$)
GDP growth+2.5%/yr
Population60.0M people
Share of world population3%
Urban share32%
Territory~675k km²
Capital population~2.5M

Closest historical twins

The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Japan 1918–1931, by similarity score (0–100).

  1. France, 1946–1968 – similarity 85/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  2. Kamakura Japan, 1185–1333 CE – similarity 83/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  3. Japan, 1905–1918 – similarity 82/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  4. France, 1461–1483 CE – similarity 81/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  5. Germany, 1890–1914 – similarity 81/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  6. Gupta Empire, 320–380 CE – similarity 80/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  7. France, 1226–1270 CE – similarity 80/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry
  8. Mali Empire, 1235–1300 CE – similarity 80/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry

What followed

  • Party government and manhood suffrage.
  • The turn to militarism from 1931.