IB History Formative - Japanese Move to Global War

Boshin War 1867

• power struggle between different clans

Meiji Restoration

• Japanese wanted less western influence and wanted traditional Japanese values back such as the feudal society

• use militarism

• imperial family is descendent of the sun goddess

First Sino-Japanese War 1894-95

• war in Korea

Russo Japanese War 1904-05

• Russia had influence in Manchuria and Korea

• Japan didn’t get as much as they had hoped

• Korea was annexed in return for recognizing US in the Philippines

21 Demands of China 1915

• German colonies

• Japanese advisors in the government of China

• US opposed

• Britain pushed for the Chinese to agree to a limited list of demands

• subsequent Chinese governments would not recognize

• tensions with US

Treaty of Versailles

• Japan wasn’t given outright ownership of the colonies that Germany used to own because of the mandate system

• refused to leave some places which pushed the US not to ratify the treaty

• proposed racial equality clause which was blocked by the UK and US

• not allowed to take Santung Peninsula in China

militarism

• Samurai legacy

• territorial expansion for natural resources and “living space”

• officers in the military were not under political control

• the military had the power to veto anything in parliament

• Japan continued to militarize after WW1

Lansing - Ishi Agreement 1917

• affirms China

• affirms open door policy

• US recognizes Japanese interests in China

National Foundation Society 1924

• Hiranuma Kiichi and Sadao Araki made it

• strengthen national spirit

• inspired by Mussolini

Seiyaki Party

• unhappy with Washington Naval Conference

• military has supreme command over the government

Ikezaki Tadakata

• nationalist writer clearly expansionist

One Evening Society

• 1929 mid level officers

Cherry Blossom Society 1930 / Kodoha (Imperial Way Faction)

• overthrow civilian government and replace it with military

• complete destruction of Zaibatsu, political parties

• wanted war with USSR to end communism because it threatened the emperor and traditional Japanese values

• many attempted coups and assassinations

Fundamentals of Our National Policy 1937

• Japanese government made

• emphasized loyalty, patriotism, and the idea that the emperor was the descendant of the Sun Goddess

Great Depression

• Hamaguchi was prime minister (leader of the Minseito political party)

• not self sufficient

• silk exports were greatly reduced because it is a luxury good

• overpopulation led to increased expansionism

• other countries had increased tariffs, especially targeted against Japan and would not allow Japanese immigrants

• Hamaguchi attempted to solve the economic issues with economic entrenchment

• 1927 bank failures, unemployment rises

• US grows more attached to China because they aid the nationalists

• Zaibatsu grows in power because monopolies increase

Shidehara Kijuro

• multiple consecutive prime ministers that experienced a high risk of assasination

• part of Kenseikai and Minseito parties

• international diplomacy and disarmament

• expansionist

Kita Ikki

• great power over the emperor

• influenced young army officers

• part of a coup in 1936 and then executed

Inukai Tsuyoshi

• attempted to move out of Manchuria and withdraw to the SMR and start negotiations with China following League

• assassinated in 1932

Admiral Saito Makoto Prime Minister

• Emperor’s advisor chose

• withdrew from the League following what the military wanted

• Lytton Report

• allowed the Kwantung army to advance but Araki (a war minister) persuaded the army to stop in 1933 and signed the Tang gu Truce

Washington/London Naval Agreements 1935

• stopped being accepted because of Okada

Taisho Democracy (1912-1925)

• 1924 universal male suffrage; more representative government

• Chinese instability in the 20s leading to the US and Japan moving closer

  • US becomes Japan’s largest customer and supplier

  • China was divided by military/political leaders

• Japanese growing population with limited resources

  • rural areas especially struggled

  • imported cheap rice to feed the population but this harmed rice farmers

  • encouraged emigration

    • little repopulation to other Asian countries, but the rest of the world would not let them in

  • promoted exports (leans into silk)

  • cooperate politically in order to trade

• Japan reduced military spending

Washington and London Agreements

• ends Anglo-Japanese alliance

• pledge to respect Japanese territory

• Japan forced to respect Chinese territories which angers the military however the economy can’t handle supplying more ships anyways

• London specifically

  • Japanese pushed to accept unfavorable terms

  • no one wanted an arms race

  • pm was assassinated

  • 1936 finance minister was assassinated and replaced by the military

Communism

• appealed to unemployed urban workers

• Peace Protection Law of 1925 (then execution amendment in 1928)

  • arrest those who want government change

  • because of universal male suffrage, the left wing grew so this was a response

Showa Restoration

• full power to the emperor

• popular with rural farmers who suffered economically

• with access to few jobs these farmers often joined the army, growing conservative ideals within the military

