ABSTRACT
The Kwantung Army officers' conspiracy, which touched off the Manchurian Incident, and the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai heralded the end of party government in Japan and the advent of military domination of the political scene. As a result of Japan's isolation from the international community and its successes in Manchuria, the tide of ultranationalism and militarism continued to sweep the country. The flames of nationalism, militarism, and imperialism were stoked by the economic and social frustrations felt by the masses as the depression brought them to the very brink of starvation. The established zaibatsu also began to cooperate with the military in the building of defense industries as the military gained ascendancy and arms expenditures began to increase. Even during the height of military ascendancy, a kind of collective leadership still prevailed with the imperial court, the imperial advisers, the aristocrats, the senior statesmen, the bureaucrats, and the big business leaders retaining considerable influence.
