The war with Japan 1937-1945

What happened to Japan’s economy in the 1920s and why?

Started to slow down

• limited agricultural land and raw materials

• impact of Wall Street Crash (1929) and Great Depression

  • negatively impacted trade

Why did they look to China to solve these problems?

• China had the land and raw materials they needed

• Weak and divided country with no strong central government

When and where did Japan invade?

Manchuria, 1931

What did they rename Manchuria?

Manchukuo

Who did they put in charge of Manchuria and how did they rule it?

The last Qing ruler, Puyi. It was ruled as a puppet state

What did the Japanese do in 1932?

Strengthened their position by occupying Shanghai

Where did they expand to in 1937?

Wuhan, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Beijing

What was Chiang Kai Shek’s initial response to this?

To allow them to take the land they wanted

Why did he initially respond like this?

He was convinced they could never fully occupy a country as large as China

How did this response affect his reputation?

It made him look weak and made him unpopular with the population

• Japanese often behaved with great cruelty towards the Chinese people

When did Chiang change this strategy and declare war on Japan?

1937

Political causes of the war with Japan

• Japanese army gained lots of confidence from past victories in China and Russia

• China was weak and divided

• Japanese invasion of Manchuria

• Chiang’s initial response made him look weak and he had to change this

Social causes of the war with Japan

• Japan had a long history of wanting Chinese territory

• Chinese people had great hatred of Japanese because they were often very cruel

Economic causes of the war with Japan

• Japan’s economic growth slowed in 1920s

  • limited land and materials

  • decreased trade due to Great Depression & Wall Street Crash

  • China had the land and materials they needed