Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Outbreak of WWII in Asia Pacific - Coggle Diagram
Outbreak of WWII in Asia Pacific
Japanese Expansionist Foreign Policy
a. Rise of Japanese Militarism
Tensions between civilian politicians and military leaders worsened as ultranationalist military commanders grew in prominence and influence
-> Military victories against China and Russia
Many military commanders were ultranationalists and believed that military service was an honour and noble calling
Many officers felt it was Japan's destiny to remove Western powers from Asia and expand its rule over Asia
Such beliefs became extremely popular in Japan, especially after the annexation of Manchuria
Civilian politicians however lost trust of people who perceived them to be weak
1930s - Military became increasingly dominant
By 1936 - Military was effectively running Japan
b. Japan & Western Powers
From Meiji period to 1930s - Japan used education system and media to encourage and develop sense of nationalist pride
Ultranationalism also included wariness towards foreigners, especially colonial powers
Japanese saw Britain, Russia, and US as rivals and obstacles to achieving their ambitions
Japan's view - US abandoned Japan with its economic policies against Japan in 1930s -> Thousands of Japanese workers in unemployment after US stopped importing goods from Japan
Japan & Britain
Complicated relationship
Early 1900s - cooperated under Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902 - 1923) to prevent USSR from advancing Far East
1930s - relationship deteriorated - Britain criticised Japanese invasion of Manchuria and was freidnly with US
Britain has colonies throughout Asia (Hong Kong, Malaya) -> Japan saw it as a rival power
Japan & USSR
USSR was a threat - Communism
Communism taught that societies should not be run by emperors and kings but by the people
Japan believed in loyalty to the emperor and communism was a dangerous ideology that needed to be combated
USSR's border with Japan's empire in Manchuria was a major concern
1936 - Signed Anti-Comintern Pact with Italy and Germany - agreeing on opposing communism
To hold back USSR was a another reason for Japan to control territories in Asia - Able to gain resources if they needed to go to war against them
c. Great Depression & Japan's search for self-sufficiency
Great Depression -> 1929
-> Damaged Japan's economy due to heavy reliance on foreign trade
-> Major unemployment
-> Japan's import dependency was a problem
-> Introduction of tariffs by the US
Japan's Import Dependencies (by percentage)
Iron Ore: 89%
Oil: 82%
Iron/Steel: 72%
Machinery: 46%
Origins of Japanese Militarism
Asia and the Western Powers
From about 1700s, Western European powers, particularly the British, French and Dutch embarked on a phase of colonisation in Asia
By mid-1800s: British controlled India, Netherlands and France had trading ports, military bases and colonies in Asia
At the same time, colonial powers + US had their eyes on China, a land of untapped economic potential -> manpower and resources
Emergence of Japan as a Rising Power
Japanese leaders were alarmed by how China was unable to defend itself against the expansion of Western influence in Asia
Japan started to look to the West to learn from them and strengthen themselves
Modernisation of Japan: Japan begun modernisation in 1868 - Meiji Restoration
Introduced a Meiji Constitution - provided limited form of democracy with Emperor still dominant
Modernisation quickly turned Japan into an important power in Asia by 1900s
Japan fought and won wars against China (1894 - 1895) and Russia (1904 - 1905) with its new military might
Annexed Korea and contolled areas of Manchuria
Developed close alliance with Britain, whose territories it guarded in WWI
1920s - Japan was well respected on the international stage
Full member of the LON and took part in disarmament process after WWI
1921 - Japan signed Washington Naval Treaty with Britain, France, US - promised tro reduced building of warships
In treaty, Japan reduced naval strength more than US and Britain -> many japanese saw this as unfair -> fuelled their desire to establish themselves as an equal of the West
At the same time, Japan signed trade deals with Britain and US and expanded trade with the rest of Asia
Japan's Ambiltions
Wanted to be seen as equal with Western powers that had empires
Within country a fierce and aggressive form of nationalism (ultranationalism) was promoted
Ultranationalistic beliefs seemed popular among Japanese as public opinion approved conquest of Korea in 1910 and supported the expansion of the Japanese empire
Beliefs were driven by natural limitations that Japan faced
Most of Japan was covered by mountains
Little farm land to feed rapidly growing population
Japan did not have raw materials such as iron ores and coal
1920s - depended on importing raw materials from China and food for growing population
