IB History Paper 1 Japan

detailed Timeline flashcards for IB History SL Paper 1

Origins of Japanese Nationalism and Militarism

Origins of Japanese Nationalism and Militarism

• Determination to transform Japan into a Western-styule military power

• Japanese belief in its destiny to lead the Asian sphere and become an imperial power

• Need for raw materials (Japan is mostly mountainous, so there aren’t many resources)

• Discrimination at the hands of Western Powers

  • Was going to be discussed at the Paris Peace conference, but wasn’t

Pre 1931

Rise of Japanese Nationalism & Militarism 

1633–1853, Japan (for the most part) closed off from the international community

(a) After gunboat diplomacy of Commodore Perry, Japan accepted deals favourable for foreigners

Anti-foreign attitudes on the rise −

→ Between 1863–65, many instances of conflict against foreigners

(a) The height: 1877 Satsuma rebellion −

→ Disillusioned samurai led by Saigo Takamori; victory for the imperial government

1931

17 March​ ​- The March Incident occurs as members of the Sakurakai attempt to incite a coup d’etat using the military. Their attempts at creating a riot in Tokyo as a pretext for intervention failed, and their choice of prime minister, Kazushige Ugaki, refused to cooperate further. The plotters received only mild punishments which served to increase the boldness of the military.

14 April​ ​- Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi forced to resign due to continuing injuries. Is replaced by Wakatsuki Reijirō as Prime Minister and leader of the Minseito.

18 September​ ​- The Manchurian Incident - Planned by Lieutenant General Ishiwara Kanji of the Kwantung Army, a bomb was exploded in Manchuria on the Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railways in Mukden, giving a pretext for its takeover by the Guandong Army.

22 September​ - League of Nations meets to decide on enquiry, but US refuses to support enquiry at this time.

October​ ​- League of Nations gives deadline of 16 November for Japan to withdraw from Manchuria, which was ignored.

- October Incident occurs in Japan which was an aborted coup d’etat by members of the Sakurakai. The plotters were mildly punished with 20 days house arrest which only served to encourage more attempts at military intervention. As a consequence, the Sakurakai was dissolved with most members joining the Tōsei-ha or ​Control Faction of the the army.

13 December​ ​- Prime minister Wakatsuki Reijirō resigns due to inability to reign in the Kwantung Army and is replaced by Inukai Tsuyoshi of the Seiyukai. Inukai was tasked by the Emperor with reigning in the military, yet he was caught in the middle as public support grew for the invasion.

1932

7 January​ ​- Stimson Doctrine announced. US would not recognise any treaty between Japan and China which violated US rights and treaties.

28 January​ ​- The Shanghai Incident occurs as fighting breaks out between Japanese marines and GMD troops. Ceasefire agreed on 3 March by PM Inukai Tsuyoshi. The incident hardened world opinion against Japan and Inukai was blamed by militarists for curtailing the military.

9 February​ ​- League of Blood Incident occurs as a civilian ultranationalist group with links to the military, led by Buddhist preacher Nissho Inoue, assassinated former Finance Minister Junnosuke Inoue and Director-General of Mitsui Zaibatsu Dan Takuma. The resulting trial led to a further erosion of the rule of law and emboldened ultranationalists by giving the defendants a platform to broadcast their views, arguing their actions were in the interests of the Emperor.

1 March​ - Independence of Manchuria is proclaimed and was renamed Manchukuo with its capital at Changchun. Prime Minister Inukai withholds formal diplomatic recognition out of concern for worsening relations with the US. This displeased the militarists and general public.

15 April​ ​- The Chinese Communist Party declares war on Japan.

15 May​ ​- May 15th Incident - Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated during an attempted coup by 11 young naval officers. He was criticised for enforcing a ceasefire in Shanghai and trying to curtail the power of the military in Manchuria. During their trial, the conspirators won widespread support and eroded what remained of democratic principles. In a compromise with the military, Inukai was replaced as prime minister by the non-party affiliated Admiral Saito Makoto, who was directly appointed by the Privy Council. Saito extended official diplomatic recognition to Manchukuo.

