The Road to War in the Pacific

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Loraine Neal
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1 The Road to War in the Pacific

2 What is an Expansionist Power? A state that takes over countries & keeps extending territory whenever & wherever it can. Imperialism - the policy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions The revamped Japanese military was hungry for more action

Japanese Imperialism before 1930 1 st Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) Gained Formosa or Taiwan Russo Japanese War (1905) Gained Port Arthur in

3 Japanese Imperialism before st Sino-Japanese War ( ) Gained Formosa or Taiwan Russo Japanese War (1905) Gained Port Arthur in Manchuria, S. Sakhalin & Liaotung 1910 Annexed Korea 1919 Gained Shantung Peninsula from WW I settlement Korea as the dagger pointing to the heart of Japan

4 Japan s Foreign Policy Aims To build an empire in the Asia Pacific To free Asians from western control To find room for Japan s growing population To control resources & raw materials By the 1930s, the Japanese military was one of the most advanced in the world & was ready for action

5 Building an Empire in the Pacific Japan wanted to become the leading power in the Asia Pacific region To do this, it needed to build an empire Japan was casting glances over territories in the Far East.

To Liberate Asia Most of SE Asia under western colonial control Japan initiated propaganda to liberate them Asia for Asians Asians should stand up against western imperialism Greater East Asia

6 To Liberate Asia Most of SE Asia under western colonial control Japan initiated propaganda to liberate them Asia for Asians Asians should stand up against western imperialism Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Resources should be for the benefit of Asia, not westerners. Japan as the leader of Asia, should lead the fight against western colonial powers. A propaganda poster on Asian cooperation

7 Colonialism in South East Asia

8 Find Room for Population Population in 1870: 30 million Population in 1930: 70 million Japan could no longer find living space & food for its exploding population Needed to resettle its population elsewhere Tokyo in the early 1900s. Japan was fast becoming over-crowded

9 Japan s Population

10 Control Natural Resources The Great Depression made it hard for Japan to import resources & export its goods Overseas territories would provide resources & give Japan a market to sell its goods. Manchuria was a prime target: Cheap abundant manpower Raw materials like coal, timber, iron, grain & gold An overseas market

11 Where in the world is Manchuria? Manchuria was extremely rich in natural resources which Japan coveted. Only problem: it belonged to China

12 Mukden Incident, 1931 A bomb exploded on the S. Manchurian Railway track in Mukden which was owned by Japan The Japanese army accused the Chinese government of sabotage. Events shrouded with controversy The scene of the railway sabotage

captured They established the state of Manchukuo with the last Qing emperor, Pu Yi, installed

13 Kwantung Army Acts In retaliation, the Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria attacks Chinese positions It s excuse was to defend Japanese interests in the region Manchuria is soon captured They established the state of Manchukuo with the last Qing emperor, Pu Yi, installed as its puppet ruler Kwantung Army marches into Manchurian cities Henry Pu Yi, The last Emperor of China

14 Japanese Govt Powerless Kwantung army acted independently of Japanese Government Prime Minister Ki Inukai protested against the invasion, but was powerless to do anything Inukai s opposition to the Kwantung Army would cost him dearly.

15 League of Nation s Response (or lack of) Convened the Lytton commission to Manchuria to investigate Commission declared Manchurian invasion illegal & that Japan should withdraw immediately Japan did withdraw but from the League Of Nations in 1932 League Of Nations took no further action & Japan was convinced the west was too weak to prevent its expansionist ambitions

16 League of Nation s Response (or lack of) West were too busy recovering from Great Depression to care about Manchuria League Of Nations also had no army to force Japan to do anything Newspaper article on the Mukden Incident

17 Fascists Unite! Anti Comintern Pact (1936) Nazi Germany & Japan pledge to fight communism However, Japan was concerned with the Nazi- Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in Tripartite Pact (1940) Italy, Germany & Japan become allies Axis representatives signing the Tripartite Agreement.

18 Why did War break out in the Pacific? Japan s desire to conquer China Japan s neutrality with the Soviets Europeans more worried about Hitler Worsening relations with the U.S. Appointment of Hideki Tojo as Prime Minister.

