MR SPENCE HISTORY
Move to Global War:
Japan
Key Content
• The impact of Japanese nationalism and militarism on foreign policy
• Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the international response.
• Build up to and events in the Sino-Japanese War
• Causes of Pearl Harbor​
Although unlikely to be assessed we will start our course by studying the origins of Japanese nationalism. The reason for doing so, is that is provides the context to understand Japanese aggression in the 1930s. We will begin with Meiji restoration which brought centralisation and 'modernisation' through a strengthened emperor supported by a narrow political class. The new government favoured expansionism and nationalism. It culminated with a comprehensive victory over China in 1895, establishing Japan as the dominant regional power and saw it taken seriously by the Western nations. Her reputation as a formidable nation was cemented by Japan's victory over Russia in 1905, which gave the country hegemony over much of NE China and saw it occupy Korea in 1911. Still, the racist Alien Land Act of 1913 raised tensions between Japan and the USA.
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Japanese leaders quickly realised the potential benefits of joining the Allies in the First World War. With the great powers distracted, an opportunity existed to improve their position in Asia - a point emphasised by 1915's bellicose 21 Demands. Japan was well rewarded for its negligible contribution to the Allied victory. As it avoided the mass suffering encountered in Europe, it was less willing to participate in the Wilsonian 'new diplomacy,' which renounced war as a means of solving disputes. The failure to adopt a racial equality cause at the Paris Peace Conference angered the Japanese, as did the failure to achieve parity at the Washington Naval Conference. Many on the right were tired of the Japanese government's continued engagement with hypocritical, condescending Western powers who failed to respect their country.
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Unhappy with the results from Washington, planners in Tokyo planned to distancing Japan from the liberal world order. The accession of Hirohito in 1926 coincided with the propagation of an Emperor worship myth (kokutai) and the Emperor as military commander (toikusen). Concurrently, discipline in the army worsened, with a plethora of far-right secret organisations that begat a radical contumaciousness. Events culminated when army officers assassinated the Manchurian warlord Zhang Zoulin. In the subsequent embroglio with the government, Hirohito took the unprecedented step of dismissing the Tanaka government. Emboldened the army began contemplating further actions to increase Japanese influence in Manchuria.
The Rise of Japanese Nationalism
The Manchurian Crisis
You will already have a pretty good understanding of what occurred during the Manchurian crisis from having studied it in IGCSE. When we studied it last year we did so hoping to understand why the response to the unprovoked attack by the League of Nations was so poor. Here through understanding more about the complex regional politics we will get a greater sense of balance in evaluating the work of the Lytton Commission in trying to arbitrate a dispute that was impenetrable for westerners. We will also explore how Japanese military discipline could be so poor that the unsanctioned Mukden incident occurred. After understanding the motives of the perpetrators we will outline how there actions not only were unpunished, but the Japanese government would undo decades of improvements in Japan's global standing rather than accept the censure for the occupation of Manchuria. We will also explore how the violation of norms bled over into Japanese domestic politics through assassinations and the resignation of the Wakatsuki cabinet, so that by 1933 the military dominated the government.
The annexation of Manchukuo failed to stabilise the East-Asian situation. Few nations recognised the puppet state and rising Chinese nationalism meant Chiang Kai Shek was resistant to finding an accommodation with Japan. Between 1933 and 1937 the Japanese military were divided over Chinese strategy. At the same time the government pursued closer relations with the European fascist powers. Worried, Chiang reached an accomodation with both the Chinese Communists and the USSR, where he would now confront Japan. In 1937, a minor fracas just north of Beijing provided a pretext for a war that neither wanted, yet neither side was prepared to back down.
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As the war in China was unplanned, Japan was not ready to fight a total war. The nationalist armies too were unprepared and disjointed. So while Japan had initial success in the Yangste Delta, neither branch of the military saw any strategic worth in the occupation of China. They almost immediately looked to extricate themselves from the conflict, so they could focus on the USSR (the army) or South-East Asia (the navy). However, pride and a desire to justify their miscalculation meant their overtures to the Chinese were rebuffed. Also, the deplorable behaviour of the Japanese soldiers meant the Nationalists were prepared to make sacrifices that nobody thought possible before the war.