2 October​ - The Lytton Report was published condemning Japanese aggression and insisting on withdrawal of Japanese troops.

1933

25 February​ ​- League accepts Lytton Report, prompting a walkout of the Japanese delegation led by ambassador Yōsuke Matsuoka. On 27 March, Japan gave formal notice of its withdrawal of membership from the League.

4 March​ - Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes US President defeating Herbert Hoover in a landslide election. His liberal New Deal policies would kickstart the American economy yet he was initially hampered in his foreign policy and limited in response to Japanese aggression by isolationists within Congress who passed a series of Neutrality Acts from 1935-37.

31 May​ ​- The Tanggu Truce is signed with China which gave Japan control of Jehol province and the Shanhaiguan Pass, and made the region north of Beijing a demilitarised zone. The truce gave Jiang Jieshi time to consolidate his forces but was seen as another humiliation.

1 August​ - Comintern instructs all Communist parties across the world to form United Fronts with other anti-fascist parties

1934

8 July​ -​ Prime Minister Saito Makoto is replaced by Admiral Keisuke Okada. During his leadership, conflict between the Imperial Way (Koda-ha) and Control (Tosei-ha) factions within the army increased as he failed to control the military. He narrowly avoided assassination in the February 26 Incident.

1935

10 June​ - The He-Umezu Agreement signed in which Chinese troops were forced to withdraw from Hebei province, allowing Japanese forces to be stationed along the Great Wall. The secret truce was leaked to the press and put further pressure on Jiang Jieshi to act in future.

31 August​ - First US Neutrality Act passed, stipulating that in a state of war, the president was required to declare an arms embargo on all belligerents.

1936

26 February​ - February 26 Incident occurs as 1,500 ultra-nationalist officers from the Kōdō-ha (Imperial Way) faction carry out an attempted coup in Tokyo. 3 senior ministers assassinated. Emperor opposes coup and order is restored, leaving the Tosei-ha (Control Faction) in control of the army and increasingly, the country.

29 February​ ​- Second US Neutrality Act passed, stipulating that in a state of war, the US would refuse war loans and credits to belligerent nations.

9 March​ - Prime Minister Keisuke Okada resigns and is replaced by Hirota Koki who became increasingly manipulated by the army, placating the military by reinstating the system by which only active-duty army or navy officers could serve in the Cabinet posts of war minister or navy minister, thereby giving the military a de facto veto over government decision making.

25 November​ - Japan signs the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany due to mutual fears of the USSR. Germany extended diplomatic recognition to Manchukuo, marking a turning point away from Germany support for China.

12 December​ - The Xi’an Incident forced Jiang Jieshi to form a Second United Front with the CCP against Japan.

1937

2 February​ ​- Prime Minister Hirota Koki is replaced by General Senjuro Hayashi who struggled to gain support from the Diet or restrain the military.

1 May​ ​- Third US Neutrality Act passed, stipulating that travel on belligerent ships in times of war was unlawful. ‘Cash-and-carry’ rule also required belligerent nations to pay in cash for all purchases and transport them on their own ships

4 June​ - Prince Konoe Fumimaro is appointed prime minister in the hope that he could unite the military and civilian governments.

7 July​ - The Marco Polo Bridge Incident leads to the Japanese Invasion of China and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

7 August​ ​- China officially declares a war of ‘self-defence’ on Japan

21 August​ ​- Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact signed between USSR and Nationalist China, delivering economic and military aid to the GMD.

5 October​ - Quarantine Speech delivered by President Roosevelt which signified a change in US foreign policy, warning of the dangers of ‘international anarchy and instability’, and calling for a quarantine of aggressor nations.

3 November​ - Brussels Conference of signatories of the Nine-Power Treaty. No action against Japan was decided, thus effectively ending the Washington System of international cooperation in China.

6 November​ - Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact.

12 December​ - The Panay Incident occurs as USS Panay and HMS Ladybird attacked by Japanese forces on the Yangtze. US refuses to respond.

13 December​ - Japanese forces attack Nanjing. ‘Rape of Nanjing’ sees mass murdered committed on the civilian population.

