Manchuria: The Rise of Japan and the Failure of International Response

Manchuria Crisis in Manchuria (September 1931) The rise of Japan : Background: ❖ 1853, American navy arrived in Japan; their isolation was shattered. ❖ Japanese were worried and impressed by the arrival of the Americans: ➢ Worried because they thought the westerners may choose to take over Japan like they did so many other countries. ❖ 1868, a group of samurai seized control of the government. ➢ Determined to make Japan as rich and powerful as the westerners so as to avoid being taken over by them. ❖ Late 19th century: ➢ Japanese built up a strong and well educated workforce. ➢ They built a strong economy. ➢ They were able to build armaments as powerful as those of America and Europe. Growth of Military Power and Victory over Russia: ● Japan was becoming more and more militarily powerful

● Army was so powerful in the 1920s that they could not be controlled by the politicians ● Also had significant naval victories over the Russians, which boosted their pride/confidence in their navy as well as their army: ● Modernization was so successful Japan was soon able to take on Russia: ● War began in 1904. ● To the astonishment of the world Japan defeated Russia in 1905 and sunk their main fleet. ● This showed the world that Japan was a powerful nation. ● Japanese pride and confidence in their navy, as well as their army, was boosted. ● Japan, having defeated a great European country, thought that they would be treated as equals by the westerners: ● They wanted an empire in Asia to supply raw materials for their increasing factories. – imperialism ● Westerners were unhappy about this as it was a threat to their own interests in Asia. ● Great War: ● Japan entered the war on the Allies’ side. ● They conquered all of the German territories in the Pacific. ● Therefore, they expected more rewards than they got. ● Became League Council Member, but felt the League was too euro-centric, and that they were being patronized and discrinated against

● Lack of rewards caused resentment towards Britain, France and America. ● Eg: Washington Naval Conferences (“5:5:3 Naval treaty) infuriated the Japanese, as they were forced to disarm to a lower level than Britain and the US ● Racial discrimination in the League ● Less land/colonies rewarded to them than they ahd expected Attack on Manchuria: 1920s: ● Army became so powerful it no longer followed the orders of the politicians. ● Army officers wanted to increase Japanese control in Manchuria. Purpose of occupying Japan ❖ New market for their goods ❖ The Great Depression had caused a huge drop in their trade, as they mostly exported luxury goods ➢ More territory ➢ resentment for their lack of colonies, imperialism ■ More living space ■ high population density

● More land for agriculture and food ● Food shortages due to the Great Depression and effects of the war ◆ For raw materials ◆ iron, coal ➢ Cheap labour Attacked Chinese in September 1931: ❖ Staged a Manchurian attack on Japan by blowing up a railroad on their border, giving them an excuse to invade Manchuria ❖ The ensuing war was won by the Japanese very soon. ❖ Japan set up a puppet government in Manchuria. ❖ Japan encouraged their citizens to settle in Manchuria through propaganda ❖ China appealed to the League of Nations for aid The LoN: ❖ This was a clear test of the effectiveness of Collective Security and the League’s power ❖ Both Japan and China were members of the LoN. ❖ The League’s response was considered a failure: ➢ The League virtually did nothing

■ Effected the Moral Sanction against Japan through the Lytton Report. However, this a failure, as it took a long time (a full year!) for Lytton to travel to Manchuria and for the report to be ready, and even then, it only relayed information that had been known by the League at the beginning ● By the time the report was ready, Japan was already well prepared and entrenched in China: ● It was clear that they would not be leaving ● The committee criticized both Japan and China. ● The League Council accepted the Lytton Committee Report and criticized Japan but did nothing else. ● Japan was unprepared to accept any criticism and left the League in 1933. ❖ The league’s powerlessness was shown ❖ The moral sanction was proved to be ineffective How the Great Powers Reacted to this: The missing powers: ❖ USSR and the USA both had interests in this part of the world but were not part of the LoN. ❖ USSR:

➢ Japanese actions were seen as a challenge to Soviet power in East Asia. ➢ They were not ready to act alone and they had no allies (afraid that Japan would repeat what they did in 1905). ➢ Had civil affairs to deal with: ■ Peasants were being forced to live on new collective farms and were causing chaos. ➢ Financially unable to start a conflict ❖ USA: ➢ Some politicians were appalled. ➢ H. Hoover was an isolationist and was unwilling to get involved: ■ Isolationist policies still in force ■ USA refused to support trade sanctions. ■ This weakened the LoN’s ability to threaten it as nations’ knew that if they stopped trading the US would simply fill the gap. ● US was the ‘missing keystone’ The sympathetic powers: ❖ Italy and Germany, being fascist, were happy with Japanese aggression. ❖ They were interested in imperialism and wanted to build an empire too

❖ Italy was not interested in the Far East but also wanted an empire themselves. ❖ Germany had interests in the Far East but wanted to see whether or not Japan could get away with their aggression: ➢ If they could Germany could probably get away with far more – wanted to overturn the ToV completely ❖ Both wanted to gain more territory ➢ Hitler’s lebensraum – one of his aims ❖ Both were displeased with the League but encouraged by their lack of action ➢ The Manchurian Crisis preceded Italy’s Abyssinian Crisis and Germany’s Anschluss by only a few years The worried powers: ❖ France: ➢ They disapproved of what the Japanese had done. ➢ Completely preoccupied by the German threat. ➢ Not keen to be involved in a war elsewhere as that would weaken their defenses against Germany. ■ Had recently cut drastically on defense spending, and so were not in a position to enter conflicts ➢ Publically condemned the Japanese. ➢ Privately told the Japanese that they sympathized with the difficulties they were facing in China. ❖ Britain:

➢ It was worried about Japanese aggression ➢ British navy was in no position to challenge the Japanese. ■ Military leaders thought that a war with Japan could prove disastrous. ➢ British firms did a lot of trade with Japan and the government did not want to lose this trade. ■ Self interested in maintaining its position in international trade, especially after the Depression ➢ Vital parts of the British Empire – India, Singapore, Hong Kong – could be lost if they warred against Japan. ➢ Were not equipped for conflict, as they had recently cut drastically on defense spending due to the Great Depression