Japanese Expansion

Flashcards about the causes and events of Japanese Expansion

What policy shift occurred in Japan's foreign policy from the 1920s to the 1930s?

Shifted from working with the West and the League of Nations to a more expansionist foreign policy.

What slogan reflected Japan's industrial and military ambitions from 1868?

"Enrich the country, strengthen the military."

What did right-wing nationalists in Japan call for in the 1920s?

Rejection of Western ways and direct imperial rule, advocating for a militaristic government based on national socialism.

What was the role of the Emperor viewed to be in the framework of Japanese nationalism and militarism?

Revered as a living deity, with war seen as an act to purify the self, the nation, and the world.

Which side did Japan join during World War I?

Britain, France, Belgium, Russia (and later the US).

What were Japan's war aims at the start of World War I?

To seize German concessions in China (Kiachow Bay) and acquire German-controlled islands in the Pacific.

What event marked the beginning of Japanese expansion in the 1930s?

The invasion of Manchuria by the Kwantung Army in September 1931.

What was the League of Nations' response to the Mukden Incident?

Cautious; it held meetings and sent a fact-finding commission led by Lord Lytton to Manchuria but was ultimately ineffective.

What was the key Chinese response to Japanese aggression after the Mukden Incident?

the formation of the Second United Front to resist Japan.

What area did Japanese troops first land in to begin the attack during World War I?

Shantung Peninsular

What action by Japan violated Chinese neutrality during World War I?

Marching on Chinese soil to attack Tsingtao and Kiachow Bay.

What were the 'Twenty-One Demands'?

A set of demands issued by the Japanese government to China's leader, General Yuan Shikai, in January 1915, seeking to expand its influence.

What was the Mukden Incident?

A plot executed on 18 September 1931 to blow up a section of Japan's South Manchurian Railway near Mukden and accuse the Chinese of the act, used as an excuse to invade Manchuria.

What was Manchukuo?

The independent state declared by Japan after conquering Manchuria, placed under the rule of the last Emperor of China, Pu Yi.

What was the Tanggu Truce?

An agreement signed in May 1933 between the Kwantung Army and Chinese Nationalist commanders, recognizing the status quo and establishing a demilitarized zone.

What were the main points of the Lytton Report?

Japan had special interests in Manchuria but the use of force and takeover was unacceptable, Japan should withdraw, Manchukuo was not independent, and Manchuria should be independent under Chinese sovereignty.

What was the Lansing-Ishii Agreement?

An agreement where the US recognized the gains Japan had already made in China.

What was the result of the U.S. and Japan signing the Lansing-Ishii Agreement?

The Chinese were horrified by this ‘betrayal’ by the US.

What were the rice riots [kome sodo]?

riots in towns and cities across Japan due to postwar inflation in food prices

What action against Mao's Communists did Jiang respond with because China's ability to resist was crippled by civil war?

an attack on Mao's Communists in 1934.

What was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident?

An incident in 1937 between Japanese and Chinese forces, leading to a full-scale war between China and Japan.

What was the New Order in East Asia?

A political, cultural, and economic union declared by Japan in November 1938 between Japan, Manchukuo, and China.

What was the Stimson Doctrine?

A non-recognition doctrine issued by the US in 1932, stating that it would not recognize any agreement violating China’s territorial integrity or the 'open door' policy.

What was the first key aim for the delegation of Japanese in the Paris Peace Conference?

International recognition of its claims to former German concessions and property in the Shandong Peninsular, the Mariana, Caroline and Marshall Islands.

What was the second key aim for the delegation of Japanese in the Paris Peace Conference?

A condemnation of racial prejudice written into the covenant of the League of Nations.

What was the result of the Shandong negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference?

The Shandong question was left unresolved, with Japan retaining control of the peninsular on a temporary basis until the matter could be legally decided.

What was the purpose of Japan's racial equality clause proposal?

An attempt to highlight how the war had brought men of different races together, fighting side by side, which had created a ‘common bond of sympathy and gratitude’ that had ‘never before been experienced’ .

Who was Makino Nobuaki?

The Japanese diplomat that gave a speech highlighting how the war had brought men of different races together.

What were the impacts of the Battle of Shanghai in 1937?

Chinese put up fierce resistance. After 3 months of fighting, Chinese forces began a general retreat.

What was the Rape of Nanjing?

A massacre between 13 December 1937 and January 1938 when Japanese troops killed and injured up to 300 000 mostly civilian Chinese

Why did some in the US believe that Japanese control would be more stable for business?

China was unstable and its government engaged in a civil war with the communists.

What was the Second United Front?

An alliance formed between the GMD and the CCP in order to fight a 'war of national resistance' against Japan.

What was the result of Jiang taking the desperate measure of opening the dikes on the Yellow River?

This failed to halt the Japanese and Wuhan was captured on 27 October 1938.

What were the key agreements signed during the Washington Conference?

the Four-Power Treaty, the Five-Power Treaty, and the Nine-Power Treaty.

What was the 'Open Door' policy?

That Japan, U.S., Britain, France, Italy, China, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands were to respect China’s integrity and independence

What was the impact of the Northern Expedition?

to consolidate GMD government control and destroy the power of the warlords

What was the 'Long March'?

a 9,600-kilometre trek to Shaanxi across some of the most inhospitable territory in China by the CCP forces

What was the economic impact of the Great Depressoin on Japan?

Japanese farmers who in the 1920s had taken up silkworm-raising were now ruined by the collapse of the American market for silks. Peasants were deeply in debt and millions of industrial labourers were put out of work.

What was the impact of the military's actions in Manchuria?

undermined the government at home which was divided on what to do. The military now increased its influence over the government

What was the impact of signing Anti-Conintern Pact with Nazi Germany?

targeting the USSR.

What was the Tripartite Pact?

A defensive military agreement between Japan, Nazi Germany, and Italy aimed primarily at the United States.

What was the result of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact?

secured it from this dual or 'two- front' threat

What were Yamamoto's plans?

to get the resources they needed the Japanese decided that a war of conquest was necessary. The attack on Pearl Harbor united the US public for war against Japan

What were the results of the U.S. placing a “a moral embargo” on planes and aviation parts sales?

Credit to Japan was stopped, a long-standing trade agreement with Japan was suspended and a partial trade embargo on aviation and motor fuel and high- grade melting scrap was imposed.

What was the result of the U.S. imposing an embargo on oil to Japan?

Without oil Japan could not continue its war in China.