The Invasion of Manchuria (1931) and Its Consequences
- The Manchurian Incident (1931) marked Japan’s first major act of aggression against China and the first open defiance of the international system established after World War I.
- Officers of the Kwantung Army blew up a section of the South Manchurian Railway near Mukden and blamed Chinese forces, using it as a pretext for invasion.
- Within months, the army occupied the entire region and created the puppet state of Manchukuo (1932) under the nominal rule of Puyi, the last Qing emperor.
- The civilian government in Tokyo could not control the military, signaling the collapse of democratic oversight.
- Western powers, particularly the United States, condemned Japan’s actions, while the League of Nations’ Lytton Report (1932) found Japan guilty of aggression, prompting Japan’s withdrawal from the League (1933).
Definition
Manchukuo
- Puppet state established by Japan in Manchuria in 1932, claiming to promote “Asian independence” from Western imperialism.
Definition
Lytton Report
- League of Nations investigation that concluded Japan had acted aggressively and should withdraw from Manchuria.
Case study
The Manchurian Invasion and the League of Nations’ Response
Causes and Execution
- Japan’s economy suffered from the Great Depression, leading to calls for resource-rich colonies to ensure self-sufficiency.
- Manchuria offered coal, iron, and farmland, seen as vital to Japan’s industrial expansion.
- The Kwantung Army acted without Tokyo’s authorization but gained national hero status after the swift victory.
- The civilian government’s failure to punish the army revealed Japan’s shift toward militarized decision-making.
- The League of Nations’ slow response showed the weakness of collective security, especially with Britain and France focused on Europe.
Consequences for Japan and the West
- Japan’s withdrawal from the League in 1933 signaled a turn toward isolation and defiance of international norms.
- Western condemnation deepened Japan’s distrust of Western powers, reinforcing the narrative that Japan must rely on its own strength.
- The event encouraged ultranationalist ideology, claiming Japan had a divine mission to liberate Asia from Western imperialism.
- Japan’s success inspired further expansionism, setting the stage for the invasion of China in 1937.
- For the West, Manchuria confirmed Japan’s growing aggressiveness, prompting future economic and diplomatic containment policies.
The War in China (1937–1941) and Deterioration of Relations with the West
- The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 1937) triggered full-scale war between Japan and China.
- Japanese forces captured major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing, leading to atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre (1937–1938).
- The conflict expanded into a prolonged war of attrition, draining Japan’s economy and army.
- Western powers increasingly opposed Japan’s aggression; the United States, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, condemned the invasion and began restricting exports of oil and steel.
- By 1940–41, Japan’s alignment with Germany and Italy through the Tripartite Pact and the US embargo made war in the Pacific increasingly likely.
Definition
Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937)
- A minor clash near Beijing that escalated into a full-scale invasion of China.
Definition
Tripartite Pact (1940)
- Alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan, pledging mutual support if any were attacked by a power not already in the war (implicitly targeting the USA).
Case study
The War in China and the U.S. Embargo (1937–1941)
Expansion and Atrocities in China
- Japan expected a quick victory, but Chinese resistance under Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists and Mao Zedong’s Communists prolonged the war.
- The Nanjing Massacre (1937) saw widespread killings, rapes, and destruction, shocking global opinion.
- The war consumed vast resources, leading to increased control of industry under military direction.
- Japan’s propaganda framed the conflict as part of the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”, a vision of Asian unity under Japanese leadership.
- Western media coverage of Japanese brutality worsened Japan’s international image, especially in the United States.
Diplomatic Isolation and the U.S. Embargo
- In 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, aligning itself with the European Axis powers.
- The United States responded by imposing a moral embargo on aircraft materials (1939) and a full oil embargo (1941) after Japan occupied French Indochina.
- These sanctions threatened Japan’s survival, as it imported 90 percent of its oil from the United States.
- Japan faced a critical decision: withdraw from China or secure resources through further conquest in Southeast Asia.
- The embargo convinced Japan’s leaders that war with the United States was inevitable, leading directly to the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941).
Common Mistake
- Describing Japan’s expansion as purely economic rather than combining ideological, strategic, and political motives.
- Ignoring the international response, particularly the importance of the U.S. embargo and the failure of the League of Nations.
Exam technique
- Show continuity between the Manchurian invasion (1931) and the China war (1937) as stages of the same expansionist strategy.
- Include specific statistics and treaties (e.g., oil dependency at 90 percent, Tripartite Pact 1940) to demonstrate factual precision.
- In “to what extent” questions, weigh Japan’s domestic pressures (economic and political) against foreign policy ambitions.
Theory of Knowledge
- How does economic dependence influence a country’s decision to wage war?
- Can a nation’s claim of liberating others from imperialism justify its own imperial expansion?
- To what extent is international law effective when major powers act outside it?
Self review
- Assess the causes and consequences of Japan’s invasion of Manchuria (1931) for its domestic politics and foreign relations.
- Examine the impact of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1941) on Japan’s relations with Western powers.
- To what extent did the Tripartite Pact (1940) and U.S. embargoes (1940–1941) make war in the Pacific inevitable?
