Fascist Japan?

[PlayerHOI]

After watching the Japan lets play I was wondering if the decision to make Japan a fascist nation was done due to development constraints or because there was a historical fact about it?

As far as I'm aware Japan never really embraced Fascism as an ideology. While Japan did have some characteristics of a Fascist nation I don't think that historians actually consider Japan a Fascist nation.

The Absolute almost religious rule of the Emperor might have some Fascist factors to it but the whole approach was much different than the it was in the West and while Japan did mistreat its Korean subjects it had done so not with a Fascist ideology in mind but because that was the general mindset of a nation which in its perceptions was very much colonial and treated conquered nations as slaves and resources to use for the benefit of the mother country...

Perhaps Japan could be non aligned in the game? As it did not strictly follow any Western themed ideology to think of, would that cause havoc with game mechanics?

If anyone can point out a historical example it would be nice

 

[Evan05]

The biggest traits of fascism is authoritarianism, nationalism, xenophobia, extreme militarism, and imperialism.

All these traits definitely apply to Imperial Japan. I'd consider them fascist, and of the four ideologies in game (Communism, Democracy, Fascism, and the various centrist ideologies that fall under the generic "Neutral") Japan politically fits easily within Fascism.

 

[shri]

To give a brief explanation-
Communism is world embracing (in the wrong sense)- Communism wants to convert everyone to communism. On a deeper psychological plane it is like- I am not ok, i am quite fuc*** up in life, so you also should be even more fuc*** up in life for now and for ever.

Fascism is inward looking, it is nationalistic, xenophobic and wants to get the country back to its "GOLDEN AGE".
Fascism says- I am ok, you are not ok, so shoo off/buzz off. I will lord over others and bring them civilisation. The whole "Empire" phenomenon is actually a lot to do with fascism though the British or French will never admit to being Fascists for an extended period in History.

Isolationism - is followed very less, this is a position wherein all outside interference is ignored and no outside interference is done. Theoretically it is the best position but practically it can never succeed.

Considering this, Japan being framed - Fascists is probably right.

 

[Meanmanturbo]

Well, it is just that they have simplified things. In HOI 2 there were three kinds of left and right wing dictatorships, as well as four kinds of democracies. I looks like paradox has decided that the distincition serves no purpose, and have lumped them all under umbrella designations.

 

[Evan05]

To give a brief explanation-
Communism is world embracing (in the wrong sense)- Communism wants to convert everyone to communism. On a deeper psychological plane it is like- I am not ok, i am quite fuc*** up in life, so you also should be even more fuc*** up in life for now and for ever.

Could you rephrase that?

 

[Oriflamme]

If we are using the strictest definition of Fascism, then Italy was the only Fascist country to ever exist. Germany's government was not "Fascist", but rather National Socialist, which was more totalitarian in nature. As it turns out, all the countries in the Axis had their own nuances in regards to how their government was organized. But "Fascist" is, in my opinion, an acceptable general term to describe them all for a game like Hearts of Iron 4.

Personally, I think we tend to think of Fascism as an ideology the same way that Communism is. Communism is more like a religion, in that you have a sacred text (The Communist Manifesto) with apostles (Marx, Engels), saints (Lenin, Guevara), a church (the Party), and a desire to maintain orthodoxy and shun heresy (The Sino-Soviet split has a striking resemblance to the Great Schism of 1054). These characteristics were simply not present among the Axis countries.

 

[The_Meme_Man]

I'd say it is more for ease because the Japanese government was unlike any European government, particularly in ways that made it incredibly unstable and inefficient. It could be compared to the government of China if it didn't have a civil war. It was a parliamentary republic meant to emulate the governments of Britain, America, and France while maintaining the indigenous tradition of the God Emperor. It was growing increasingly corrupt, and power became imbalanced in the favour of the military during the Great Depression, resulting in what was effectively a warlord state by the end of the war. There little to no power given to the civilian representatives. The government was corrupt enough for the Emperor, while having the authority of Heaven, to have little say in what happened because of misinforming or hiding information in regards to the progress of the war. Think of the Beiyan Republic's final moments, with the Qing Emperor really just existing and doing nothing much else, and tensions growing inside the government between factions vying for power.

All in all, the Empire of Japan was a 19th century empire in a 20th century war. The point of the war was to get land (primarily in response to a growing food crisis), have colonies (having all of China was just a formality to make Japan look like an actual empire like Britain, they didn't actually NEED Chinese resources compared to SEA resources), and look great in a 19th century standard. There was a minuscule sense of duty to be the "savior of Asia" from "European imperialism", but that was more to just encourage the population to go along with it because, generally, people dislike imperialism, even citizens of THE imperial powers. Had Japan been at war any longer, had the Emperor not made his final word, total chaos would have ensued, probably resulting in more casualties than the Chinese Civil War if the relative scale of the American civil war is to say anything about modern industrial superpowers in total civil capitulation. They weren't organized enough like the Nazis to force everyone to support the Nazi party until the bitter end...or until American soldiers offered chocolates and Soviet soldiers offered spare shoes.

 

[Alexoren]

Not every nation is the same (obviously), but WW2 and into the Cold War the main ideologies competing against each other were Democracy, Communism, and Fascism. They were all very distinct, but certain nations within those categories had differing ways of going about it. For instance, Chiang Kai-Shek to a certain degree could have been considered a Fascist because of the way he envisioned a unified China. He even went so far as to have his inner circle being called Blue Shirts. (think Brown Shirts or Black Shirts with Germany and Italy). They did things very differently, but had similar perspectives of nationalism, anti-imperialism, anti-communism, and semi-xenophobia.

Japan isn't identical to Fascist Italy, but their ideologies and the way they acted during WW2 and the years leading up to it are more similar to Fascism than the other two. It's generalizing it, but still applicable.

 

[Ostheim]

There are also differences between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, but Nazi Germany has Fascist ideology ingame. Imperial Japanese ideology was roughly equivalent and had a few "ultra-nationalist" coup attempts before WW2.

 

[elmalvad0]

Large parts of the officer corps were fascists themselves or admirerers, and the military held a huge sway over civilian politics through political assasinations etc so I don't think its too far fetched. The fascist game mechanic of free DOWs allso fit their historical expansion, although national focuses could take care of that.

Ed: The 100% fascist from the WWW stream seemed a bit off, but Im guessing those numbers simply arent final.

 

[The_Meme_Man]

Large parts of the officer corps were fascists themselves or admirerers, and the military held a huge sway over civilian politics through political assasinations etc so I don't think its too far fetched. The fascist game mechanic of free DOWs allso fit their historical expansion, although national focuses could take care of that.

Ed: The 100% fascist from the WWW stream seemed a bit off, but Im guessing those numbers simply arent final.

Considering they actually did have fears of communist sentiments within the borders.

 

[PlayerHOI]

Thank for everyone's answers, seems much more logical to me now