Ultranationalists argued that Japan needed to expand to get access to raw materials a modern nation needed
Divide between Civilian politicians and military leaders
Cut military budget
-> Angered military leaders - felt it was lack of respect for the military
-> Believed that other countries could not be trusted - might go back on trade deals if it suited them
Extreme military leaders believed a war between Japan and Western powers, particularly US, was inevitable and that Japan needed resources of a big empire to fight this war
Manchurian Crisis and Response of LON
Japanese Public opinion on Manchurian Crisis
By 1931 - public liked the idea of gaining influence and control of Manchuria
Manchuria was rich in coal and iron and was a perfect solution to Japan's lack of natural resources
Then foreign minister Shidehara Kijuro, a civilian politician with moderate views, also shared this view
-> Shows how entrenched the belief that Japan needed to expand was
Shidehara took part in negotiations to limit arms as Foreign Minister and was a firm supporter of the LON but believed it was right and justifiable for Japan to expand into Manchuria
But there were many who were more aggressive than Shidehara
Ishiwara Kanji was a hard-line ultranationalist and believed that Japan should rule Manchuria
Instability in China
China was ruled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (GMD) under Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang faced serious threats to his rule
On the borders of Manchuria, many local warlords did not fully accept his authority and some were prepared to collaborate with the Japanese in return for economic and military support
At the same time, Chiang was having intense rivalry with the small but growing Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
China's troubles and instability provided a perfect opportunity for Japan to expand further and annex Manchuria
Instability could be used as an excuse for Japan to stabilise the region
Conquest of Manchuria
Sept 1931: Ishiwara's forces blew up part of a railway track at Mukden (Mukden Incident) and blamed it on the Chinese government and used it as an excuse to take over Manchuria
By December: They controlled most of the region
Feb 1932 - Set up puppet government in Manchuria which did exactly what the Japanese told them to do
Later in 1932: Civilian government in Japan ordered army to withdraw but was ignored - Signalled that the army, not government, was assuming control of Japanese foreign policy
Response of LON
After invasion, China appealed to LON for international support
October 1931: League's Council passed resolution calling on Japan to withdraw, 13 votes to 1
The 1 vote came from Japan, which claimed they were not invading China but acting in self defence to keep peace since China was in a state of anarchy
Sept 1932: LON presented the Lytton Report - concluding that Japan had acted unlawfully and Manchuria was to be returned to China
Feb 1933: Japan announced that instead of withdrawing, they intended to occupy more of China
24 Feb 1933 - Lytton Report was approved by 42 votes to 1
Japan voted against the report and resigned from the LON on 27 March
LON's economic sanctions were powerless without the support of US, Japan's major trading partner
Britain wanted to maintain good relationship with Japan and thus did not sanction
LON did not ban arms sales to Japan - member countries could not agree on that, worried that Japan would retaliate and escalate the matter
Britain and France - would not risk their navies in a war to stop Japan
Only US and USSR had resources to remove the Japanese from Manchuria by force but were both not members of the LON
USSR even sold a railway line in northern Manchuria to the Japanese
Consequences of the Manchurian Crisis
1) It tarnished the reputation of LON - showed that they were helpless in the face of aggressor nations like Japan -> Undermined the confidence of LON officials to tackle future crises
2) Encouraged Japan to further expand into Asia as Manchuria's location placed it in a strong position for expansion into China
3) Japan had access to raw materials and resources available in Manchuria needed for its growing industries
4) Impacted Japanese politics as the annexation of Manchuria was extremely popular in Japan -> increased prominence and influence of ultranationalists and military, weakening democratic politics in Japan
Military continued to challenge civilian politician's authority and gained more positions of power and influence by 1932
From this point, Japanese policies were increasingly driven by ideas which promoted expansion
Japanese Aggression Towards China (1933 - 1940)
Encouraged by the success of Manchuria, Japan sought to extend power and influence in the region
Death of GMD founder Sun Yat-sen in 1925 escalated the conflict between GMD and CCP, creating a great deal of instability in China which Japan was keen to exploit for their own advantage
