Analysis Of The Evolution Othe Policy Oapanese Government With Regard To Opium Monopoly In China Of The Manchukuo Period

Contemporary countries, including the United States, Japan and developednations, as well as China and other developing states, have been affected by illegaldrugs trade. The spread of illegal drugs is a general concern around the world andthere is an urgent need to address the problem. As it can be seen from Japanesereports, annual import of illegal drugs is far higher than criminal export. Thus, theJapanese citizens have not been protected from illegal drugs trade. However, Japanwas once a narcotics-exporting country and this criminal business let it to gain hugeprofits and created serious harm to many countries.This dissertation focuses on opium policies which were put into practice inpuppet Manchukuo. The author attempts to research if there were coherent connectionbetween opium policies and the invasion of China which Japanese governmentcommitted at that time.The Japanese forces occupied Taiwan after the Treaty of Shimonoseki wassigned and, for the first time, the government of Japan adopted a policy of opiummonopoly (so called “doctrine of gradual prohibition of opium”) in order to governthe new colony. Following the gradual invasion of China, the similar opium policieswith necessary adjustments were implemented in Jiaozhou Bay area of Shandongprovince and on the Kwantung Leased Territory. Finally, the policy of opiummonopoly was also implemented in the puppet state of Manchukuo. In the verybeginning, the policy of opium monopoly was failing. But after constant "reforms",the opium policy, which has failed in other regions of China, has finally achievedfinancial "success" in puppet Manchukuo. However, such a “success” of the Japanesegovernment apparently meant the crash and degradation of puppet Manchukuo.The opium policy implemented by the Japanese government in China wasextremely aggressive. The Japanese government not only invaded the Chineseterritory but also through opium trafficking reaped a huge profit and expanded its financial and military colonization of China. The opium policy caused the terribledamage to China and its citizens. The policy has proved that opium, sometimes, ismore inhumane weapon than any other known weapon.Having analyzed and compared four aspects (namely, the peculiarities of theJapanese opium policy in China, the evolution of the legislation on opium, the trendsof qualitative changes of drug addicts as well as financial changes in the Japanesearmy), the author reevaluated the evolution of Japanese opium policy and exposed itsreal goals. The author tries to prove that the opium policy of the Japanese governmentwas very coherent.