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What were the origins of Japanese nationalism and militarism? In order…

- - - - Many of these countries that are under colonial control will want independence (after the Versailles Conference) I the wake of breaking up of empires
- - - - Japan had a high literacy rate, all males over 25 could vote, and so it looked like Japan was moving in the direction of a British-style democracy.
        
        That would not last because of the right-wing military. Takashi was in fact, assassinated in 1921 by a radical right-wing railroad worker. This was one of many political assassinations in Japan by the radical right.
- - - - Why were they angry? Because Inukai tried to control the military. This is not the first or last time this happens.
        
        They barge into Inukai’s office, quiet guy, just shot him, saying “talk is useless.” They also tried to assassinate Charlie Chaplin hoping that it would start a war w/ US.
        There were numerous plots to overthrow the gov’t made by the imperial way faction, including the most significant {and the one that would end the faction} would be the Feb. 26 incident of 1936…
      - Feb. 26th Incident:in a snowy Tokyo, targeted 6 prominent politicians for assassination and enemies of Kokutai, attack “anti-Japanese papers” and seize control of the government district.
        
        They would attack, quote, anti Japanese flavors, and seize control of the government district, they actually murdered two of the Emperor's advisors to kill two of the six basically 70 or 80 year old men.
        
        15 members of the Imperial way would be executed. Now this was a distinct change. In these previous attempts that many times they have gotten off very lightly.
        
        While this did effectively dismantled the Imperial Way faction, this did not necessarily make the military more moderate.
- - - - The population was told to “endure through hardship” as huge amounts of money were spent on the army and navy.
        
        A patriotic
        society, the Amur River Society, was established to promote the idea of Japanese expansion on the mainland.
- - - - Marco Polo Bridge Incident
        
        Second Sino-Japanese War
        
        Nanjing Massacre
        
        • The events there are referred to as the Nanjing Massacre in 1937. Somewhere between 200-300k Chinese civilians will be murdered, does not go unnoticed by American missionaries.
        • 1 American made secret film/ foreigners appalled/ Japanese media openly held competitions to see who could behead people the fastest / 3-4 weeks
        
        It was so bad that even the Nazi Ambassador in Nanjing declared the German Embassy the safe zone. When Japanese troops tried to jump the wall he held up an armband showed that they were on the grounds of an ally
        
        They were killing civilians. There was widespread, extremely widespread rate of murdering Chinese civilians.
        
        . This begins when Japanese forces cross into northern China from Manchuria. The invasion is a disaster for China. In many ways, it halts China’s attempt to modernize, it weakens the Chinese nationalist gov’t, it was also fighting a war against communist forces of Mao Tse Tung.
        
        • Within months, Japanese forces had occupied Shanghai, bombed the city, then attack + capture the city Nanjing
        
        • Chinese nationalist forces under Chiang never really recognized Japanese control of Manchuria {Imperial Japanese Army there}
        
        This meant that there was a lot of tension made worse by the fact, that under the open door policy, and the 1901 treaty, foreign powers could station troops in China, had extra territorial rights, to protect their ports and railroad system.
        
        On July 7th of 1937, Japanese troops stationed 10 miles outside of Beijing, engaged in a firefight after Chinese troops in the area under the Japanese commander accused Chinese of kidnapping one of the Japanese soldiers.
        {he was actually not kidnapped}
        
        On July 7th of 1937, Japanese troops stationed 10 miles outside of Beijing, engaged in a firefight after Chinese troops in the area under the Japanese commander accused Chinese of kidnapping one of the Japanese soldiers.
        {he was actually not kidnapped}
        
        • This firefight was referred to as the “Marco-Polo” Bridge incident, which begins the outbreak of the 2nd Sino-Japanese war.
      - • Japan comes up with an idea in 1936 called the fundamentals of national policy, in which the army and navy will be debating what their strategy should be in Asia. North into China, where the USSR is or should we go to the South in Dutch Indonesia/ British Malaya/ French Indochina/ deeper into China for resources?
        
        • The Japanese army of course, favors a northern, land-based policy, aimed at the Soviet Union that will enhance their control of Manchuria and NE Asia.
        
        • The navy, on the other hand, wants a “Southern Strategy” that emphasized the resources of SE Asia: Indonesian Oil, rubber from Indochina + Vietnam, rice  In the end they would compromise and essentially do both.
      - • What did they embody in the fundamental principles of national policy? Ultimately, what it means is that “We are going to war.” In fact, if they follow this letter, it’s almost guaranteed.
      - • "It is the embodiment of the spirit of the Japanese Way of life to attempt to achieve unity in East Asia based on principle… this may be accomplished by destroying the great powers East Asiatic policy of aggression. This should be the aim of our foreign policy." In other words, we are going to create peace by eliminating all the other imperial powers.
        
