Outbreak of war in Asia Pacific

Question 1

Japan’s ambition was to be a world power. She became increasingly aggressive and had conflict with world powers to occupy their territories. To be a world power meant she had to have as many colonies as the rest of the world powers. With these territories, she had increased resources to produce arms for her industrialisation and to produce arms to continue to invade and occupy territories.
List as many examples of these conflicts with great powers from 1894 to 1937.

Answer 1

(EX)
1894-95 - War with China (China was a threat)
1905 - War with Russia (Russia was a threat to Japan’s SOI in Korea and Manchuria)
1910 - annexed Korea
1919 - occupied German colonies in China after WWI
1931 - Manchuria
1937 - War with China

Question 2

After the war with China in 1895, Japan gained reparation and access to Chinese cities (previously given only to western nations). Access to Chinese cities was important for Japan as China had raw materials and resources that Japan lacked of. Name some of these raw materials and resources.

Answer 2

Bauxite, copper, iron ore, coal, gold, petroleum.

Question 3

After the war with Russia in 1905, Japan controlled Manchuria’s railroads. Why was this important for Japan?

Answer 3

It allowed Japan to transport resources in Manchuria to Japan and transport its troops to protect its sphere of influence in Manchuria.

Question 4

Japan went to war with Russia in 1905 because Russia became a threat to Japan. Which 2 areas in Japan’s sphere of influence was Russia a threat (Russia also wanted to have its influence in these areas)

Answer 4

Korea and Manchuria

Question 5

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 because China was a threat. Why was Manchuria important to Japan? (Provide 2 reasons)

Answer 5

(1) To protect their railroad in Manchuria
(2) To protect their interests in Liaodong Peninsula and
(3) Manchuria was a land rich in raw materials.

Question 6

How was Japan humiliated by USA in 1853?

Answer 6

Forced to open up to USA with terms of treaty being dictated to the Shogun

Question 7

How was Japan treated as an unequal during the Washington Naval Treaty in 1921?

Answer 7

The Conference limited the size of the Japanese fleet – Japan had to reduce their naval strength more than USA & Britain.

Question 8

What did Japan feel it needed to do to be treated as an equal by the big powers? This eventually led to war in Asia-Pacific.

Answer 8

To be treated as equal, Japan needed to be a great power.
This meant Japan needed to expand, have more colonies, to be equal just like other world powers. To do so, Japan need to invade territories that belonged to other great powers.

Question 9

What were the crises faced by Japan in the 1920s and 1930s? List 3 crises.

Answer 9

Economic crises

(1) overpopulation & shortage of land;
(2) Impact of Great Depression (1929)

Political crisis
(3) militarists in the government increasingly had a lot of power and popular

Question 10

Crisis - Japan is mountainous and get most of its oil from US and rubber from British Malaya. How did the lack of important resources such as oil and rubber affect Japan?

Answer 10

affect industrial production

Question 11

Crisis - Japan saw rapid population growth from 45 to 64 million from 1900-1930. What was the impact of rapid population growth? List at least 3 impact.

Answer 11

(1) Increased demand for housing, goods and products
(2) High rent (because of housing shortage) worsened living conditions.
(3) Japan’s farmers did not have enough land to grow crops and earn a profit.
(4) Shortage of rice - because traditional farming methods were labour-intensive and slow

Question 12

The West (Britain and USA) protected their own economies (Protectionism) after Great Depression (1929). Japan was not able to sell its goods and thus have no income to buy raw materials needed for industrial production. What did Japan do as a result of Protectionism that eventually lead to war in Asia Pacific?

Answer 12

(1) Japan needed to find new markets to sell their goods and cheap sources of raw materials.
(2) Japan became increasingly aggressive towards China as Manchuria had abundance raw materials and a market for Japan’s goods.

Question 13

What is protectionism, a policy practiced by the West (such as Britain and USA) because of the impact of Great Depression?

Answer 13

Countries PROTECT their own industries from foreign competition - made imported goods more expensive through taxes (so that people will buy locally made goods which were cheaper)

Question 14

Crisis - the democratic government in Japan was not stable - Government made up of different parties, often changed. They were also corrupted and assassinations of government ministers were common. They also made it difficult for Japan to expand - made treaties which limited the size of Japan’s navy. They also could not solve the economic crisis. This made the militarists popular. What did the militarists in the government promised the people? suggest a few ways.

