1920년대 초 일본정치와 식민지 조선지배 - 정무총감 미즈노 렌타로의 활동을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This essay investigates the role of Director-General of Political Affairs Mizuno Rentaro. After the March 1st movement, Japan’s policy toward colonial Chosun experienced a major shift. The existing literature pays little attention to the impact of Japan’s domestic politics on the policy shift. To understand the impact, I analyze the policies that Mizuno introduced between 1919 and 1922. His tenure coincides with the peak of the Taisho Democracy when the pendulum of political power swung from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen and generals to the democratic parties. He played a crucial role in reducing the power of military and police whose ruthless suppression the nation-wide protest against the Japanese colonial rule. At the same time, he persuaded Japanese politicians to increase the budget of the colonial government to ease the protest. In this respect, his efforts contributed to cement a link between Japan’s domestic politics and the colonial rule. After his return to Japan, these policies remained intact because his successor was recommended by himself. As a result, the influence of Japan’s domestic politics on the colony continued until the late 1920.