Subscriber Account active since. They're gentle, respectful, quiet and, most of all, they find everything beautiful. Beer is oishii tasty , Cologne's Cathedral is sugoi amazing and the traditional Bavarian Dirndl dress is kawaii cute. But more than a few Germans have probably been left wondering why the Japanese find Germany so impressive.
One of the main reasons is that the Japanese have a general fascination with foreign culture, which isn't exclusive to Germany; they love English football, Austrian classical music and French patisseries. That said it seems a well-known fact that Germany, in particular, is one of the European countries most popular among Japanese tourists. Staff at Business Insider Japan asked friends what they love about the country and even those who've never visited seem to know a great deal about it: "It's the land of philosophy, law, advanced medicine and rationalism — it's a country that was defeated in the Second World War, just like Japan — but that topic of conversation is addressed in a completely different way to the way it's addressed in Japan," Yoshimi Yamaguchi explained.
Among the features mentioned, interviewees listed the German automotive industry's progress "that kind of design doesn't exist for Japanese cars" , the German work morale "Germans let things go more easily than the Japanese if they think it's not worth it" and the Germans' interest in current affairs "everyone is well-versed in politics and has an opinion, especially when it comes to the environment" as the country's most striking qualities. The way Germans address the legacy of the Second World War is also a topic that frequently crops up, with comparisons often being drawn between how the subject is broached there and in Japan.
It's also clear that football, classical music and beer were high up on the list and most of those interviewed noted that a very large number of Japanese people would actually live in Dusseldorf. He feels the Japanese only come across as being so enthusiastic about the country because the Japanese fascination with foreign culture extends beyond mere interest.
If the Japanese find something they like from another country, they import it and find a way of integrating it into their culture. Japan is a nation that, without losing its own identity, wants to learn from others. Their approach seems to be "if someone is doing it better than we are, why not copy them? The fact that Japan enjoys adopting new cultural concepts is even evident in the language. New characters are specially innovated in "Katakana" to modify concepts for the language.
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Review a Brill Book. Reference Works. Primary source collections. Open Access Content. A movement was on foot, however, which in the end swept away the weak machinery of representative government and launched Japan on its biggest gamble for empire. Who were the men behind this drive? To follow the rise of military-fascist dictatorship in Japan it is necessary to understand the unique position which the armed forces occupy in the government and in, the minds and hearts of the people.
Before the rise of modem Japan, the nobles and their fighting men samurai formed the ruling class. After the old system of warrior clans was abolished and universal conscription was introduced.
The honor of bearing arms, which had always been regarded as a mark of the superior man, was extended to the entire nation. The mingling of emperor worship with the glorification of war, plus continued victories over half a century, have given the army and navy a popular prestige that will be hard to destroy.
An unusual feature of the Japanese government which the militarists have used in their rise to power is the make-up of the cabinet. The posts of war and navy minister can be held only by a general and an admiral on the active list. So the army or the navy can prevent the formation of any cabinet that is not acceptable to them merely by refusing to fill these positions.
Another dangerous feature is the division of control over civil and military affairs. The emperor is nominal commander in chief of the armed forces, and on military matters he receives advice only from high-ranking officers. The ministers of war and the navy have direct access to the emperor and do not have to approach him through the prime minister. The modern Japanese army admired and imitated the German. Its officers regard themselves as heirs of the old samurai. The majority of them are poor, proud of their service, and fanatically devoted to the emperor.
Dangerously ignorant of the world outside Japan, they dislike foreigners and regard prosperous Japanese businessmen and politicians who have absorbed Western culture with a mixture of envy and suspicion. By there was serious discontent in the armed forces. The world-wide depression hit Japan hard, causing much privation among the poor farmers from whose ranks the army was largely recruited.
There were many failures of small businesses and serious unemployment among industrial and white-collar workers. Army officers were alarmed at the spread of Western political ideas, especially communism.
Their faith in the government was shaken by the evidence of bribery, graft, and corruption in the chief political parties, and by deals between politicians and big business to the disadvantage of the mass of the people. Like the Nazis, the Japanese military fascists claimed to be friends of the common man.
To pull Japan out of the depths of the depression a vigorous program of social, economic, and political reform was needed. But the big landowners and industrialists were not prepared to accept changes which threatened their interests. The worst of these superpatriots worked with the army fanatics to organize numerous assassinations, after The victims were leading statesmen, bankers, industrialists, and even generals and admirals who advocated a moderate policy.
Discontent and revolutionary unrest were seething within the army like a volcano preparing to erupt. On September 18, the top blew off in Manchuria. Commanders of troops guarding the South Manchurian Railway faked a piece of railway sabotage as an excuse to occupy the chief Manchurian cities. This was done without the consent of the cabinet then in office, which resigned as a result.
In a government headed by Admiral Saito approved the seizure of Manchuria by formally recognizing Manchukuo, a dummy empire set up by the army. The militarists followed up their gains by the occupation of a large slice of north China in , forcing the Chinese government to sign a humiliating truce. In February , Japan quit the League of Nations, burning its most important bridge with the outside world. In February , after two years of deceptive quiet, the army volcano erupted again, this time in a mutiny almost within the shadow of the imperial palace.
Only about 1, troops, led by their captains and lieutenants, were involved. But there is good reason to suspect that some of the highest ranking generals were in sympathy with the mutineers.
The fascist-minded young officers were not in rebellion against their military superiors, but against the government. They had prepared a long death list of prominent men whose principles and actions they disapproved.
Actually they succeeded in assassinating only three high officials. The chief result was greater power for the supreme command. The outbreak of a large-scale war, in China rallied the people to the support of the militarists. All opposition to the war was suppressed. The army took over the conduct of affairs in China, allowing the politicians little or no say.
The state, which had always exercised strong controls over industry, trade, education, religion, and the press, tightened its grip. On September 27, , Japan concluded a military alliance with Germany and Italy. By the beginning of , for all practical purposes the army and the state were one. Even big business, since an uneasy partner in the wartime economy, could no longer offer effective opposition to the fascists in uniform.
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