Japanese Expansion in South-East Asia

• Security buffer to Russia (protect mainland from potential Gain markets to help withstand global depression- silk industry hit hard from WSC- battle against 3 million unemployed + poverty

• Raw materials: coal, iron, timber allow for increased trade exports

• Gain living space for Jap population (overpopulated)

Explosion on section of Jap owned S Manchurian railway (mukden incident)

• kwantung army blamed on chinese nationalists

• evidence suggests it was staged by kwantung

Kwantung army had excuse to invade

• jap gov tried to stop, but army didnt listen and pushed further

• Pyle says ‘turning point’ for japan

• shows jap abandonement of international cooperation and washington treaty system

• jap started to admire nazi germany- resentment for opposing sov russia

• jap signed ‘anti cominterm pact’ with nazi germany

• 1932 beginning under complete jap control- puppet state under pu yi

• 1932 fighting between jap and chinese forces in shanghai- thousands of casualties, china forced to withdraw

• tried to appeal to league, boycott products- not effective

• Jiang believed japansese ‘disease of the skin’, communists disease of the heart- wanted to sell space to buy time- agreement accepted borders

• benefited economically

• huge cost maintaining army in china- increased taxes at home

• public support for army undermined gov

Military power undermined gov even more

military split into 2 groups: radical and moderate

radical: koda-ha, imperial way faction

• military dictatorship with emporer

• ussr enemy

• spiritual army training

moderate: tosei-ha, control faction

• legal means to get military influence in gov

• ussr good relations

• modernisation of army

Internal contest for power in japan- assassinations of prime minister + more (may 15th incident) destabilised gov

tosei-ha under hirota koki

at marco polo bridge near beijing- fighting broke out

• full scale war with china

• rape of nanjing- appalling atrocities committed by japan

Jap wanted to annihilate nationalists in china

• underestimated outrage of events like rape of nanjing + size of china

• 1938 jap declared manchukuo creation

Jap resources drained in war

Jap wanted Europe colonies

• 1940 jap signed tripartite axis pact- agreed that ger and italy would dominate europe and jap east asia

• ended up confirming borders with soviets

• still in war w china- dont want to lose

economic concerns due to war w china

• split between expanding to gain resources from european colonies

• negotiations w us- washington wanted japan to respect territorial integrity of neighbours

• amidst negotiations- huge naval task force prepared to secretly attack if negotiatinos failed

jap bombers attempte to destroy us pacific fleet- to try make us temporarily helpless to resist japanese expansion

• destroyed 90% but not aircraft carrier capability

• as they attacked pearl harbour- jap attacked other places too