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Essay What Caused The Great Depression

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While the United States was struggling to emerge from the Great Depression at the end of the 1930s, and would do so partly because of the World War I, Japan was also in a bad economic position. Several things contributed to this; The Great Kanto Earthquake that hit in 1923 had destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama and the areas that surrounded them. Also, the Great Depression, which occurred in the 1930s, worsened Japan's already poor economic state. Another facet of Japan's economy was its reliance on silk exports and during the Great Depression, the price of silk dropped dramatically. One of the outcomes of Japan's poor economy was the militarization of the government. During the 1930s, there were internal conflicts within the government, especially within the …show more content…

Internationally, this was a time when "free trade" was in disrepute. The Japanese, with few natural resources, sought to copy a pattern of sagging economies through high tariffs, dumping of goods, and other trade manipulation. As Japan began to industrialize, leaders realized that they lacked the industrial resources needed to build a strong industrial economy. The Japanese military faced a particular tactical problem in that certain critical raw materials — especially oil and rubber — were not available within the Japanese sphere of influence. The Japan’s government launched a plan to invade weaker neighbors who were rich in mineral deposits. They used cutthroat trade practices to sell textiles and other light industrial goods in the East Asian and US markets, severely undercutting British and European manufacturers. They also developed sources of raw materials and heavy industry in the colonies they established in Korea, Taiwan, and Manchuria. Japan used high tariffs to limit imports of American and European industrial

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