Transcript Japanese Aggression In Asia Pre World War II

Japanese Aggression In
Asia Through
World War II
Meiji Restoration
 End Shoganate restored Emperor
 Constitutional
government
 Westernized
 Industrialized
 Rise of Military
China in Chaos
 Fall of Dynastic
system due to
pressures from
imperialism
 Rise of warlords
 By 1920s,
communism making
big impact
Pre-WWII Politics in China
 Chiang Kai-Shek - leader of Nationalist
Party - democratic government
 Mao Zedong - leader of Communist
Party (PLA)
 No clear leadership allows Japanese to
start seizing Chinese territory.
Russo-Japanese War - 1904
Japanese Occupation of
Manchuria
 Sept. 8, 1931 :
Japan occupies
Manchuria Province
after Mukden
Incident
 Mar. 9, 1932 : Japan
sets Pu-Yi as the
puppet emperor of
Manchuria
 July 7, 1937 : SinoJapanese War begins
Nanjing Holocaust -1937
 300,000 Chinese killed in 6 weeks
 Estimated 20,000 – 80,000 women
raped by Japanese Imperial forces
 Roughly 8,333 Chinese killed per
day, every day, for 6 weeks
 In Auschwitz the peak for one day
was 6,000
 Japan killed Chinese by hand,
Nazi’s performed systematic
gassing.
 Also called the Rape of Nanking
Japanese War Crimes In China
 Yangtze River, December, 1937
– 50,000 Chinese slaughtered
while attempting to escape
across river
Favorite killing methods :
infect people with plague
bombs, vivisection, freeze
people alive, experiments on
children, test new weapons on
prisoners
 Three all campaign : kill all,
burn all, loot all
The Emperor Hirohito 1926-1989
 The Emperor Showa of
Japan.
 He had complete control
over, and commanded
complete loyalty from his
subjects.
 It was his responsibility
for starting and ending
the wars against China,
USA, Britain etc.
 He was protected from
prosecution in 1945 by the
US who needed him to
keep Japan from
collapsing.
General Hideki Tojo
 Prime Minister of Japan and
primary military leader.
 Rose to power in the
Manchukuo ‘Kwantung’ army
 Nicknamed the ‘razor’
 Keen on ultra nationalistic
secret societies.
 Responsible for 8m civilian
deaths, countless deaths and
experiments on prisoners of
war.
 Commemorated at the
Yasukuni Shrine.
 Apologized for military
atrocities on his death.
 Executed for war crimes 1948
Reasons for Attack on Pearl
Harbor
 1937 U.S. imposes economic sanctions
and boycott of oil after Japanese
invasion China.
 Japan sees U.S. as only obstacle to
domination of Asia.
Japanese Aggression
In South East Asia
 Dec 7, 1941 – Japan begins attacks on
Pearl Harbor, Thailand, Malaya,
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Philippines and
Singapore.
Japanese Advancement
In South East Asia
 Dec 8, 1941 – Japan attacks
the Philippines
 Dec 14, 1941 – Japan
attacks Burma
 Dec 25, 1941 – Hong Kong
falls to Japan
 Feb 15, 1942 – Singapore
surrenders to Japan
 Mar 23, 1942 – Japan
captures Andaman Islands
Warm up
What was the turning point
battle in the Pacific Theater?
Midway - June 4, 1942
 U.S. breaks Japanese
code
 Sets trap
 Ambushes Japanese fleet
 Four Japanese aircraft
carriers are sunk
 Japanese navy never
recovers
Japanese Internment
 To prevent possible
sabotage and
espionage,
Japanese citizens
on U.S. west coast
only were sent to
internment camps.
Island Hopping
 Military strategy used to defeat the
Japanese
 Focus on strategically important islands
that were not well defended but capable
of supporting the drive to the main
islands of Japan.
 Iwo Jima (Feb. 1945), Okinawa (Apr.
1945)
Tarawa – November 1943
Iwo Jima – Feb. 1945
Okinawa – Apr. 1945
Japanese Prison Camps
 Singapore : Changi, a “Country
Club” for most of the war
 China : Basically every city on
eastern side
 Philippines - Bataan Death
March
 Korea : 4 prisons, 1
hospital(experiments)
 And Numerous Islands built to
hold prisoners
Battle of the
BulgeDec. 1944 to
January 1945
Last German
offensive