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The quagmire in China, dominance of Germany in Europe, and an increasingly hostile USA saw naval planners take the opportunity to pursue long standing goals of seizing Malaya and the Duth-East Indies. Such a strike would necessitate a secure supply line, so the US held Philippines would also need to be captured. In September 1941, plans were drawn for a surprise strike at the US naval base in Pearl Harbour. Despite a myth perpetrated after the war that the attack was designed by renegade military commanders, this was a plan approved by the Emperor and the Japanese government. That so many people were complicit in such a reckless action, shows how far insular racial chauvinism and the kokutai myth had permeated the Japanese governing class.
War with China and the USA
Potential IA Questions
How far did the Japanese public support the Meiji reforms?
How far was the Tonghak rebellion the reason for the First Sino Japanese War?
How far was technology responsible for the Japanese victory in the First Sino Japanese War?
How far did Japan benefit from the Treaty of Shimonoseki?
How far did the First Sino Japanese War increase nationalism in Japan/China?
Who murdered Empress Myeongsong?
Why was the 1913 Alien Land Act passed?
 Why did Japan sign the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance?
 How responsible was Admiral Rozhestvensky for the defeat at Tsushima?
 How successful was the Japanese Army in the Russo Japanese War?
How beneficial was the Treaty of Portsmouth for Japan?
How beneficial was the 1910 annexation of Korea?
Why did Japan join the First World War?
How successful was the Japanese campaign at Tsingtao?
Why did Japan not send troops to Europe in the First World?
How important was Japan's contribution to the First World War?
How far did the Renaissance improve the lives for the women of Milan?
Why did Japan issue the 21 Demands in 1915?
How far were Japan's 21 Demands a foreign policy misstep?
How far did Japan benefit from the Paris Peace Conference?
Why did the League of Nations not adopt the Racial Equality clause?
How deep was the Japanese anger at the rejection of the Racial Equality clause?
Why significant was the Washington Naval Conference in promoting disarmament?
How successful was the Washington Naval Conference for Japan?
How representative was the Japanese government in the 1920s?
How extreme was Hirohito's education?
How far did US and Japanese relations deteriorate between Washington and Manchuria?
How far did Japanese military discipline deteriorate in the 1920s?
Who far did the Japanese public embrace kokutai principles during the 1920s?
How authoritarian was Hirohito?
Does the Kellogg-Briand Pact have significance?
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Why was Zhang Zoulin assasinated?
Was the Mukden Incident solely initiated by members of the Kwantung army?
Why did the 1936 Army mutiny in Tokyo fail?
Why did Hirohito back the Kwantung armies actions in Manchuria?
Why did China fail to resist the Japanese takeover in Manchuria?
Why was the 1932 Japanese action in Shanghai unsuccessful?
How objective was the Lytton Commission?
How far did America abrogate its responsibilites to support China during the Manchurian Crisis?
How justified was the Japanese reaction to the Lytton Report?
Was Chiang's flooding of the Yellow River Valley justifiable?
How great was the Soviet victory at Nomnhan?
Why did the Marco Polo incident escalate into a war?
How significant was the Hirota government's foreign policy reforms?
How far was Puyi a puppet of the Japanese?
How beneficial was Manchukuo to Japan?
How damaging was the kidnapping of Chiang Kai-Shek to his authority?
How significant was the movement of industry to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War?
How effective were guerilla fighters during the Second Sino-Japanese war?
How significant was the 100 Regiments campaign to the Chinese war effort?
How important was Soviet assistance to the Nationalists in the Second Sino-Japanese War?
Why was Japan defeated at the Battle of Changsha?
How far was Chiang Kai Shek responsible for the Nationalist defeat at Shanghai?
Why did the Japanese not assist their Germany in June 1941?
How far could Roosevelt freezing Japanese assets in July 1941 be seen as an act of war?
How far did the US public become more interventionist in 1941?
Why did President Roosevelt move the Pacific Fleet to Pearl Harbour?
Did Cordell Hull issue Japan an ultimatum on 25 November 1941??
How genuine were Japanese attempts to reach an accomodation with the USA in November 1941 ?
How supportive was Emperor Hirohito of the attack on Pearl Harbor?