• Japan had few natural resources of their own

• ​Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria in case Chinese attack

• Japan bombs with TNT and blames China (proved by League of Nations)

• Used as a pretext for Japan to invade China's Manchuria region.

• Japan leaves LON

• The invasion allowed Japan to expand its empire, gain control of the region’s coal and iron mines, and stimulate its struggling economy.

• It also created a buffer zone between Japan and the Soviet Union, which was viewed as a potential threat to Japanese security. 

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​Japan Invades Manchuria (September 1931)

The May 15th Incident (1932)

• Japan agreed to several international arms limitation treaties.

• A group of extremist officers in Japan’s Imperial Navy strongly objected and believed Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was too moderate and insufficiently nationalistic.

• 1st coup d'etat fails

• May 15, 1932, the officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai in his home

• The officers who murdered the Prime Minister used their trial as a platform for their beliefs. Much of the public sympathized with them and they were only court martialed. This helped erode the rule of law in Japan and increased the military’s power and influence in government.

• Japan occupied Manchuria since 1931.

• Puppet-state "Manchukuo" created

• Marco Polo Bridge Incident

  • A Japanese soldier went missing outside Beijing and shots were fired by both Chinese and Japanese armies.

The Sino-Japanese War

• Japan sought control over Korea

• Chinese Nationalist under Chiang Kai-Shek and the Communist under Mao Zedong team up.

• Both fought against the Imperial Japanese Army.

• The Japanese scored several major victories, capturing Beijing, Shanghai, and the capital of Nanjing in 1937.

The Sino-Japanese War (1937)

• aka "The Rape of Nanking"

• Japanese soldiers led a mass slaughter of Chinese civilians

• 200,000 to 300,000 people were killed during the 6-week massacre in 1937.

• Japanese soldiers engaged in widespread rape, looting, and numerous acts of atrocity, including mass executions.

• The Nanjing Massacre was one of the most egregious war crimes in modern history and has had a profound impact on Japanese-Chinese relations that has lasted until this day.

The Sino-Japanese War:
The Nanjing Massacre