The next chapter in our text is the rise of fascist Japan. I am going to need to start with a bit of a broad introduction to fascism and how it got started as an idea, but I'm not sure how I can do that while still giving them the information they need. I have been looking for infographics and/or handouts that I can use as an introduction, but it's been hard to find any good ones. I am just wondering if anyone has an idea of how I can start the topic off in a way that 16-18 year old non-native English speakers would understand.
Cheers!
There wasn't really any fascism in Japan. The Japanese government at the time was in fact quite anti-fascist, at one point rounding up several fascists and having them executed for treason. The government was extremely militarist but ultimately operated from a conservative basis.
The best example of actual fascism would be Mussolini's Italy.
Now, if you're just looking to teach about the rise of the militarists in Japan, I think one way to go about it would be to invoke Senator/Emperor Palpatine in the prequel trilogy of Star Wars.
Assassinations and rebellions everywhere. A government full of ineffective leaders who dillydally in the Senate. A general lack of respect for your planet's concerns. You want to change that. You instigate a war without government sanction. You then lead the charge for military intervention. You show the weak, incompetent government what real leadership is. You rally the people around you and point in the direction of the enemy, the rich capitalists that seek to corrupt your peoples' ethics with their desire for money. You escalate the conflict against those that dared attack your people in the first place, regardless of the fact that you were actually at fault. Then, you start purging all dissenters-on both sides of the coin-and create a new strong Empire that claims legitimacy from the old, weak republic.
Despite the questionable cinematic value of those films, there's a startling parallel between the two.