Hirohito goes to war; Japanese Expansion

What served as the catalyst for the widening of the war in the pacific (USA joining)?

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour 1941

Why was Japan successful in resisting Western colonialism?

Gave them what they wanted initially (Treaty of Kanagawa) →modernised, tried to become more like the European states, industrialisation, modern army and navy

What two wars did Japan win in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to elevate them to great power status?

Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

What did Japan issue to China during the First World War?

The 21 Demands, demanding Chinese concessions

What did Japan gain from the first World War?

Several former German colonies in Asia, concessions from China

What were the Washington Conference + Nine-Power Treaty?

Agreement between UK, USA, Japan, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, China, France, and the Netherlands that entailed respecting Chinese sovereignty and border agreements + naval limitations

What did Japan do during the Russian Civil War?

Sent a huge army to occupy Siberia, but were eventually defeated by the Soviets and had to withdraw in 1922.

What were the results of the expansions in WW1 and the Russian Civil War for Japan’s relations with other powers and the Japanese government?

Distrusted by the other great powers, who sympathised with China. The government also began losing control over the army.

Name as many broad reasons as possible for why Japan pursued expansionism:

1. Desire to be equal to the West

2. Need for strategic security, naval control

3. The belief in their destiny as the leader of a free (from Europe) Asia

4. People were generally nationalist and militarist

5. Raw materials and markets were required to provide for the growing population

What direction did Shidehara take Japan in during the 1920s?

Internationalist, cooperation with China and others, League of Nations membership

Why did the Great Depression particularly hurt Japan?

Japan was dependent on silk and rice exports, and particularly the demand for luxury silk products fell rapidly.

What were the two major competing factions within the Japanese Army in the 1920s?

The Koda-Ha (Radical and opposed to the USSR), and the Tosei-Ha (Moderate, supported good relations with the USSR)

Why were the GMD and Jiang Jieshi problematic for Japan?

They were finding success in consolidating a central Chinese state and taking power from the warlords, threatening Japanese interests in Manchuria

What was the Kwantung Army?

A Large Japanese army stationed in Manchuria, which would ultimately start several conflicts.

What reasons pushed the Kwantung Army to orchestrate the Mukden incident and invade Manchuria in 1931?

• Need for resources, industry, and living space

• Zhang Xueliang, who had succeeded his pro-Japanese father as warlord of Manchuria had allied to Jiang Jieshi

What was the Mukden Incident?

The Kwantung Army performed a false flag operation, blowing up parts of the Japanese-owned South Manchurian railway, blaming the Chinese, offering a pretext for invasion.

Japan set up a puppet government - “Manchukuo”. Under who?

Pu Yi, the previous last emperor of the Qing Dynasty

Why was China under the KMT willing to appease Japan?

Jiang Jieshi saw the communist party as the bigger problem for China, so was willing to “sell land to buy time” (this also applies partly to the 1937 war)

What happened in 1936 to put the nail in the coffin on Japanese democracy?

A coup staged by the Koda-Ha failed, leading to Tosei-Ha and military dominance of the government.

What started the 1937 Sino-Japanese War?

The Marco Polo Bridge incident, where Japanese and Chinese troops shot at each other near Beijing. There is no evidence this was set up by Japan (unlike the Mukden incident)

What did prince Konoe try to do following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident?

Prince Konoe, who has prime minister, tried to restrain the army, and keep the peace. The army ignored this, and the forces from Korea and Manchuria invaded China.

Japan initially fought around Shanghai and Beijing, but after their initial victories, which city became the scene of some of the worst atrocities of the Second World War?

Nanking, during the Rape of Nanking, 1937-38

What were Japan’s objectives and outcomes with this initial phase of the war?

Objectives:
- Short war, win territory
- Scare/force China into submission
Outcomes:

- The communists and nationalists unified to form the Second United Front
- China did not capitulate, instead opting for a long war

- The Rape of Nanking only emboldened Chinese resistance

What two pacts did Japan sign in 1940 and 1941?

The Axis Tripartite Pact and the Neutrality Pact with the USSR

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbour in 1941?

• American embargo on oil exports (due to Japanese occupation of French Indochina)

• American freezing of Japanese assets

• West strengthens their forces in Asia

• Need for raw materials

What colonies did Japan occupy/invade following their attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941?

• Dutch East Indies

• Hong Kong

• British Malaya

• Singapore

• The Philippines

• East Timor

• Papua New Guinea

What doctrine did the USA issue to deal with Japan following the Manchurian occupation, and why?

The Stimson Non-Recognition Doctrine (Not recognising annexation of Chinese territory, but business as usual with Japan)

Because:
- Isolationism

- USA not threatened
- Important trade partners

- Great Depression

- No great American Pacific Fleet

Why didn’t the League act against Japan?

France wanted good relations with Japan, Britain didn’t feel threatened, Japan was anti-communist, and China was corrupt and no one was ready to fight for it.

Why did the US opinion of Japan change in 1937-38?

• Growing Japanese Navy

• US interests in China

• Threat to the Open Door policy

• Aid to China so that the Soviets would not be seen as more helpful