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(1931-1941)
Starting from the eighteenth of September, 1931, was the incident that began the Invasion of Manchuria; the Mukden Incident.
The image shown on the right is a part of the South Manchurian Railway which was used as a set up to blame the Chinese and further expand Japanese influence in China.
Japanese troops in Mukden, Manchuria (Sept. 1931)
On September 18, 1931, the Kwantung Army staged a bombing on a small portion of the SMR* (to take control of Manchuria).
The Great Depression was still happening, by invading Manchuria, it will alleviate the effects of the depression and there will be more land up for grabs (also settle land ownership issues).
This event begins the start of Japanese expansionism (gaining territory) and militarism (using military to seize land in best interests for Japan)
Inspectors inspecting where the bomb went off on the South Manchurian Railway (Sept. 1931)
*The South Manchurian Railway was owned by the Japanese
(Although this is somehwat irrelevant...)
The assassination of Zhang Zuolin (warlord of Manchuria) withheld the Japanese from invading China by a few years; the incident was similar to the Mukden Incident:
- Bombing on the SMR
- Blame the Chinese for the bombing
- Invade Manchuria afterwards
Had Zhang not been assassinated, the sequence of events lfrom 1931 to 1945 would have been earlier.
On January 28, 1932, the Japanese invaded norhtern China; they clashed with Chinese troops in an international zone in Shanghai.
The fighting came to a ceasefire in May 1932 when the Japanese and the Chinese signed the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement.
Shanghai became a demilitarized zone; Japanese troops had access to this zone while the Chinese must withdraw from the area. The agreement gave Japan the upperhand and an opportunity to seize control over Shanghai and capture Nanjing (expansionism through military aggression).
Following the Mukden Incident in 1931, the Japanese military conquered Manchuria and established Manchukuo on March 1, 1932, as a puppet state under Emperor Pu Yi's rule (just under name, he has no power).
In May 1932, the Japanese and Chinese sign the Tanggu Truce and formally end Japan's invasion into Manchuria.
The terms of the truce give an unfair advantage to Japan; Japan could enter and attack Beijing, then capture the city (expansionism).
Japanese territory pre-WW2
Side Note:
Japan's foreign policy was focused on the best interests for the country (mainly expansionism and militarism.)
This demilitarized zone leaves Beijing and Tianjin vulnerable; at any given time can the Japanese enter through the DMZ and attack China.
*spoiler alert (they do, in 1937)
On July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident occurred. A precursor to the Nanjing Massacre and the Second Sino-Japanese War, this event would ultimately lead to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the USA's entrance into WWII.
(Note:
There will be some overlap; this point will focus on events that happen after 1937 (excluding 2nd Sino-Japanese War, pacts, and Pearl Harbor.)
Present day photo of the Marco Polo Bridge
On July 7, 1937, a Japanese soldier goes missing after some gunfire exchange between the local Chinese garrison and Japanese army in Wanping.*
The Japanese want to search for him in Wanping; they negotiated and allowed the commander in to search, but some infantry troops (unauthorized by garrison) were pushing through Wanping, and the next day marks the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War (and essentially WWII in Asia).
*Shimura Kikujiro was the name of the missing soldier; he got lost after a bathroom break in the woods.
*The Japanese army had training exercises outside Wanping, so they would announce it to the locals and the garrison nearby. Just on the 7th, they did not announce it, which scared the garrison.
*Full-scale invasion launched the next day by the Japanese govt. Japan has the upperhand; positioned in Manchuria, strong military, entrance through demilitarized zone, and facing off against weak Chinese forces.
From December 1937 to January 1938, Japan committed one of the most gruesome war crimes.
After the Japanese captured the GMD capital (Nanjing), at least 20,000 women and children were captured as to be 'comfort women'*, many other victims were brutally mudered, buried alive, or beheaded.
Because of the acts committed, this event has several other names, most commonly the Rape of Nanjing (spelling varies; Nanjing is also spelled Nanking [Wade-Giles])
The Japanese thought that capturing Nanjing would be a piece of cake; it wasn't as easy as they thought it would be.
The frustration felt by the Japanese army was relieved through murder and rape of many Chinese civilians.
Happened as a result of a sense of racial superiority that has been embedded in the Japanese education system.
As mentioned, women and children of any age were captured by the Japanese army and forced into committing sexual acts (sex slaves).
Not only Chinese women, but Korean, Filipino, and many other Indo-Chinese asians.
Comfort stations were established wherever Japan had occupied, so the total number of comfort women was around 410,000.
On September 22, 1940, the Japanese invaded French Indo-China. Prior to the invasion, the Japanese threatened the French to close off the Sino-Vietnamese Railway to prevent imports from going into China. The French refused.
4 days later, the French surrender which results in a Japanese victory and the occupation of Indo-China.
By occupying Indo-China, Japan expands its empire through the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere; Japanese territory has grown large as a result of expansionism and militarism.
Prince Fumimaro Konoe was the former Prime Minister of Japan (in office from 1937-1941). Many Japanese saw him as a moderate even though he received the same education as the other Japanese elites (militaristic and harbored nationalistic feelings/sense of racial superiority).
Konoe wanted to maintain ties with the Navy (associated with Emperor Hirohito) and the Army.
He was partially responsible for proposing the Racial Equality Clause at the League of Nations; when the clause was rejected, it left him bitter and resentful towards Western powers.
Prior to WWII, Japan signed two treaties; the Tripartite Pact in Berlin on September 27, 1940, and the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact in Moscow on April 13, 1941.
The Tripartite Pact (also known as the Berlin Pact or the Three Power Pact) was signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940 by Germany, Italy, and Japan.
The alliance was defensive and promised to support each other in the event that one is attacked by another nation. Although it was an alliance of convenience, Japan and Germany hoped that either of them could stall time in order to continue with their personal goals*.
*Germany wanted resources from the US and Britain in Asia; get Japan to help out
*Japan needed Germany to buy time in Europe so that they could build up the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (plan to make Asia free of Western influence)
On April 13, 1941, Russia and Japan signed the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact (also known as the Japanese-Soviet non-aggression pact) in Moscow. The agreement called to maintain peaceful relations between the two nations and remain neutral in the event that one of them is attacked.
However, the terms were violated* which led to the Russians invading Manchuria.
How were the terms violated?
Germany launches an invasion into the USSR, and because Germany and Japan are allies, this technically counts as Japan breaching the terms of the neutrality pact. Japan dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor, which brings both Russia and US into WWII.
How does this connect to Japan's foreign policy?
- Flex military on the US; proved they were just as strong as the whites (militarism)
- Retaliation to US-imposed sanctions to Japan following Japan's occupation of Indo-China; expands and gains control over Vietnam to secure oil reserves (expansionism for resources)
The Pearl Harbor Bombing took place on December 7, 1941, in Oahu, Hawaii. The bombing was to prevent the US from interfering with Japanese attacks in order to occupy the Phillipines, the Dutch East Indies, Malaya (Indonesia and Singapore), Hong Kong, and Burma (Myanmar). However, the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the US out of isolation and into the second World War, leading to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6th and 9th of August 1945.