Answer 14

(1) Make Japan strong!!
(2) cannot depend on the west (learnt a lesson - depended too much on the west to buy their products and thus suffered from the impact of Great Depression)
(3) Japan must aggressively expand to solve Japan’s economic problems
(4) Japan must militarise & be aggressive to solve their country’s problem (that is why they were called militarists)

Question 15

Crisis - why were the militarists popular in the government? Suggest a few reasons.

Answer 15

(1) Long tradition of military rule
(2) Had military successes in early 1900s - increased the confidence of the military.
(3) Expansion into Korea and Manchuria allowed Japan to develop economically - proved that expansion is the solution
In 1932, militarist imposed Martial Law in Japan - military controlled the government

Question 16

Crisis - How did the increasing power of militarists in the government lead to war in Asia Pacific?

Answer 16

(1) They were increasingly aggressive
(2) They followed an expansionist policy as a solution to Japan’s economic problems & to make Japan strong and independent.
(3) To expand meant increased invasions - China in 1937, French Indochina in 1940 and attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, which brought them into a full-scale war.

Question 17

The militarists wanted to expand because:
1. Japan needed resources (Manchuria, Korea, China)
2. more colonies to be world power
3. to create a Great East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
4. To create an Asia for Asians.
Define (3) and (4)?

Answer 17

Greater East Asian Co-prosperity sphere
o Group of nations whose combined resources would allow Japan to be independent from Western control - SEA-important raw materials for war machine (for e.g. Malaya & Indonesia – rubber & oil)
o The Japanese used slogans such as ‘Co-Prosperity’ to get the Asians to believe they will benefit economically, but it was an attempt by Japan in building their own empire!

Asia for Asians
o Japan promised to free SEA (achieve independence) from colonial rule with slogans – ‘Asia for Asians’.

Question 18

Fearing that China will stop its interests in Manchuria, the Japanese Army in Manchuria accused the Chinese of trying to attack them when a bomb exploded on a train carrying Japanese and other passengers on the Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railway near Mukden in September 1931. The Japanese army seized Mukden and took control of Manchuria.
Why was China unable to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria?

Answer 18

China was too weak and preoccupied with its civil war (fighting within China) to resist the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
China asked LON for help.

Question 19

The League of Nations appointed a commission to investigate Japan’s invasion of Manchuria. It reacted too slowly and this process took a year. The LON also condemned Japan’s aggression and refused to recognise the puppet government ‘Manchukuo’. What was the impact of the failure of the LON to stop Japan on Manchuria?

Answer 19

Manchuria was occupied by Japan.

Question 20

(LON failure of collective security) Why did Britain and France not do anything about Japan’s invasion of Manchuria? (hint: Japan’s invasion was in 1931, what happened to the world before 1931 that affected all countries in the world?)

Answer 20

Britain and France did not want a war, so nothing was done (Britain and France in particular were much more concerned with their own economy as they also suffered from the impact of Great Depression)

Question 21

How did the failure of LON in stopping Japan’s invasion of Manchuria lead to war in Asia Pacific?

Answer 21

Japan increasing saw the West as unwilling and weak in stopping Japan’s aggressiveness. This made Japan more ambitious.
The resources in Manchuria also gave Japan increased resources to wage war and to militarise.

Question 22

Militarists in Japan always felt the civilian democratic government made Japan weak by signing international treaties that limit Japan’s military. Which 2 international naval agreement (one signed in 1921 and another in 1930) did Japan disregard in the 1930s so that she can increase the size of her navy and be strong again?

Answer 22

1930 London Disarmament Conference

Washington Naval treaty (1921)

Question 23

How did the LON’s failure to get Japan to disarm (instead, Japan disregarded naval treaties) lead to war in Asia Pacific?

Answer 23

It allowed Japan to rearm and increased the size of its navy. This increased militarism and increased Japan’s confidence to wage war.

Question 24

LON also failed to prevent Japan from forming alliances, which increased Japan’s confidence and resources to wage war. Japan formed the Anti-Comintern (anti-communist international, i.e. anti-USSR) pact in 1936 with which 2 countries?

Answer 24

Germany and Italy.

Work together to oppose spread of communism and promised to come to aid of other in case of Soviet Union attack

Question 25

(LON failure of collective security) In 1937 Japan attacked Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. China appealed to the LON to intervene. Why were the Western powers not willing to get involved in 1937 until they saw the extent of Japanese atrocities in Nanjing Massacre? (hint: what was happening in Europe during this period?)

