State General Mobilization Law
State General Mobilization Law 国家総動員法 | |
---|---|
National Diet of Japan | |
Enacted | May 5th, 1938 |
Repealed by | |
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers | |
Status: Repealed |
Part of a series on |
Statism in Shōwa Japan |
---|
The State General Mobilization Law had fifty clauses, which provided for government controls over civilian organizations (including
The law had long-term repercussions for the Japanese economy beyond its repeal by the
Background
Japanese ultranationalist ideology, termed Shōwa statism, always argued for a greater degree of state control over the economy, particularly in regards to mobilization.[2] The Imperial Way Faction, based out of Manchuria, regarded the traditional monopolies of Japan, the Zaibatsu, with contempt and distrust. The radicals in the army saw the Zaibatsu corporations as an extension of the "corrupt political parties" and loathed their perceived support for prime minister Kijūrō Shidehara, who had advanced liberal foreign policy.[3]
The army first advanced its ideas of
At the onset of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan had not yet transitioned to a wartime economy, with many civilian sectors remaining outside of government guidance. In 1938, with the war in China bogging down, the army began pressuring the civilian government to pass numerous ordenances expanding military control over civilian industries in order to reach the state of a "quasi-wartime economy" (junsenji keizai), by progressively increasing government influence over the civilian economy.[5]
Timeline of passage
The law was attacked as unconstitutional when introduced to the Diet in January 1938, though assurances were given that it would never be invoked "in the present emergency". Despite heavy domestic opposition, the law was passed due to strong pressure from the
The National Service Draft Ordinance (国民徴用令, Kokumin Chōyō rei) was a supplemental law promulgated by Prime Minister Konoe as part of the State General Mobilization Law. It empowered the government to draft civilian workers to ensure an adequate supply of labor in strategic
The program was organized under the Ministry of Welfare, and at its peak 1,600,000 men and women were drafted, and 4,500,000 workers were reclassified as draftees (and thus were unable to quit their jobs). The Ordinance was superseded by the National Labor Service Mobilization Ordinance (国民勤労動員令) in March 1945, which was in turn abolished on 20 December 1945 by the
Effects
As a result of the enforcement of the law, and as Japan mobilized during the Pacific War, consumer expenditures fell from 26.7 billion yen in 1940 to 23.8 billion yen in 1942.[6] As Japan entered a state of economic total war following defeats at the Battle of Midway and failure for the Germans to defeat the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, capital outlays related to the military doubled from 9.9 billion yen in 1922 to 20.2 billion yen in 1944. Capital outlays related to non military industries decreased to half a billion yen a year, and consumer expenditures declined 30%.[7]
The law included provisions to
Despite the dramatic increase in armaments production caused by Japan's shift to total mobilization between 1938 and 1942, Japanese munitions production remained far below that of the United States. Japanese aircraft production reached 28,000 in 1944, still only one fourth of the United States' output that year.[9] The difference in shipyard production was even more vast, with Japanese shipbuilding remaining 1/6th of that of the United States.[9]
See also
References
- ^ Pauer, Japan's War Economy, pp.13
- ^ Giffard 1997, pp. 87.
- ^ Giffard 1997, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Nagahara 1938, pp. 323–326.
- ^ a b c d Giffard 1997, pp. 93.
- ^ Cohen 1946, pp. 364.
- ^ Cohen 1946, pp. 364–365.
- ^ Noguchi 1998, pp. 404.
- ^ a b Goldsmith 1946, p. 71.
Bibliography
Books
- Pauer, Erich (1999). Japan's War Economy. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15472-3.
- Sims, Richard (2001). Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000. ISBN 9781850654520.
- Giffard, Sydney (1997). Japan Among the Powers, 1890-1990. ISBN 9780300068917.
Journals
- Cohen, Jerome (1946). "The Japanese War Economy: 1940-1945". Far Eastern Survey.
- Noguchi, Yukio (1998). "The 1940 System: Japan under the Wartime Economy". The American Economic Review.
- Nagahara, Yasuo (1938). "Manchukuo's New Economic Policy". Pacific Affairs.
- Goldsmith, Raymond (1946). "The Power of Victory: Munitions Output in World War II". Military Affairs.