The long-term causes of WW2 in Asia and the Pacific

Question 1

Overview of WW2 in Asia and the Pacific

Answer 1

• The Asia–Pacific theatre of war involved many nations, but the most significant were Japan, China and the USA.
• It began as a regional conflict in 1937, but escalated into a global war by the end of 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, as the Empire of Japan and the USA became locked in total war with each other.
• Ultimately, Japan was defeated and its empire collapsed; China became independent once again, as a civil war resumed for its future; and the USA gained great influence in the Asia–Pacific region.

Question 2

Long-term causes of WW2 in Asia and the Pacific

Answer 2

• Japan’s growing imperial ideology
• Increasing Japanese imperial designs and the Manchurian crisis 1931-32
• Second Sino-Japanese war 1937-45

Question 3

When did the Second Sino-Japanese war take place?

Answer 3

1937-45

Question 4

When did Japanese imperialism begin?

Answer 4

In the lae nineteenth century during the Meiji period

Question 5

What were the reasons for growing Japanese imperialism in the late 19th century

Answer 5

• The US forcing Japan to open trade
• Influence of the West
• Japanese industrialization
• Revolution & building of a modern military
• Lack of raw materials
• Japanese national exceptionalism

Question 6

Explain how the US forcing Japan to open trade was a reason for imperialist ideology in the late 19th century

Answer 6

• Japan had followed a policy of relative isolationism for centuries.
• Then, in the mid-1850s, the USA, closely followed by other imperialist powers, forced Japan to open for trade based on unequal treaties that severely undermined Japanese sovereignty.
• Many leading figures in Japan vowed at this time to catch up and overtake the West by studying Westerners, and then using what they learnt to overcome them.

Question 7

Explain how the influence of the west was a reason for imperialist ideology in the late 19th century

Answer 7

• The Meiji government quickly began to learn from the American and European colonizers.
• They sent a mission around the world from 1871 to 1873 to learn from the West, called the Iwakura Mission.
• One of the things that the Japanese learnt on this mission was the importance of colonies to many of the Western powers.
• They resolved to join the imperial powers.

Question 8

Explain how Japanese industrialization was a reason for imperialist ideology in the late 19th century

Answer 8

• Japan industrialized rapidly in the late nineteenth century using Western techniques and built a modern army and navy in the process.
• The military grew in power and began to dominate the nation’s government.

Question 9

Explain how revolution & building of a modern military was a reason for imperialist ideology in the late 19th century

Answer 9

• Japan was the first Asian nation to go through a full-scale industrial revolution and build a modern military.
• The Japanese leadership was aware of the military advantages that this gave them over the other Asian nations.

Question 10

Explain how lack of raw materials was a reason for imperialist ideology in the late 19th century

Answer 10

The islands that constituted Japan suffered from a lack of raw materials needed for modern industrial development, so the Meiji oligarchs felt that they needed to acquire colonies to meet Japan’s growing industrial needs.

Question 11

Explain how Japanese national exceptionalism was a reason for imperialist ideology in the late 19th century

Answer 11

Japanese national exceptionalism, which promoted militarism and racial superiority, permeated society and this further encouraged an aggressive foreign policy.

Question 12

Timeline of Japanese imperial expansion 1895-1919: What did Japan do in 1895?

Answer 12

It defeated China in the First Sino-Japanese War and annexed Formosa (today’s Taiwan)

Question 13

Timeline of Japanese imperial expansion 1895-1919: What did Japan do in 1905?

Answer 13

It defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War and gained Port Arthur and the South Manchurian Railway, which were both in China, but had been controlled by Russia

Question 14

Timeline of Japanese imperial expansion 1895-1919: What did Japan do in 1910?

Answer 14

It annexed Korea

Question 15

Timeline of Japanese imperial expansion 1895-1919: What did Japan do in 1919?

Answer 15

As a result of the post-First World War peace treaties, Japan was rewarded with the South Sea Mandate that gave it control of large numbers of islands in the Pacific Ocean, which had formerly been part of the German empire.

Question 16

What was the Mukden incident?

Answer 16

• In September 1931, Japan staged a false flag event, termed the Mukden Incident.
• Japanese soldiers detonated a small bomb near the South Manchurian Railway line and blamed it on the Chinese army.

Question 17

When was the Mukden incident?

Answer 17

September 1931

Question 18

What was the result of the Mukden incident?

Answer 18

• Within the next few months, Japan had seized the entire Chinese province of Manchuria, establishing the puppet-state of Manchukuo in 1932.
• There were several reasons why the Japanese military annexed this Chinese province, further extending Japan’s empire.

Question 19

Why did the Japanese military annex Manchuria, further extending Japan’s empire?

Answer 19

• Japan had faced serious economic decline and social strife as a result of the worldwide economic crisis, known as the Great Depression, which was triggered by the 1929 Wall Street Crash in the USA.
• Manchuria was enormous, underpopulated, and rich in resources. Japan had a rapidly growing population who could be resettled there.
• Manchuria was poorly defended and the Japanese already had a strong military presence in the region guarding the South Manchurian Railway. China at this point was divided and relatively weak compared to Japan, as a civil war was raging between the Nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which distracted the Chinese from meeting the Japanese threat.
• Japan felt that in the troubles of the Great Depression the international community was unlikely to oppose its actions.

Question 20

Were the Japanese correct in their assumption that in the troubles of the Great Depression, the international community was likely to oppose its actions (invasion of Manchuria)?

Answer 20

• Yes, China’s protests against the League of Nations led to only a minor reprimand of Japan, as the idea of collective security was found wanting.
• The USA, not a member of the League and suffering greatly from the Great Depression, also stood by and did nothing of substance, as it followed a policy of isolationism.
• Japan withdrew from the League and proceeded to colonize most of northern China by 1935.

Question 21

Overview of the Second Sino-Japanese war

Answer 21

• In July 1937, the Japanese military used Manchuria as a base and launched a full-scale invasion of China, ostensibly to gain natural resources and food.
• The Nationalists and the CCP formed the Second United Front and met the Japanese in battle.
• However, the Japanese proved too strong and achieved many successes.

Question 22

Examples of Japanese successes in the Second Sino-Japanese war

Answer 22

• In November 1937, Shanghai, China’s largest city, fell.
• In December 1937, Nanjing, the capital of China, was captured. This city was now the scene of the Rape of Nanjing, which saw approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians intentionally killed after the city fell, and tens of thousands of Chinese women raped. These atrocities alarmed many countries.

Question 23

What was China’s response to the Rape of Nanjing (Second Sino-Japanese war)?

Answer 23

• China appealed to the League of Nations again in 1937, but barely received a response.
• Britain and France were occupied with the growing Nazi threat in Europe and did not have the capacity to intervene in Asia.

Question 24

What was the state of Eastern China by the end of 1940

Answer 24

• Most of Eastern China had fallen
• The Japanese set up a puppet government to rule the parts of China they had conquered and consolidated their hold on the major eastern cities of China and along the railway lines that connected them.

Question 25

What was the result of the Sino-Japanese war for Japan?

Answer 25

• Japan was now the hegemonic power of the Asia–Pacific region.
• This was a meteoric rise for a previously isolated set of islands that had been largely insignificant in geopolitics just half a century earlier.
• The only other big power left in the region now was the USA, which held several strategically important territories, most notably the Philippines and the Hawaiian Islands.