Answer 25

They were more concerned with Hitler’s aggressiveness and expansion in Europe.

Question 26

Japan’s worsening relations with USA. In 1937, US President Roosevelt’s ‘Quarantined’ Speech called for the need for aggressor nations to be ‘quarantined’.
USA sent military aid to China and restricted trade with this aggressor. Which aggressor nation did USA want to ‘quarantine’?

Answer 26

Japan, because Japan started a war with China in 1937 and the West saw Japan’s atrocities in the Nanjing Massacre.

Question 27

Japan’s worsening relations with USA.
In 1940, Germany occupied France. French colonies in Asia were vulnerable. Japan then occupied North Vietnam (French colony), moved into the South in 1941 & further occupied Indochina’s (French colonies in Asia - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) airfields. In 1941, USA banned the exports of important raw materials to Japan so that Japan will stop its aggression in China and French Indochina. Which raw materials did USA ban?

Answer 27

USA banned the export of steel, scrap iron and fuel to Japan.
(Japan imported 80% of its oil from USA and depended on American oil to fuel its industries. Without oil and raw materials for making war machines, Japan cannot continue war in China)

Question 28

Without oil from USA, where can Japan get its oil from if she wants to continue war with China and to continue her expansion?

Answer 28

Southeast Asia (colonies of Britain (Malaya) and Dutch (East Indies/Indonesia))

Question 29

Japan became increasingly aggressive as a result of USA’s embargo of oil to Japan in 1941 after Japan occupied French Indochina. What actions did Japan take to ensure it could continue its war with China and survive economically?

Answer 29

Japan needed to expand into resource-rich countries in SEA.
To do so, Japan became increasingly aggressive towards USA and attacked Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941 to stop USA who was a threat to Japan’s expansion in Asia-Pacific.

Question 30

Why did USA have a large naval fleet in the Pacific? (Provide 2 reasons)

Answer 30

(1) To protect its territories and trading ships
(2) Japan’s increase the size of its navy in 1934
USA sent its Pacific Fleet to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii so that it was nearer to Japan. Troop reinforcements were also sent to the other islands in the Pacific.

Question 31

Japan was convinced that it would be difficult to expand northwards into Siberia (USSR) for resources.
Their option was to expand southwards into Southeast Asia (colonies controlled by the West), which had become vulnerable by 1940 due to German victories in the War in Europe. Japan needed to avoid a 2 front war. With which country did Japan sign a Neutrality Pact with in 1941?

Answer 31

USSR
Both nations would not fight each other for five years. The USSR would recognise Japan’s control of Manchuria while Japan would recognise the USSR’s control of Mongolia.

Question 32

Why did Japan invade French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) in 1940-41? Provide 2 reasons.

Answer 32

(1) to stop American aid from reaching China through French controlled North Vietnam
(2) get bases within attacking range of Western colonies in Southeast Asia.

Question 33

What was happening to the West in Europe that made Japan think that they could expand into SEA (colonies controlled by the West)?

Answer 33

SEA colonies were vulnerable as the West were fighting Nazi Germany in Europe
Japan wanted the resource-rich land of SEA

Question 34

With USA’s embargo of oil after Japan invaded French Indochina in 1941, Japan oil reserves would run out within 2 years and only had about 6 months after the ‘attack’ to gain as much territory as she could. After that 6 months, United States would come back & destroy them. Where did Japan ‘attack’ in December 1941?

Answer 34

Pearl Harbor, where US pacific fleet (navy) was stationed.

Question 35

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? List 3 reasons.

Answer 35

(1) USA had embargo oil and war materials. Japan needed to get it from SEA. USA at Pearl Harbor can stop Japan.
(2) to be a world power - Wanted to expand to get resources to control more colonies
(3) Colonies in SEA which belonged to the West were vulnerable as the West was fighting a war in Europe
(4) Knew that they could not get resources from Siberia (USSR), the only other option is to get it from SEA but need to get rid of USA naval fleet at Pearl Harbor as US navy can stop Japan moving to SEA
(5) Saw that the LON was weak – Europe at war – only country to stop its expansion was USA - thus need to remove US navy in Pearl Harbor to expand into SEA and continue its war with China.