also dealt a blow to small and medium-sized businesses, and even during the war, the nation's silk cloth manufacturers' associations, wholesale brokers, union representatives, and the retail trade association came to Tokyo to oppose it. The same kind of opposition arose towards the salt monopoly. Thus, dissatisfaction with the war grew from rural areas across the country to urban areas. Effects of Taishō Democracy The nation's trend towards universal democracy and independence can be seen as products of Taishō Democracy. These effects can be seen in various fields in that era, for example: Politics People started to express more of their opinions about the nation's decisions. In other words, people began to think for themselves, beyond what they were told by national leadership, and tried to exert political power to express their opinions. Political movements such as launching party and the movement for universal suffrage are some examples. Economy The tendency of independence of the capital occurred and people sought to be free from the regulations. In other words, people demanded a limited government. As a result, the power of capitalists or finance experts got stronger than before. Moreover, people began the movement of abolition of tax and claimed a disarmament. Education Education for its own sake, independent of other concerns, was also advocated. University leadership and the press became independent of government, and people gained the ability to express their own opinions, independent from government views. Moreover, the increase in the literacy rate allowed people to read more books and get more information. Women's Activists The social system of patriarchy still existed in Japan at that time; however, there had been a gradual change to the traditional position of women. Itō Noe, a feminist and editor of a magazine Seitō (Bluestocking), criticized that women were not being given the same rights as men. Itō Noe along with other women's activists such as Hiratsuka Raichō and Yoshiya Nobuko tried to make changes to the system of male privilege, and aimed for the independence of women. See also (平澤計七) (山本宣治) Takiji Kobayashi (小林多喜二) Hiratsuka Raichō (平塚らいてう) Itō Noe (伊藤野枝) Yoshiya Nobuko (吉屋信子) Woman's suffrage (女性参政権) Minpon Shugi (民本主義) Universal suffrage Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動) Hanshinkan Modernism References External links https://www.facinghistory.org/nanjing-atrocities/nation-building/taisho-democracy-japan-1912-1926 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/07/29/general/taisho-democracy-pays-the-ultimate-price/#.XulryUX7Ryw Social history of Japan Democracy movements Taishō period Russo-Japanese War Politics of the Empire of Japan