Toseiha

• control faction

• reform government

• army with the Zaibatsu

• tight economic control

• prep for total war

• suppress political parties

Warlord Era (China)

• civil war from 1916-28

• southern China had 7 major + CCP

• northern China had 3 major

• Manchuria and Inner Mongolia was ruled by Zhang Zoulin

• ended when the KMT unite Southern China with raised nationalism citing anti-Chinese discrimination

• KMT aligned with the CCP then broke alliance and in 1926-28 attacked CCP 

• KMT took control with the Northern Expedition

Manchuria 

• had good resources, low population, access to Chinese markets

• shared boarder with USSR

  • if Japan took it communist unrest in the region would decrease

  • if soviet conflict occurred it would be far from Japan itself

• under Zhang Zoulin it declared independence in in 1922

• allowed Japan to continue what it wanted if it supported him

• Kwantung Army Officers assassinated Zhang in 1928

  • hoped to weaken Manchuria however Zhang’s son took over and reunited Manchuria with the rest of China

United China

• national infrastructure had been destroyed

• famine in Northeast China killed 3-6 million people

• isolated China from the USSR because of the attack on the CCP which they had been funding

• Chiang Kai Shek became Director of the State Council

Shidehara Diplomacy

• instead of military action

1927 Japanese Foreign Policy

• wanted to weaken China and was alarmed by the success of the KMT

• Shantung Peninsula was occupied

• support Zhang Zuolin

• 1927 positive policy only Manchuria mattered and the international community was attempting to keep Japan weak

• Kwantung placed Liaodong Peninsula because it bordered Korea

Mukden Incident 1931

• minor explosion on railway made by Japanese

• Chinese were blamed

• excuse to occupy Manchuria (Jehol remained out of Japanese control)

• government collapsed and replaced by military when the army refused to give up the perpetrators

Invasion of Manchuria

• KMT didn’t resist the occupation because they could not take decisive action and they wanted to focus on defeating the CCP

• Japan pretended to help Manchuria escape the chaos of China with (Manchukuo)

  • obviously puppet state so was not allowed into Olympics or the League

Response to Manchuria

• France benefited from weak China because of its interests in Indochina

• Great Depression meant many could not intervene

• shared USSR boarder comforting many anti-communist governments

Lytton Commision

• China appealed to the League

• investigated till late 1932

  • shown that Great Powers did not care for smaller nations

  • May have strengthened committees

• found that the Chinese government was corrupt however the invasion was not in the interest of the Manchurians

• recommended Japan pulled back

League General Assembly 1933

• voted Japan as the aggressor so Japan withdrew

China and Japan

• Chiang Kai Shek went to the head of the military so the government could be comprised of multiple groups; he continued to focus military efforts against the CCP

• Chiang Kai Shek wanted Manchuria however it was to costly for the army and worried about control over the rest of the country

• Jehol was conquered by Japan in 1933

1933 Tanggu Truce

• Manchuria and Jehol was Japanese controlled

• neutral zone between China and Japan that Japan would violate repeatedly

US Response

• because it was anti war and anti tax there was little action

• Open Door Policy had been disrupted

• Stimson Doctrine

  • protested Japan in Manchuria and wanted them to uphold the Open Door Policy

USSR Response

• during collectivization so they had no bandwidth

• 1935 unable to defend the China East Railway so they sold it to Manchukuo

Umezu-He Agreement 1935 

• China Garrison Army (Japanese army outside Manchuria)

  • pro Japanese newspapers assassinated so Garrison ordered China to withdraw from Hebei Province

• DMZ

• East Hebei Autonomous Council; puppet government

Doihara Kenji - Qin Dechun Agreement

• China removes troops from Manchukuo

• Demchugdongrob head of INner Mongolia

Second United Front 1936

• fighting CCP became unpopular

• Zhang Xueliang arrested Chiang because of his obsession with communism

  • forced to make united front with CCP

Marco Polo Bridge Incident 1937

• Japan wanted Chinese apology which was refused

• China bombed Japanese in Shang Hai

Second Sino-Japanese

• Shanghai Expeditionary ARmy

• China attacked international settlement

• chinese cities bombed frequently

• Nanjing(captured 1937)

  • Nanjing Massacre (Prince Asaka appointed)

    • killed women children, soilders, looted, mutilation

• Wuhan 1938 captured and Japan had most ports and railways on the cost

• 1939 conquered most of east China

• USSR supplied China

• Chongqing was new capital and was bombed but that failed they tried to cut supplies, this angered the US in 1940

• Republic of China headed by Wang Jing has controlled by Japan and largest country

• Japan was not prepared for a long war → worried anti Soviet resources were depleted

• industry under military, inflation led to government controlled price levels, political parties were banned