In 1920 Japan’s wartime economic boom collapsed, and the country suffered a series of recessions. Bad economic conditions were aggravated by the great Kant? earthquake of 1923, which devastated the Tokyo-Yokohama region. Agricultural prices plunged, and the rural economy stagnated. A major bank panic in 1927 set off alarm bells, but conditions grew much worse with the onset of the Great Depression—the global economic slump that began at the end of 1929. Japan’s manufacturing production fell, workers were laid off, a new wave of strikes began, and the rural economy went into a tailspin.

These deteriorating economic conditions undercut the fragile growth of Japan’s democracy. Public opinion laid blame for the country’s economic troubles at the door of the political party leaders, who reacted slowly and conservatively to the economic crisis. Public distrust of the parties was heightened by revelations of political scandals involving the bribery of Diet members, cabinet members, and other leading politicians. Tight links between political parties and big business firms, known as zaibatsu, also deepened public suspicions. Encarta