W12L1: IMPERIALISM AND EXPANSIONISM Flashcards
Paris Peace Conference
Three military expeditions by
the Japanese Imperial Army
against Germany
August 23, 1914: Occupy
Shandong Peninsula
Japan signed secret treaties
with Britain, France, Italy,
Russia for Shandong
May 4th Movement in China
Japan’s Three Peace Demands
2X Territorial
Racial Equality Proposal
Profound disappointment in Japan especially among the liberal internationally minded
Japanese policy makers
General Sentiment: Japan betrayed by its own wartime allies
Anger towards “Anglo-Saxons”
Culturalism
Late 1920s to 1930s
Natsume Soseki: Man
is by nature an isolated creature, yet how much more agonizing is his ordeal of loneliness when an impersonal and alien technology has destroyed the very fabric and continuity of his society — Japan’s failure to keep up with Western Tech
Japan = Realized the best of East and
West = New Cosmopoiltan Culture
Japan uniquely qualified to lead Asia
“Overcoming” Western Modernity
Manchuria Incident
a stage terrorism – radical officers detonated a small quantity of dynamite near
Japan’s Manchuria railway near Mukden in September 1931 (military insubordination)
Led to the founding of the puppet state of Manchukuo
Manchuria as the new economic “lifeline” for most Japanese; colonies as Lebensraum, especially
during the Great Depression (1929-1939)
Resurgence of Chauvinistic nationalism and traditional values
Rise of Radical Right Associations
Early 1930s, right-wing conservatives aggressively defended the kokutai (national polity) by
attacking those who showed disloyalty or disrespect toward the imperial throne.
the right was more concerned with national strength than with social distress.
Used terrorist “direct action”: Assassinations of major political/business figures and former ministers by young officers
Under pressure of the military, newspaper coverage stressed the selfless patriotism of these young
officers and their civilian allies.
“The China Quagmire”
Marco Polo Bridge Incident near Beijing — minor skirmish between Japanese and Chinese forces stationed there led to escalation of tension. Truce was negotiated but more troops were sent in
When Chinese bombers attacked the Japanese settlement in Shanghai in August 1937, a full-scale undeclared war was underway in north China.
Better-armed, better trained Japanese forces advanced southward, and eventually captured Nanjing
in mid-December of 1937.
Rape of Nanjing: 20,000 women raped, 42,000 civilians killed within the city, and 100,000 civilians/prisoners of war killed in nearby areas
.
“The China Quagmire”
— Internal Politics VS
External Expansion
Summer of 1939, momentum of the Japanese offensive operations had come to a halt
* Vicious cycle: the greater the area carved out by the army, the more troop strength needed
Did not expect prolonged fighting: The emperor expressed doubts about the course of events in China. He asked the War minister if it was feasible to be contemplating three
national efforts at the same time: protracted hostilities with China, preparations against Soviet Russia, and expansion of the navy.
Konoe announced his government’s vision of a “New order in East Asia” à Great East Asian Co- Prosperity Sphere
MANCHUKUO
1932 — 1945
Lip-Service to “national self determination”
Puppet State / No recognition
from League of Nations
Republican changed to Monarchy — Puyi as Emperor
Consolidation of Manchukuo as Lebensraum
Mass Immigration to become
ruling apparatus
”Paradise of Benevolent
Government” (王土楽土)
“Harmonious Cooperation
Among the Five Races” (五族協
和)
Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere
Pan-Asianism / Culturalism
Discourse of Races
Japan as “anti-colonial” imperialist “liberating” Asia from “Western” colonial powers
