Transcript Japan Builds an Empire

Japan Builds an Empire
24.1
BACKGROUND
• By the 1850s, Japan had strengthened its
military and modernized its economy
• Developed a constitutional government,
although the emperor remained a respected
figure and the divine leader of the nation
• Engaged in wars against China (1894-1895) and
Russia (1904-1905)
• Took control of Korea
• Japan gained influence over the northern
Chinese province of Manchuria
• By WWI, Japan was the strongest nation in East
Asia and one of the most powerful nations in the
world
Growing Military Power
• During WWI, Japan joined with the Allies
and conquered several German
possessions in the Pacific
• Japan’s economy prospered
• After WWI, Japan enacted political reforms
that allowed more people to vote
• Japan also slowed its territorial expansion
• It was part of the League of Nations
• Signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928
Democracy in Crisis
• A series of economic recessions ruined
Japan’s economy in the 1930s
• Many nations were placing high tariffs on
Japanese products so international trade
came to a halt
• Massive layoffs, strikes, and widespread
political discontent resulted
• Many blamed politicians and the
democratic system for their problems
Rise of Nationalism
• Several radical nationalist groups formed
in response to the government's perceived
weaknesses
• They demanded a return to traditional
ways and an end to multi-party rule,
powerful businesses, and other Westernstyle institutions
• Overall, a military takeover of the
government was supported and accepted
The Manchurian Incident
• By 1930, the population neared 65 million, and it
was growing by about one million people per year
• Japan lacked the food and raw materials
needed to support this growing population
and looked to Manchuria as a solution to
these problems
• In September 1931, a Japanese army claimed
that Chinese soldiers had tried to blow up a
railway line
• The Japanese then seized several cities in
southern Manchuria
• By February 1932, the army had seized all of
Manchuria
• World leaders and most Japanese were shocked
at what came to be called the Manchurian
Incident
• In response to the outrage, Japan
announced that Manchuria was now the
independent state of Manchukuo, under
Japanese protection
• Japan installed a new head of state and
had Japanese advisors run the
government
• Manchukuo was a puppet state – a
supposedly independent country under the
country of a powerful neighbor
• Japan wanted Manchuria as its colony
REACTION
• US and Britain knew what was going on,
but did not halt Japan’s aggression
• The League of Nations ordered Japan to
end its occupation of Manchuria
• Japan refuses and withdraws from the
League
CHAIN REACTION
• The Manchurian Incident greatly increased the
army’s power over the government , but some
radicals in the government wanted complete control
• In 1932, naval officers helped assassinate the prime
minister
• In 1936, several high government officials are
murdered
• Japanese military is gaining more and more power
• Civilian politicians begin to fear for their lives and do
not criticize the military
• Although the military never had complete control of
the government, the military was very influential
in Japan’s foreign policy
• Japan’s military began to develop Manchuria as
a base for even further Japanese expansion in
Asia
WAR AGAINST CHINA
• In 1937, Japan resumed its invasion of
China
• By the end of the month, Japanese forces
occupied the major cities of Beijing and
Tianjin and threatened the rest of northern
China
• Japan’s superior weapons overcame
China’s huge manpower advantage
• During the “Rape of Nanking,”
Japanese soldiers brutalized or killed at
least 100,000 civilians
US RESPONDS
• FDR spoke out against Japan’s actions
• Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts that
prevented the US from becoming involved in
foreign conflicts
• The Soviet Union also backed China
• Britain sent a steady stream of supplies to the
Chinese over the Burma Road, a 700 mile-long
highway linking Burma to China
• The war brought two enemies together – Jiang
and Mao Zedong – both from China - they put
their differences aside to defeat Japan
• By 1939, the war in China reached a stalemate
LOOKING BEYOND CHINA
• The war in Europe distracted the Allies from dealing with Japan and
Japan took this as an opportunity to expand its influence
• In 1940, Japan’s prime minister announced a Greater East Asia CoProsperity Sphere to be led by the Japanese, extending from
Manchuria in the north to the Dutch East Indies in the south,
declaring Japan would liberate Asia from European colonizers
• In reality, Japan needed the region’s natural resources to carry on
its war against China
• Japan’s want for expansion resembled Hitler’s invasion of
other countries for lebensraum
• In 1940, Japan allied itself with Germany and Italy through the
Tripartite Pact
• In 1941, the Japanese signed a neutrality pact with the Soviet Union
• The stage was now set for Japan to challenge the Europeans and
Americans for supremacy in Asia
The Fall of France
Dunkirk
The German offensive trapped almost
400,000 British and French soldiers on the
French coast of the English Channel
 More than 800 Allied vessels ferried about
330,000 British and French to safety
across the Channel
 A few days later, Italy invades France from
the south
 Significance: the Allied forces were fleeing
France…going to Britain for safety

Germans swept through France
 The French government abandoned Paris
 Italy then declared war on France and
Britain
 France surrendered
 Hitler journeyed to France to join the
armistice negotiations

Germany occupied the northern 3/5ths of
France and the entire Atlantic Coast
southward to Spain
 The French government supervised Vichy
France
 Under General Petain, Vichy France
adopted a policy of collaboration, or close
cooperation, with Germany





Led by Charles de Gaulle, Free France, a
government-in-exile- in London, continued to
struggle against German invaders
The Free French also backed the underground
Resistance movement in France
The Resistance consisted of groups of French
citizens
By 1940, German armies conquered Western
Europe
The Battle of Britain




Luftwaffe (German Air Force) vs RAF (Royal Air
Force)
Blitz – Germany’s constant attack on the United
Kingdom from September 1940 – May 1941
(London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights)
The British had radar, the ENIGMA (German
code-breaking machine), and the morale of the
British citizens to their advantage
SIGNIFICANCE: Britain was able to block
Hitler’s advances and it showed that Hitler could
be stopped