Rice Riots of 1918

The nihongo|Rice Riots of 1918|米騒動|kome sōdō were a series of popular disturbances that erupted throughout Japan from July to September 1918, which brought about the collapse of the Terauchi Masatake administration.A precipitous rise in the price of rice caused extreme economic hardship, particularly in rural areas where rice was the main staple of life. Farmers, when comparing the low prices they were receiving due to government regulation, with the high market prices, had tremendous hostility against rice merchants and government officials who had allowed the consumer price to spiral out of control. The rice price increase came at the peak of a post-war (World War I) inflationary spiral that also affected most consumer goods and rents, and thus urban dwellers also had considerable scope for grievances. However, the Siberian Intervention further inflamed the situation, with the government buying up existing rice stocks to support the troops overseas, which further drove rice prices higher. The government failed to intervene in economic affairs, and rural protests spread to the towns and cities.

The Rice Riots were unparalleled in modern Japanese history in terms of scope, size and violence. The initial protest occurred in the small fishing town of Ouzu, Toyama Prefecture, on 23 July 1918. Starting with peaceful petitioning, the disturbance quickly escalated to riots, strikes, looting, incendiary bombings of police stations and government offices and armed clashes. By mid-September 1918, over 623 disturbances had occurred in 38 cities, 153 towns and 177 villages, with over 2 million participants. Some 25,000 people were arrested, of whom 8200 were convicted of various crimes, with punishments ranging from minor fines to the death penalty. [MacPhearson, "The Economic Development of Japan 1868–1941"]

Taking responsibility for the collapse of public order, Prime Minister Terauchi and his cabinet resigned on 29 September 1918.

A link to Japanese imperialism is debated. Scholars argue that in order to alleviate the demand for rice which exceeded the production capabilities of Japan at the time, colonial rice production in Taiwan and Korea was intensified. [ Smitka, "Japanese Prewar Growth (Japanese Economic History 1600–1960)", page 192]

References

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first = W.G.
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title = Japanese Imperialism 1894–1945
publisher = Oxford University Press
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id = ISBN 0198221681
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first = WJ
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year = 1995
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title = The Economic Development of Japan 1868–1941
publisher = Cambridge University Press
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*cite book
last = Smitka
first = Michael
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year = 1998
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title = Japanese Prewar Growth (Japanese Economic History 1600–1960)
publisher = Routledge
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id = ISBN 0815327056

Notes