Abstract
This chapter’s aim is to study the social and political impact of income distribution during the interwar period of Japanese history, an era characterized by dramatic changes in economy, society and politics. We argue that the worsening income inequality in Japan in this period contributed to the decline of the Taishō Democracy and the rise of militarism. Because such an interdisciplinary study has not been attempted before, it should be acknowledged that this chapters is only the first step toward a more comprehensive research effort.
We are indebted to Professor Junji Banno, Institute of Social Sciences, Uni-versity of Tokyo, and Masanori Nakamura, Department of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, for valuable comments on the earlier draft of this paper at the International Workshop on Income Distribution and Social-Political Stability (Tokyo 27-28 January 1996). We are also indebted to Professor Gregory J. Kasza, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Indiana University, for helpful comments.
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© 1999 Ryōshin Minami and Wenran Jiang
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Minami, R., Jiang, W. (1999). The Social and Political Impacts of Income Distribution: The Japanese Experience. In: Minami, R., Kim, K.S., Falkus, M. (eds) Growth, Distribution and Political Change. Studies in the Economies of East and Southeast Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14356-6_3
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