1938

16 January​ - Prime Minister Konoe announces Japan will no longer seek negotiation with Jiang Jieshi's regime but seek to ‘eradicate it’ after Jiang rejects Japanese peace terms.

24 March​ - The National Mobilisation Law is passed to implement a total-war economy by dissolving labour unions, nationalising strategic industries, introducing price controls and rationing and nationalising the media. This was supplemented by the National Service Draft Ordinance which empowered the government to draft civilian workers where it deemed necessary.

17 May​ ​- The US Naval Act of 1938 passed by Congress providing $1billion for naval rearmament to match the Axis powers by increasing the US navy by 20%.

3 November​ ​- Prime Minister Konoe announces ‘New Order in East Asia’ political union between Japan, China and Manchukuo. As a statement of political and war aims, the New Order speech announced to the world Japan’s ambitions.

1939

5 January​ - Prime Minister Konoe resigns in frustration over his inability to control the direction of the war in China. He was replaced by Hiranuma Kiichiro.

14 June​ - The Tientsin Incident (Tianjin) occurs as Japan blockaded the British Concession in Tientsin due to British non-compliance over a murder investigation. Seeking to avoid war, Britain eventually handing over the four suspects, demonstrating British weakness in China.

26 July​ - The US announces the abrogation of the 1911 Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with Japan in solidarity with Britain over the Tientsin Incident.

23 August​ ​- The Nazi-Soviet Pact signed between Germany and the USSR. The unexpected pact strengthened calls for a ‘strike south’ policy within the Japanese military.

1 September​ - Germany invades Poland starting WW2 in Europe. The US declares neutrality.

15 September​ ​- The Battle of Khalkhin-Gol (Nomonhan) finishes in ceasefire as over 20,000 Japanese die in border skirmishes with the USSR. Defeat convinced the Imperial Japanese Army to abandon its ‘strike north’ strategy and support the ‘strike south’ policy favoured by the navy.

4 November​ ​- The fourth US Neutrality Act is passed in Congress, repealing earlier acts and allowing belligerents to buy arms on a cash-and-carry basis.

1940

2 February​ ​- Minseito politician Saitō Takao gave one the last anti-war speeches in the Diet, criticising the conduct and objectives of war in China. For this he was expelled from the Diet, silencing all remaining critics of the war.

30 March​ ​- Creation of the Reorganised National Government of China headed by President Wang Jingwei in Nanjing. Wang’s government collaborated with the Japanese, in reality existing merely as a puppet state.

25 June​ ​- France falls to Germany after losing the Battle of France. Vichy France was now in control of Indochina and allied to Germany, thereby giving Japan access to the territory.

19 July​ - The US Two-Ocean Navy Act passed by Congress to increase the size of the US Navy by 70% and costing $8.55 billion. It authorised the procurement of

18 aircraft carriers, 7 battleships and over 100 other ships.

22 July​ - Konoe returns as prime minister. Tojo Hideki appointed war minister, Matsuoka Yōsuke as foreign minister, Yoshida Zengo as navy minister. Matsuoka called for a stronger alliance with Germany to warn off USA, friendly relations with the USSR and expansion into Indochina.

26 July​ - The US Export Control Act was introduced which halted the shipment of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline as a warning to Japan.

1 August​ ​- The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is formally announced by Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka which called for a self-sufficient and Japanese dominated bloc of Asian nations. Building on earlier ideas of Pan-Asianism, in essence it was an imperialist propaganda concept designed to legitimise Japanese dominance in the region in clear opposition to the US Open Door concept.

22 September​ - Japanese troops invade Northern Indochina with the aim of stopping rail supply routes to Nationalist China from Vietnam via Yunnan. Vichy France quickly capitulated and by 26 September, it was agreed that Japan could station up to 40,000 troops.

27 September​ - Japanese diplomat Saburo Kurusu signs the Tripartite Pact (Pact of Steel) with Italy and Germany. All agree to aid each other in the event of an attack by a power not ‘involved in the European war or in the Sino-Japanese conflict’, meaning the US.

October​ - The US Export Control Act was widened to also ban the trade of iron and scrap steel to Japan. On 8 October, Japan warned the US that this might be considered an ‘unfriendly act’.

