Japanese Expansionism 1930s and International Response Study Guide

Taisho Reign vs Hirohito Reign

Taisho: 1920s liberal reforms, diet gains power, rise in media & representation

Hirohito: 1926 onward, militarism & nationalism rise, military controls foreign policy 1931-41

Period after Qing collapse

Warlord Era in China post-1912

Leader of Nationalist Party (GMD)

Chiang Kai Shek led the Guomindang (GMD)

Leader of Communist Party (CCP)

Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

First United Front

1921 GMD & CCP alliance to fight warlords and unify China

Japanese worry about Zhang Zoulin

Manchurian warlord expanding into Northern China; if defeated by GMD, Japan risks losing Manchuria

Who protected S. Manchurian Railway

Kwantung Army, backed by Kodo-ha faction favoring aggressive expansion

Gov't vs Kwantung Army on Zhang Zoulin

Gov: disarm Zhang & retreat, Kwantung: assassinate him (June 4, 1928), acted without emperor’s approval

Zhang Zoulin assassination meant

First sign military acted independently from gov’t

1930 London Naval Conference upset

Naval limits (10:10:7 ratio) + PM Hamaguchi's military salary cuts angered Japanese military

Date Zhang Zoulin assassinated

June 4, 1928

Why Manchuria = lifeline

Buffer vs Russia, resources, markets, land for Japan's growing population

Zhang Xueliang angers Japan

Zhang's alliance with GMD threatens Japanese control in Manchuria

Mukden Incident date

September 18, 1931

Mukden Incident

Explosion blamed on Chinese but staged by Kwantung Army, triggered invasion with public support despite gov’t orders

Treaties Japan violated (Manchuria)

Kellogg-Briand Pact, League of Nations rules, Nine-Power Treaty

Puppet state in Manchuria

Manchukuo ruled by Pu Yi, last Chinese emperor

Treaty of Tanggu (1933)

GMD's Chiang agrees to Japan’s control over Inner Mongolia

Chiang Kai-shek’s Japan view

Believed Japan overreaching in China would exhaust them; saw communists as bigger threat

Kodo-ha vs Tosei-ha

Both imperialist; Kodo-ha = radical, USSR enemy, dictatorship; Tosei-ha = moderate, China conquest, gov’t influence

May 15th Incident

1932 assassination of PM Inukai by military; public support eroded civilian gov’t power

Feb 1936 Revolt

1,500 Kodo-ha soldiers seized Tokyo buildings, murdered officials, military’s grip strengthened

PM during 2nd Sino-Japanese War start

Prince Konoe Fumimaro (1937), ordered China invasion, supported by Tojo

Marco Polo Bridge date & significance

July 7, 1937; clash triggered 2nd Sino-Japanese War, Japan escalated into full invasion

CCP & GMD response to Japan (1936-7)

Formed United Front vs Japanese aggression; declared war of national resistance

Rape of Nanking impact

Dec 1937: mass rape, 30K soldiers killed, 12K civilians murdered, ~300K dead

New Order in East Asia

Japan-Manchukuo-China union to end war & assert Japanese dominance; failed as China resisted

Why Japan eyed SE Pacific

Wanted oil & natural resources to fuel war

Pacts enabling southern expansion

1940 Tripartite Pact (Axis) & 1941 Soviet Neutrality Pact allowed Japan to move south

US response to French Indochina invasion

US embargoed Japan, froze assets, cut off vital oil supply

Why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor

Destroy US fleet to buy time; believed US wouldn’t endure a long war due to isolationism

Intl goal after WWI

Wilson's 14 pts: diplomacy, collective security; League of Nations formed to maintain peace

Treaty creating League of Nations

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

League of Nations

Global org to maintain world peace & cooperation

Article 16 League Covenant

An attack = war vs all members; calls for trade cuts, military response, collective punishment

Nine-Power Treaty

Upheld China’s sovereignty, banned territorial grabs & most-favored status deals

Kellogg-Briand Pact

States renounced war as dispute resolution; pledged peaceful conflict settlements

League response to Mukden

Cautious; sent Lytton Commission, but Japan expanded Manchuria while League delayed action

Japan's response to Lytton report

Rejected withdrawal demands, left League, claimed bias, refused compromise