Question 1
A historian argues that the Meiji Constitution of 1889 was 'the root cause of Japan's slide into militarism, decades before anyone could foresee it.' Which feature of the 1889 constitution best supports this argument?No clue? Show me the answer
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Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify what the question tests
The question asks which 1889 constitutional feature explains why militarism's roots trace back to the founding document itself, not just the 1930s.
Step 2: Apply the concept of tosui-ken
The right of supreme command meant the military reported directly to the Emperor, bypassing civilian oversight entirely from the constitution's promulgation onward.
Step 3: Interpret the causal chain
This structural gap existed for over 40 years before it was exploited in the 1930s, making it a genuine long-term structural cause rather than a Depression-era invention.
Step 4: Select the correct answer
The right of supreme command is the specific mechanism that insulated the military from civilian control, so option A is correct.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate the Diet structure
Creating a bicameral Diet was a step toward parliamentary appearance, not a cause of military independence from civilian rule.
Step 2: Eliminate the Privy Council detail
The Privy Council's treaty powers reinforced elite control generally but did not specifically explain military independence from the cabinet.
Step 3: Eliminate the suffrage point
Voting rights for propertied men relate to political participation, not to the military's chain of command.
Step 4: Confirm the remaining option
Only the right of supreme command directly explains why the military could bypass elected government, confirming A.
Question 2
During the Taisho period, Japan simultaneously extended universal male suffrage and passed the Peace Preservation Law in 1925. What does this combination best illustrate about Taisho Democracy?No clue? Show me the answer
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Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify the contradiction
The same year, 1925, brought both a widened franchise and a law criminalising ideological dissent against the kokutai.
Step 2: Apply knowledge of the constitutional structure
Sovereignty still rested with the Emperor under the unamended Meiji Constitution, so expanding the vote never threatened the underlying power structure.
Step 3: Interpret the dual reform
The state could afford to expand participation because it simultaneously built legal tools to neutralise the political groups that participation might empower.
Step 4: Select the correct synthesis
This shows liberalisation and control expanding together, not a genuine shift of sovereignty, confirming option A.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate full Diet sovereignty
The Diet never gained sovereign authority; the Emperor and unelected bodies retained ultimate power throughout Taisho Democracy.
Step 2: Eliminate the zaibatsu claim
Zaibatsu influence over party politics continued and even intensified through corruption scandals well after 1925.
Step 3: Eliminate the military surrender claim
The military retained the right of supreme command throughout this period and never gave up its independence from civilian control.
Step 4: Confirm the correct option
Only option A accurately captures the coexistence of liberalisation and repression within an unchanged authoritarian framework.