19 Japan s Desire to Conquer China Historically, Japan had always been China s tributary. Wanted to assert its dominance over China once and for all. Wanted access to China s rich port cities & resources China was also weak, having civil war. Zaibatsus were also pushing for war to gain assess to lucrative Chinese markets, industries & resources

20 China in Turmoil The Chinese were too busy fighting among themselves than to worry about the Japanese threat. Left: Mao Zedong leads the Chinese Communist Party while Chiang Kai shek on the right leads the Nationalists.

21 Marco Polo Bridge Incident 7 th July 1937 A misunderstanding led to an exchange of fire between both sides at Marco Polo Bridge. Japan demanded that Chinese troops withdraw but the latter refused. Became a full-scale invasion of China The Pacific War had begun Chinese troops engage Japanese forces at Marco Polo bridge

22 Neutrality with Soviets Japan initially coveted Soviet lands as well. However they were defeated in battles at Changkufeng & Nomonhan. Sued for peace & signed neutrality pact with Soviets in 1941 to concentrate on China The Imperial Japanese Army took a beating at Nomonhan by the Soviets.

European pre-occupation with Hitler Hitler had been rearming Germany since the mid 1930s Britain, France & Holland were more concerned about defending their own

23 European pre-occupation with Hitler Hitler had been rearming Germany since the mid 1930s Britain, France & Holland were more concerned about defending their own countries. Could spare little resources to defend South East Asian colonies. The west obviously gave priority to Europe rather than Asia. This would come back to bite them later.

24 General Tojo Becomes PM With the appointment of a general as Prime Minister, it was obvious that Japan would pursue an aggressive foreign policy stance Tojo, a former Kwantung Army commander, believed war with the U.S. could not be avoided. General (later PM) Hideki Tojo

25 Worsening Relations with the U.S. U.S. declared Chinese invasion illegal. Placed trade embargo on oil, steel & scrap iron to Japan. Forced Japan to look at South East Asia for for resources. American mercenary fighters Flying Tigers aid China s Nationalist Government. Despite this, both sides were keen to avoid war & had last ditch talks However, Japan refused American demands to withdraw from China & talks broke down.

26 American Pacific Fleet U.S. had a powerful fleet stationed at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii This posed a huge obstacle to Japanese advance into South East Asia. The solution was obvious.. American President Franklin Roosevelt pushed for a tough stance on Japanese aggression in the Pacific.

28 Japan vs. China After Marco Polo. bridge, Japan s forces pour into China However, realized China was too huge for Japan to conquer. Had to settle for China s rich coastal cities like Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai etc... Japanese rule was extremely brutal Japan s forces march into Nanjing, the capital of the Nationalist govt.

Rape of Nanjing Wanton looting, murder & rape by Japanese army Casualties ranged from 100,000 300,000 Even infants & elderly women were not spared rape Japanese textbooks

29 Rape of Nanjing Wanton looting, murder & rape by Japanese army Casualties ranged from 100, ,000 Even infants & elderly women were not spared rape Japanese textbooks today play down the Nanjing Massacre, a source of contention between Japan & China. These 2 Japanese Officers had a contest to see who can collect 100 Chinese heads first

30 Sons were forced to rape their mothers, fathers were forced to rape daughters. One pregnant woman who was gang-raped by Japanese soldiers gave birth only a few hours later; although the baby appeared to be physically unharmed. Monks who had declared a life of celibacy were also forced to rape women. An eye-witness account of the Rape of Nanjing Mass graves containing massacred Chinese infants

31 Japan Sweeps into South East Asia Attack on Pearl Harbor coordinated with advance into South East Asia Hong Kong, Malaya, Philippines & Burma fell 1942 Singapore & Dutch East Indies fell Thailand signed alliance with Japanese to avoid being conquered French Indo-China became Japan s ally as well. South East Asia came under Japanese control by 1942

CPWH Agenda for Unit 12.3: Clicker Review Questions World War II: notes Today s HW: 31.4 Unit 12 Test: Wed, April 13

Essential Question: What caused World War II? What were the major events during World War II from 1939 to 1942? CPWH Agenda for Unit 12.3: Clicker Review Questions World War II: 1939-1942 notes Today s