The were a series of popular disturbances that erupted throughout Japan from July to September 1918, which brought about the collapse of the

Terauchi Masatake Gensui Count Terauchi Masatake ( ja, 寺内正毅), GCB (5 February 1852 – 3 November 1919), was a Japanese military officer, proconsul and politician. He was a '' Gensui'' (or Marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army and the Prime Minister o ...

administration.

Causes

A precipitous rise in the price of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

caused extreme economic hardship, particularly in rural areas where rice was the main staple of life. Farmers, who compared the low prices they were receiving from government regulation with the high market prices, had tremendous hostility to rice merchants and government officials, who had allowed the consumer price to spiral out of control. The

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

came in the early-20th-century inflationary spiral, which also affected most consumer goods and rents, and so urban dwellers also had considerable scope for grievances. The

Siberian Intervention The Siberian intervention or Siberian expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers, Japan, and China to support White Russian f ...

further inflamed the situation, with the government buying up existing rice stocks to support the troops overseas, which further drove rice prices even higher. The government intervention in economic affairs (low regulated rice prices) caused rural protests to spread to towns and cities.

Riots

The rice riots were unparalleled in modern Japanese history in terms of scope, size, and violence. The initial protest occurred in the small fishing town of Uozu,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

, on 23 July 1918. It started with peaceful petitioning but quickly escalated to riots, strikes, looting, incendiary bombings of police stations and government offices, and armed clashes. In 1918, there were 417 separate disputes involving more than 66,000 workers. Some 25,000 people were arrested, of whom 8,200 were convicted of various crimes, with punishments ranging from minor fines to the death penalty. Taking responsibility for the collapse of public order,

Japanese Prime Minister The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

Terauchi and his cabinet resigned on 21 September 1918. A link to

Japanese imperialism This is a list of regions occupied or annexed by the Empire of Japan until 1945, the year of the end of World War II in Asia, after the surrender of Japan. Control over all territories except most of the Japanese mainland (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyu ...

is debated. Scholars argue that to alleviate the demand for rice, which exceeded the production capabilities of Japan at the time, colonial rice production in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

was intensified.

Causes

Riots

See also

References

Further reading