In December 1934, Japan denounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Japan will declare its complete withdrawal from all arms treaties in December 1936.

In 1934, the USA released Cuba from its protectorate status that had begun in 1903 after the Spanish-American War.

In 1934, a group of Imperial Japanese Army cadets cadets and two army officers of the radical militarist Imperial Way Faction (Kōdōha) were arrested for planning a coup d'état. The founder of the Kōdōha Sadao Araki and his protégé promoted the ancient samurai bushido code with ideas similar to European fascism.The Kōdōha desired a return to an idealized Imperial Japan, purged of corrupt bureaucrats, politicians, and greedy zaibatsu capitalists, over which the Emperor Showa would rule with military assistance. Although not convicted for lack of evidence,  the cadets were expelled from the Academy and the officers were suspended from duty for six months.

Alcatraz Island (known as the "rock") became a federal prison in 1934. Over the next three decades, it held many infamous prisoners, including  Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), George "Machine Gun" Kelly,  Mickey Cohen and Arthur R. "Doc" Barker. The 1962 film, The Birdman of Alcatraz, starred Burt Lancaster as the infamous prisoner Stroud.

Based on rumor, ultranationalists in the Ministry of Justice accused Finance Ministry officials and members of Prime Minister Makoto Saitō's cabinet of bribery in the purchase of Taiwanese bank shares at artificially low prices.  With the arrest of several of his cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Saitō dissolved his government. Although all of the defendants were ultimately found innocent, and no financial irregularities were documented, public confidence in liberal democracy was seriously undermined and the ultranationalist position was further strengthened.

Gunned down by federal agents outside a movie theater in 1934,  the notoriously colorful bank robber John Dillinger has captured the public's undying imagination as evidenced by the number of songs written about him.

The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, was a lush epic film of Pu Yi's life. Pu Yi, the abdicated Xuantong Emperor of China's last (Qing) dynasty, was declared the emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo by Imperial Japan in 1934. His rule lasted until the end of the war in 1945.  

https://youtu.be/2pSOekHA8OQ This controversial video describes an alleged plot, backed by corporate leaders to overthrow the left-leaning government of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During the 1934 investigation by the Special Committee on Un-American Activities (predecessor to HUAC), many questioned the veracity of the allegations by retired Marine Corps General Smedley Butler that a coup was imminent. No one was prosecuted. At first, news media covered the story, but it was soon dismissed as not credible and even labelled a "gigantic hoax" by the New York Times. But extensive excerpts from the committee report were never released and many believe that some sort of scheme had actually been afoot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC7D_TICOeA Typhoon Muroto , followed by a tsunami, left 2,702 dead, 334 missing, and 14,994 injured.

Returning from Havana to New York, the cruise ship Morro Castle caught fire just off New York harbor, killing 137 passengers and crew.

The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike, begun in San Francisco,  led to the unionization of all West Coast ports and contributed to the rise of unionism in the USA.

In 1934, Amau Eiji, Japanese Foreign Affairs Spokesman, asserted that Japan had the special mission to maintain peace and order in East Asia. The Empire of Japan would therefore oppose any intervention in China by other foreign powers. This Japanese declaration, similar to America’s Monroe Doctrine, was a direct challenge to the Open Door Policy of the West that allowed all trading nations access to the Chinese market.

https://youtu.be/Kd509cLN-9U   It Happened One Night, a slightly risqué comedy with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable won five major Academy Awards in 1934 for best picture, director, actor and actress.  

This 1934 silent film by the great director Yasujiro Ozu was remade in 1959. His lovely, lyrical films, including The Only Son (1936), There Was a Father (1942),  Early Summer (1951), Tokyo Story (1953), and Early Spring (1956)  provide an intimate picture of family and interpersonal relationships in Japan.

In the early 20th Century, the United States was concerned about its political and economic control over the Caribbean. With frequent assassinations and exiles, Haiti appeared unstable and under the influence of a small group of German nationals who wielded disproportionate economic power. When an anti-American revolt threatened U.S. business interests in 1915, President Woodrow Wilson ordered  U.S. Marines to occupy Haiti. The occupation lasted until 1934 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered complete disengagement.

After Philippine annexation in 1898, many Filipino farm workers migrated to the American West coast.  As a result of opposition to this influx, the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934 reclassified Filipinos as aliens, and thus no longer allowed unrestricted access to the United States. While the Act promised independence of the Philippines after a period of ten years, it actually occurred after WWII in 1946.

Fighting enemy bears (Russians?), this brave Japanese monkey shows the  true Yamato spirit of Imperial Japanese soldiers, complete with a victory banzai cheer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLjD31rUIGA