Imperial Rule Assistance Association

(noun)

Japan's para-fascist organization created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on October 12, 1940 to promote the goals of his Shintaisei ("New Order") movement. It evolved into a "statist" ruling political party, which aimed at removing the sectionalism in the politics and economics in the Empire of Japan to create a totalitarian one-party state, in order to maximize efficiency of Japan’s total war effort.

Related Terms

Examples of Imperial Rule Assistance Association in the following topics:

  • The Rise of Japan

    • Totalitarianism, militarism, and expansionism were to become the rule, with fewer voices able to speak against it.
    • With the launching of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in 1940 by Prime minister Fumimaro Konoe, Japan would turn to a unique form of government that resembled totalitarianism.
    • All political parties were ordered to dissolve into the Association, forming a one-party state based on totalitarian values.
    • The creation of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in 1940 is also seen as a Japanese response to the rise of fascism in Europe, which was to prevent the influences of German and Italian fascist movements.
    • On September 27, 1940, Imperial Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

  • Japanese Expansion

    • During the first part of the Shōwa era, racial discrimination against other Asians was habitual in Imperial Japan, having begun with the start of Japanese colonialism.
    • In its wake the Japanese military consolidated its control over the political system and most political parties were abolished when the Imperial Rule Assistance Association was founded in 1940.

  • Indochina: The Background to War

    • The 1884 Treaty of Hue formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the next seven decades.
    • Various Vietnamese opposition movements to French rule existed during this period but none was ultimately as successful as the Viet Minh common front, which was founded in 1941 under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, controlled by the Indochinese Communist Party, and funded by the U.S. and the Chinese Nationalist Party in its fight against Imperial Japanese occupation.
    • The French continued to run affairs in Indochina, but ultimate power resided in the hands of the Imperial Japanese.
    • The Viet Minh took power in Vietnam in the August Revolution (launched by the Viet Minh against French colonial rule on August 14, 1945).
    • In September, Truman sent the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to Indochina to assist the French.