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Compare And Contrast Russia And Japan's Response To The Great Depression

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Russia and Japan’s Responses to the Great Depression Many people associate the Great Depression with the period between 1929-39 in the United States. During this time, nearly twenty-five percent of the population was unemployed and countless people were without shelter and food. However, the United States was not the only country that was suffering from a Great Depression. Germany, Japan and Russia also had their own Great Depressions during the same time. This paper will look at the Depressions that took place in Japan and Russia between 1929-39.
Japan
World War I did not have the horrible effect on Japan’s economy that it did on the rest of the world. This was mostly because Japan had taken over the markets that had been dominated by the …show more content…

Other changes that were made politically in Japan was that all men who were over 25 were granted the right to vote, labor union restrictions were removed, and national health insurance was created and implemented. Despite this the flourishing economy of Japan was gone by the next decade. This was because they were dependent of trade as they did not have many natural resources. The Great Depression throughout Europe and the United States meant that luxury items such as silk were no longer selling. This caused a 50 percent decrease in the amount of Japanese exports from 1929-31.
There was also the growing population and the fact that the lack of economic growth meant that the people were no longer able to support themselves and their families. The Japanese people blamed the government for what had happened to the economy. The Prime Minister would then resign and the following one would be assassinated, with the Japanese military establishing a military dictatorship. This takeover was nonviolent and had left both the Diet and Constitution in its place. However, the country did become more totalitarian during the 1930’s, even though it was ruled by a group of people rather than one

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