        Translation:
        We are going to create peace by eliminating all the other imperial powers.
        
        Translation:
        It’s our way of life, we believe in unity and peace, and we are going to do it by eliminating these other powers in Asia
        
        • 2.) The document also suggested that the army had to be sufficiently strong to “resist the forces of the Soviet Union” But, b/c the Navy wants to be involved too, the navy has to be strong enough to “extend national influence into the South seas.”
        
        Analysis: This means confronting the Soviets in North Asia, and the British and Americans in the South Pacific.
        
        What do you think Japan’s industrial output will be compared to Britain, US, and the SU? 1/20 of the US, not including the Soviets or the British.
        
        3.) “National defense will be fought to secure territory as they fight to secure position and be the “stabilizing power” in East Asia.
        
        In other words, we’re only bringing peace and stability. It’s not imperializing power, rather, it’s stabilizing power.
        
        In other words, they are ready to go to war w/ everybody. They cannot win.
        
        Japan fundamentally thinks that they have a destiny to dominate East Asia. In order to achieve this monumentous feat, conflict is inevitable.
        
        1 more item...
        
        the significance of the fundamental principles. It basically ensures that the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, and France, for that matter, were all threats to some degree, and then an arms race is likely to ensue.
        
        When Roosevelt passed, Wedemeyer, conducted a study and came up with the victory plan. This is part of the calculation. Why ?because the Americans are already beginning to read Japanese. They're already beginning to decode Japanese messages and will know what their intentions are.
      - Undeclared War with USSR (1939)
        
        • The Soviets and Japanese, in fact, would fight an undeclared war in 1939 in Manchuria along this border to the north. At a place called Khalkin / it was there that the Soviets let the Japanese know that the war could go forward. Japanese forces were in fact surrounded in a giant pincher movement by Russian forces and chewed to pieces by a young Russian officer Zhukov.
        
        Key takeaway: Self-fulfilling prophecy that seems to escape the Japanese military: ultimately, there’s no way they can secure the raw materials they want peacefully. They will have to go to war, unless they somehow negotiate. It’s inevitable.
    - - a # of Japanese politicians were actually closely connected to the Southern Manchurian railway, and invested in it for example. This company has big ties and big investment into Manchuria, and very close ties to the military.
    - - Acting without orders, the Japanese staged the attack and then extended their territory and established a puppet state in Manchuria, known as Manchukuo.
    - - {Japan’s last offensive in China was in 1944 and they extended it all the way into central China, as their last military success}
    - - • Who are they bordering to the North of China? Russia.
      - • You also have the Chinese communists who keep retreating deep into China, on the so-called long march and marched 3,000 miles
      - • Oil, rubber, rice  all that you need for a modern economy and to wage a war. China was already in a Civil war, between the nationalists under Chiang Kai Shek, communists under Mao -Tse Tung,
      - • Madam Chiang was a great spokesperson for nationalist China/ well-educated, befriended Elenore Roosevelt
      - • Problem that Japan will have that Americans will sympathize with Chinese {despite US immigration acts restricting Asian immigration} there’s a whole group of Americans who see the Chinese as
      - • A.) place for investment
      - • B.) place for people to convert people to Christianity
      - • Whoever’s in China doing these things is going to see + report murders/ atrocities and report them back to the American Press
        
        Japan is on a dangerous path in China.
  - - - They wanted Japan to have a large degree of control over Chinese foreign policy, only the intervention of the Europeans stifled their demands
        
        Great Britain, Japan's closest ally, expressed concern over what was perceived as Japan's overbearing, bullying approach to diplomacy, and the British Foreign Office in particular was unhappy with Japanese attempts to establish what would effectively be a Japanese protectorate over all of China.[12]
        
        Afterwards, Japan and the United States looked for a compromise; as a result, the Lansing–Ishii Agreement was concluded in 1917. It was approved by the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
        
        In China, the overall political impact of Japan's actions was highly negative, creating a considerable amount of public ill-will towards Japan, contributing to the May Fourth Movement, and a significant upsurge in nationalism.
      - Remember: at this point, Germany is at war with Allied Powers (Japan wanted to capitalize on this opportunity while Germany was distracted during WWI)
- - - - It was also clear that the Southern strategy would now be the main thrust for Japan for OIL and resources. In 1941, Japan signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union – so the northern point is protected. The military in Japan and set November 25 as a final date for diplomatic negotiations.
      - On the 26th negotiations collapsed.
        
        to the Japanese diplomats in Washington: Admiral Nomura and Saburo Caruso, A Japanese Imperial fleet has already left Pearl Harbor and they are already sailing towards Pearl Harbor behind the storm front and maintaining strict radio silence.