throughout 1920s - there was a growing feeling - among number of officers in sections of Japanese military - that political parties and zaibatsu were corrupt and self seeking.

  • they believed that politicians and zaibatsu were not interested in serving japan but themselves.
  • many of these officers were young and came from families of the poorer rural farming communities + new urban middle classes.
  • both classes had been badly affected by economic conditions in 1920s.
  • they generally felt that civilian govt no longer respected the military in Japan because of cuts in military budgets.
  • seemed like political parties favored zaibatsu rather than military.