Japan’s austerity decade radicalized the military and led to assassinations.

Evidence

Inoue, however, was still campaigning for a return to the gold standard when he was assassinated in 1932. Later that year, a leading bank director and Takahashi’s prime minister were also assassinated. Austerity was racking up quite a body count. A decade of austerity had convinced the Japanese military that they were “at war with the entire civilian political elite.” Even Takahashi, the architect of recovery, was first excluded from cabinet by the military when he began to argue that since the economy had recovered (by late 1934), it was time cool the spending and worry about inflation. Two years later, Takahashi was murdered, along with several other political figures, in another abortive coup in February 1936. — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 543

Categorization

• XREF: Chains austerity to political violence and fascism—resonates with how austerity enabled radical politics elsewhere (Dalrymple, Mattei). — connects to: Austerity-driven military cuts triggered an assassination and coup attempt — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 541; Japanese elites sold deflation as unavoidable sacrifice through mass propaganda — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 538; Japanese austerity fell hardest on the military budget — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 540 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: The causal chain from deflationary austerity to military coups and assassination deserves deeper unpacking—is there stronger evidence of a direct link, or is this largely associational?

Broader Connections

• Japanese austerity produced depression, assassination, and militarism. #corroborates (0.95) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 544