With industrialization, the factories became bigger and more numerous. In 1909, there With industrialization, the factories became bigger and more numerous. In 1909, there were 1000 factories in which more than 100 people each worked. In 1920, this figure grew to 2000 factories with each one having more than 4000 workers. In spite of all that there were some 550,000 small workshops there with less than 5 workers each.
The uncontrolled and fast growth of factories, the need for natural resources like timber, etc. caused environmental damage. Tanaka Shozo, who was elected to the first House of Representatives, started the first protest against industrial pollution in 1897. This protest in which 800 villagers took part forced the government to take steps against environmental pollution.
