When we talk about Japan, the last thing we imagine is violence, revolt, chaos, and riots. Modern Japan is quite civilized and advanced. Unlike Brazil, Japan is not undergoing any political and/or social crisis.
But it wasn’t always like this.
The Rice Riots of 1918 were a series of popular disturbances that arose in Japan in 1918. The riots resulted in the collapse of the Terauchi Masatake government (the Prime Minister of Japan at the time).
From July to September 1918, Japan was swept by a wave of revolts from rural fishing villages to large industrial centers and coal fields. It was the largest turmoil in Japan to date, since the unrest during the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
The revolt was a response to wartime inflation, low wages, and commodity speculation. The price of rice doubled in a short period, and the prices of other consumer goods also increased, while wages remained low. Japan was also subject to a flu pandemic in 1918-1919 like much of the rest of the world.
Cause of the Rice Revolt
The beginning of the 20th century for Japan was a drastic time. While Japan was colonizing Korea and Manchuria and was in the midst of a world war, the nation was going through complicated economic situations. A staggering increase in the price of rice caused extreme hardship in rural areas, where rice was the main consumption.
Farmers began to act hostilely against rice merchants and government officials who allowed consumer prices to spiral out of control.
The rise in the price of rice came at the peak of a post-World War I inflationary spiral. The inflation crisis affected most consumer goods and rents. Therefore, urban residents also began to act aggressively against merchants and government officials.
The Siberian Intervention further aggravated the situation, with the government buying rice stocks to feed Japanese soldiers. This further drove up rice prices. Eventually, the government’s intervention in economic affairs caused rural protests to spread to the cities.
The initial protest occurred in the small fishing town of Uozu, in Toyama Prefecture, on July 23, 1918.
It started with peaceful petitions. But the disturbance quickly turned into riots, strikes, looting, incendiary explosions of police stations and government offices, and armed confrontations. In 1918, there were 417 separate disputes involving more than 66,000 workers.
Results of the Rice Revolt
About 25,000 people were arrested. 8,200 people were convicted of various crimes, with sentences ranging from minor fines to the death penalty. However, riots did not necessarily occur in the poorest areas. Nor among the poorest workers.
Taking responsibility for the collapse of public order, Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake and his cabinet resigned on September 29, 1918.
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