Outbreak Of Ww2 In Asia Flashcards
3 main factors of outbreak of ww2 in Asia
- Weakness in LoN
- Japanese internal problems
- external relations
2 factors to “Weakness in LoN”
- failed to punish Japanese over the Mukden incident (1931)
- failed to punish Japan over the 2nd Sino - Japanese war (1937)
2 factors to “Japanese internal problems”
- Economic & social crisis
- rise of militarism
2 factors to “External Relations”
- European Allied partners were distracted with war in Europe
- USA stood in Japan’s way to take over Southeast Asia
Elaborate on “failed to punish Japan over the Mukden incident”
- In 1931, Japanese soldiers in Manchuria, China accused the Chinese of bombing Japanese-owned railway near the city of Mukden. This lead the Japanese military to take over Manchuria and set up the puppet state, Manchukuo - run by the Chinese in name but by the Japanese In reality.
- Manchuria was important to the Japanese because of:
- it’s raw materials and new markets for Japanese industries
- it’s strategic location for Japan to expand into china
- after investigations requested by China, the league condemned Japan for acting beyond self-defence and refused to recognise manchuckuo
Link for “failed to punish Japan over the Mukden incident”
The Japanese withdrew the league in protest. However, the league did not Pursue the matter.
Elaborate on “failed to punish Japan over the second Sino-Japanese war”
- in 1937, Japanese soldiers in Beijing accused the Chinese of capturing their men after a fire exchange near the Marco Polo bridge. This increased tensions between China & Japan, which led to the second Sino-Japanese war.
- the league did not intervene in spite of China’s request as they were occupied with Hitler’s expansionist policies in Europe
Link for “ failure to punish Japan over the second Sino-Japanese war”
Japan could afford to ignore the League of Nations. It became more confident and aggressive in its foreign policy.
Elaborate on “economic and social crisis”
- Overpopulation meant that Japan had to look outwards for living space & resources
- population grew from 45M in 1900 to 64M in 1930
- for example, there was not enough land to grow rice. labour-intensive farming methods were less efficient in producing enough rice to feed the people. Hence, food shortages occured.
- the Great Depression in 1929 affected Japanese economy badly, thus Japan wanted to secure colonies for resources & markets
- countries like USA & the UK practised protectionism. They increased taxes for foreign goods, which reduced demand for Japanese goods such as silk
Link for “economic & social crisis”
Japan decided to conquer territories nearby to obtain raw materials, such as Taiwan for sugar, Korea for cotton & wool, and Manchuria for minerals and rice. Due to the economic crisis, people became discontented with democratic government in 1920s
Elaborate on “rise of militarism”
- in 1920s, the democratic government was unpopular because it was corrupted and changed frequently, thus policies were inconsistent
- in the 1930s, with the support of the emperor, the military took over the government by declaring martial law. People welcomed this change
- people respected the military due to samurai culture in Japan
- military were keen to widen Japan’s expansionist foreign policy so as to be equal with Western Powers.
- successes in Russo-Japanese war (1905) & the first Sino-Japanese war (1895) boosted people’s confidence in the military
Link for “rise of militarism”
The new military government in Japan began to look further to China & Southeast Asia to form the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere”. Under this plan, Japan promised pro-Japan local leaders would replace European colonial powers to rule these areas.
Japan only wanted raw materials (oil,rubber) for its military to further its expansionist policy.
Elaborate on “European allied partners were distracted with war in Europe”
- the British, Dutch & the French were busy with war in Europe, & could not come to the rescue of their colonies in Southeast Asia.
Link for “European allied partners were distracted with war in Europe”
This provided an opportunity for the Japanese to take over Southeast Asia
Elaborate on “USA stood in japans way to take over Southeast Asia”
- USA restricted trade with Japan in 1939 over Japan’s expansion in China through the second Sino-Japanese war
- in 1940, USA placed a trade embargo on Japan over Japan’s invasion of Vietnam. Oil, steel & scrap iron cannot be sold to Japan. Japan had relied heavily on USA on oil before this.
- the US had hoped these demands would force Japan to end war in China
- Also, the US Pacific Fleet was moved to Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. It had the air & sea power to defend Southeast Asia from any Japanese attacks.
Link for “USA stood in japans way to take over Southeast Asia”
Without oil from the USA, Japan had to turn towards Southeast Asia for oil and raw materials to support its war efforts against China. To achieve this, Japan aimed to weaken the US military in Asia pacific in a quick “Knockout blow” to force the Americans to seek a peace settlement. Japan refused to back down.