Came up with a strategy of getting warlord allies to stir up trouble in the region and then invite Japanese troops in to restore order
It was not long before this led to an all-out war
Impact of WWiI in Europe on Asia Pacific
Sept 1939: WWII in Europe broke out
Britain, France, Netherlands had large territories in SEA that they could not defend when at war with Germany
June 1941: Hitler broke Nazi-Soviet Pact with Stalin, invaded USSR, meaning the USSR had to defend itself against Germany's attack
These were advantageous to Japan
USSR becoming less of a threat led to Japan having the opportunity to take over the colonies of the Western powers in Asia Pacific
By 1941: Japan had control of French Indochina
Things were going well for Japan but leaders were still concerned
Japan-US relations
Context:
1920s: relationship was generally good
But as a result of GD, US introduced a range of tariffs in 1930 to protect its own economy -> increased tensions
1937: Tensions between Japan and US rose once again with Japan's invasion of China
-> US condemned Japan's actions and provided financial and military aid to China
Dilemma for US
Japan was an economic and political rival that challenged interests in Asia-Pacific
However, Japan was strongly anti-communist and potentially useful to US in stopping the spread of communism in Asia
US economic war on Japan
1937 invasion of China made US government take a progressively harder line on Japan
Roosevelt was concerned about Japan's growing ambitions and wanted to keep the expansions in check
He announced a series of financial and economic measures to halt the aggressive foreign policy
Initial sanctions were ineffective, Japan occupied Indochina in 1940
In response, US placed an embargo on raw materials (iron and steel) in October 1940
After negotiations between both parties failed and with Japan refusing to withdraw from China and Indochina, an oil embargo was imposed in August 1941
Roosevelt implemented the Trading with the Enemy Act, seized Japanese assets in US, making it unable to buy essential goods
This was an attempt to strangle Japan financially
The most serious impact - cut off almost 90% of Japan's oil supplies
For a modern economy, it was damaging
For a modern army, air force and navy, it was crippling as ships, planes and tanks were useless without fuel
US demanded that Japanese troops withdraw from China and promise not to threaten any territories belonging to the US or its allies (esp Britain)
Japan's dilemma over US demands
US demands were completely unacceptable to Japan - meant that Japan could be bullied and intimidated by the US
This only alternative was conflict with US - US was an economic giant with its resources estimated to be 6 times greater than Japan's
Japan's Response
Japan's leaders gambled that they could take on US
First stage was to develop Japan's empire in hopes of rivalling their economic strength
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
1940: Japan launched this programme which would be aimed primarily at people in the various Asian territories Japan controlled
Emphasis was on ridding them of US and Western powers' influence
Message was that Asians should unite behind Japan and Japan would lead this campaign to drive foreigners out of Asia with Japan protecting the people of Asia and ruling them fairly
In reality, the campaign was more of a programme for Japan to use massive resources of its empire in Asia to prepare for war
They were initially successful:
-> Production of coal in Manchuria - increased from 12.8 to 60 million tons
-> Production of iron.- 68 000 to 870 000 tons
-> Production of aluminium - 17 000 to 407 000 tons
-> Production of cotton - 247 000 to 597 000 tons
-> Production of liquid fuel - 0 to 1 million tons
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Morning of 7 December 1941: Around 300 planes from Japanese aircraft carriers launched attack on Pearl Harbour
Attacked caused widespread destruction but Japan failed to destroy US repair shops, fuel-oil tanks and crucial naval installations
All 3 of US Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers escaped unscathed - not present at Pearl Harbour
With this, US declared war on Japan, triggering the outbreak of WWII in Asia Pacific
Even with increased output of Manchuria, Korea and all other territories, Japan still could not challenge the power of US outright
Sept 1940 - Japan signed Tripartite Pact, making it ally of Germany and Italy - this would act as insurance against US interventions
Japanese commanders decided they needed to deliver a quick knockout blow to US where they would need time to receover
In that time, the Japanese will conquer new teriritories, build up economic resources and match US power
Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku devised a pre-emptive strike, targeing the US Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbour (This fleet protected US and other Western interests in Asia)