12 October​ - Imperial Rule Assistance Association created as a unity party by Konoe in an attempt to unite domestic politics behind the war effort and limit the power of the military. Existing multi-party politics was suspended in an attempt to create a totalitarian one-party state.

1941

11 March​ - The US Lend-Lease Act launched a programme for supplying Britain and other allies with ‘surplus’ armaments in return for bases. Over $50 billion in supplies were given, ending any pretense of neutrality.

13 April​ ​- The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact is signed with both sides hoping to concentrate their attentions elsewhere, enabling Japan to embark on its ‘strike south’ policy.

April​ - Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku begins planning Pearl Harbour contingency.

22 June​ - Operation Barbarossa begins when Germany invades the USSR. The presented Japan with a final opportunity to also attack the USSR, yet this idea was abandoned in favour in the strike south towards the Dutch East Indies.

July​ - The ‘Magic’ US code-breaking project succeeded in cracking Japanese Foreign Office correspondence, providing access to all all encrypted Japanese diplomatic correspondence

24 July​ ​- 140,000 Japanese troops invaded Southern Indochina in preparation for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies. The UK and US responded by freezing all Japanese assets and increased their support for Jiang in China.

26 July​ - US freezes all Japanese assets in the US in response to the invasion of southern Indochina.

1 August​ - US implements a total oil and gas embargo on Japan. 80% of all Japanese oil imports came from the US. It was viewed by some in Japan as an ‘act of war’, giving Japan no choice but to strike south.

14 August​ - The Atlantic Conference takes place off Newfoundland as Churchill and Roosevelt agree common interests in the Atlantic Charter, seen by Japan as an ultimatum on whether to accept the ‘Anglo-American’ worldview or to oppose it.

6 September​ ​- ‘Guidelines for the Implementing National Policies’ adopted at the Imperial Conference. Agreement between army and navy that Japan should be ready for war with the US, UK and Netherlands by October if negotiations fail.

17 October​ - Konoe resigned due to the failure of his peace overtures with the US. General Tojo Hideki is appointed prime minister. Tojo sets 30 November as final deadline for talks with the US to succeed.

5 November​ ​- Emperor Hirohito agrees at Imperial Conference that plans should be made for the attack on Pearl Harbor, but negotiations should be pursued to their end.

17 November​ - Japanese Ambassador Nomura Kichsaburō and Kurusu Saburō meet with President Roosevelt. Kurusu asked to discuss possibility of Japan leaving the Tripartite Pact, to which he refused.

20 November​ ​- Pearl Harbour task force ready to sail. Final note for consideration presented to Cordell Hull, but US still insisted that Japan withdraw from China and Indochina.

26 November​ - The Hull Note passed to Japan, stipulating that Japan should withdraw from China before trade embargo is lifted. Interpreted by Tojo as declaration of war. Pearl Harbour task force sets sail.

1 December​ ​- Final Imperial Conference sanctions war. Naval task force informed that attack will take place on 7 December.

6 December​ - Final attempt for peace by President Roosevelt, asking for withdraw from Indochina. Emperor did not receive telegram until 3pm, task force could not be recalled.

7 December​ - Pearl Harbour is attacked. Nomura and Kurusu deliver declaration of war 50 minutes after attack, at 1:50pm. Malaya and Hong Kong also attacked.

8 December​ - Britain and the Netherlands Government in Exile declares war on Japan.

11 December​ ​- Germany and Italy declare war on the USA.

Five Power Naval Treaty and Nine Power Treaty

6 February​ ​- Five-Power Naval Treaty concluded which attempted to limit naval competition between the world powers by imposing a 5:5:3 ratio in battleships and aircraft carriers for Britain, USA, and Japan. The Japanese Navy General Staff deeply opposed the limitations, creating resentment amongst the military.

22 February​ - Nine-Power Treaty imposes ‘Open Door’ principles in trade with China, replacing the earlier Lansing-Ishii Agreement. It was signed by all the attendees of the Washington Naval Conference: USA, UK, Belgium, China, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, and Portugal. Japan agreed to return Shandong to China in return for 15-year control on its railway.