Japan World I – Post WW II

Presentation by Robert MartinezPrimary Content Source: A Short History of the WorldImages as cited.

Japan joined World War I on the side of the Allies. During the conflict, Japan occupied

several German territories, including Jiaozhou in north-eastern China and some islands in the

Western Pacific, most of which it was allowed to

retain at the war’s end.

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In 1919, Japan’s wartime territorial gains are confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles.

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The war brought economic prosperity to Japan, with an enormous boost in munitions exports, creating a large

industrial labor force.

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Inspired by the growth of democracy in the West, many Japanese began to

demand political reform. In 1925, the Japanese Imperial Diet expanded the

suffrage to include all adult males.

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After the WWI, in foreign affairs, Japan became more focused on the pacific

region.

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In 1920, it joined the League of Nations and in 1928, Japan was one of 14 countries that

signed the somewhat idealistic Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as a means of

solving international disputes.

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Japan’s wartime boom ended in 1920. The economy suffered a series of recessions

through the 1920s; it was made worse by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which

devastated Tokyo and Yokohama and caused up to 140,000 deaths.

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When the worldwide depression struck in late 1929, Japan’s already faltering economic

situation deteriorated even further. Factories laid off workers, prompting a new wave of

strikes. Farmers suffered as agricultural prices

plunged.

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Public opinion turned against the party leaders and the political establishment. Many regarded

Western influences, including democratic government, as part of the problem, and wished

for a return to traditional Japanese ways.

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Such conservative, nationalist views, found a violent outlet with the formation of several

extreme right-wing terrorist organizations. One of these groups, supported by elements within the military, assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in 1932, ending Japan’s brief flirtation

with democracy.

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The major parties voted to dissolve themselves and form a single party, the Imperial Rule

Assistance Association. The IRAA, which was dominated by military and bureaucratic figures

and claimed to stand above party politics,

continued to rule Japan until 1945.

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There were several reasons for Japan’s invasion of Manchuria. The vast areas of undeveloped land and abundant natural

resources were ripe for exploitation.

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More urgently, Japan’s existing economic interests in Manchuria were under threat from Chinese nationalists, who were hoping to drive out foreign-

owned businesses from China.

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In September 1931, Japan engineered a

crisis in Manchuria as a pretext for an

invasion. A Japanese force moved in and asserted control. Manchuria was

renamed Manchukuo and a puppet

government was installed there under Emperor Henry Pu Yi.

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Japanese forces occupied the Chinese province of Jehol to create a buffer zone, and threatened Beijing. Denunciations of Japanese aggression at the League of Nations were not matched by action, and in May 1933 China agreed a truce

that accepted Japanese control of Manchuria.

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In 1933, Japan withdraws from the League of Nations.

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The Second Sino-Japanese War broke out on July 7, 1937, when Chinese and Japanese troops clashed near Marco

Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing.

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By the end of the year, Japanese forces had captured Beijing, Shanghai and the

Chinese capital Nanjing and were in control of most of northern China.

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Japan’s aerial bombardment of the cities, and the

massacres it carried out in the capital, known as

the Rape of Nanjing, were

internally condemned.

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The Chinese government retreated to the inland province of Sichuan, refusing to

negotiate. By the end of 1938, the Japanese had progressed along the lower Yangtze River valley beyond Hankou and had won control of

several ports in southern China.

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However, the war had reached a stalemate. The Chinese adoption of guerilla tactics, scorched earth and

sabotage effectively stalled the Japanese advance.

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With the fall of France and the Low Countries to Germany in 1940, Japan saw

opportunities to expand its influence within Europe’s South-east Asian

colonies.

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Japan’s war machine relied on plentiful supplies of oil and rubber, which the

region had in abundance.

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In July, the Japanese government

announced the formation of a

‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity

Sphere’, an economic and political alliance of East and South-

east Asian countries under Japanese

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In September, Japan formed the Axis Pact with Germany and Italy and received

permission from the Nazi-allied Vichy regime in France to occupy northern

French Indochina.

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Despite these moves, Japan remained greatly dependent on the USA

for vital materials, including oil, steel and heavy machinery. The

U.S. government, alarmed by Japanese expansionism, began placing embargoes on

these goods.

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Japan’s leaders knew that they could not sustain their war effort in the long term without

U.S. oil, so agreed to negotiate in April 1941. However, when Japanese troops occupied

southern Indochina in July, the U.S. responded

by placing a complete embargo on oil.

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In October, Prime Minister Konoe resigned, having failed to reach a diplomatic resolution

to the problem. Konoe was replaced by the hawkish General Hideki Tojo, who began

preparations for war with the United States.

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