«THE LAW ON DANGEROUS THOUGHTS» AND ITS IMPACT ON THE POLITICAL LIFE OF JAPAN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20s - THE FIRST HALF OF THE 40s OF THE XX CENTURY

Veterkov A. I.

The purpose of the study is to study one of the most repressive laws of Japan that influenced the political life of Japanese society in the second half of the 20s - first half of the 40s of the last century, the «Law on the Protection of Public Peace», otherwise referred to as the «Law on Dangerous Thoughts» (the second unofficial name of the regulatory legal act has become the most widespread). The article examines the factors that contributed to the adoption of repressive legislation in the specified historical period, reveals its essence, the mechanism of law enforcement in the fight against dissidents. According to the results of the study, it was concluded that the efforts of the Japanese militaristic ruling regime did not contribute to the defeat of the opposition forces. The attempt of total state control over the lives of subjects, including the desire to exercise control over thoughts, is also carried out in modern society. But violence based solely on fear, and not on the power of persuasion, leads only to the imaginary support of the authorities. History has proved with its numerous examples that the political method of persuasion is much more effective than the method of direct violence. The theoretical and practical significance lies in the study of scientific literature on the stated problem (based on the weak knowledge of the topic in Russian historiography), and in the use of the research results in practical activities when making political decisions.

Keywords:Japan, «Law on dangerous thoughts», «kokutai», militarism, political methods