1. Japan World I – Post WW II
Presentation by Robert Martinez
Primary Content Source: A Short History of the World
Images as cited.

2. Japan joined World War I on the side of the Allies
Japan joined World War I on the side of the Allies. During the conflict, Japan occupied several German territories, including Jiaozhou in north-eastern China and some islands in the Western Pacific, most of which it was allowed to retain at the war’s end.
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3. In 1919, Japan’s wartime territorial gains are confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles.
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4. The war brought economic prosperity to Japan, with an enormous boost in munitions exports, creating a large industrial labor force.
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5. Inspired by the growth of democracy in the West, many Japanese began to demand political reform. In 1925, the Japanese Imperial Diet expanded the suffrage to include all adult males.
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6. After the WWI, in foreign affairs, Japan became more focused on the pacific region.
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7. In 1920, it joined the League of Nations and in 1928, Japan was one of 14 countries that signed the somewhat idealistic Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as a means of solving international disputes.
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8. Japan’s wartime boom ended in 1920
Japan’s wartime boom ended in The economy suffered a series of recessions through the 1920s; it was made worse by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which devastated Tokyo and Yokohama and caused up to 140,000 deaths.
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9. When the worldwide depression struck in late 1929, Japan’s already faltering economic situation deteriorated even further. Factories laid off workers, prompting a new wave of strikes. Farmers suffered as agricultural prices plunged.
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10. Public opinion turned against the party leaders and the political establishment. Many regarded Western influences, including democratic government, as part of the problem, and wished for a return to traditional Japanese ways.
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11. Such conservative, nationalist views, found a violent outlet with the formation of several extreme right-wing terrorist organizations. One of these groups, supported by elements within the military, assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in 1932, ending Japan’s brief flirtation with democracy.
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12. The major parties voted to dissolve themselves and form a single party, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association. The IRAA, which was dominated by military and bureaucratic figures and claimed to stand above party politics, continued to rule Japan until 1945.
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13. There were several reasons for Japan’s invasion of Manchuria
There were several reasons for Japan’s invasion of Manchuria. The vast areas of undeveloped land and abundant natural resources were ripe for exploitation.
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14. More urgently, Japan’s existing economic interests in Manchuria were under threat from Chinese nationalists, who were hoping to drive out foreign-owned businesses from China.
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15. In September 1931, Japan engineered a crisis in Manchuria as a pretext for an invasion. A Japanese force moved in and asserted control. Manchuria was renamed Manchukuo and a puppet government was installed there under Emperor Henry Pu Yi.
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16. Japanese forces occupied the Chinese province of Jehol to create a buffer zone, and threatened Beijing. Denunciations of Japanese aggression at the League of Nations were not matched by action, and in May 1933 China agreed a truce that accepted Japanese control of Manchuria.
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17. In 1933, Japan withdraws from the League of Nations.
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18. The Second Sino-Japanese War broke out on July 7, 1937, when Chinese and Japanese troops clashed near Marco Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing.
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19. By the end of the year, Japanese forces had captured Beijing, Shanghai and the Chinese capital Nanjing and were in control of most of northern China.
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20. Japan’s aerial bombardment of the cities, and the massacres it carried out in the capital, known as the Rape of Nanjing, were internally condemned.
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21. The Chinese government retreated to the inland province of Sichuan, refusing to negotiate. By the end of 1938, the Japanese had progressed along the lower Yangtze River valley beyond Hankou and had won control of several ports in southern China.
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22. However, the war had reached a stalemate
However, the war had reached a stalemate. The Chinese adoption of guerilla tactics, scorched earth and sabotage effectively stalled the Japanese advance.
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23. With the fall of France and the Low Countries to Germany in 1940, Japan saw opportunities to expand its influence within Europe’s South-east Asian colonies.
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24. Japan’s war machine relied on plentiful supplies of oil and rubber, which the region had in abundance.
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25. In July, the Japanese government announced the formation of a ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’, an economic and political alliance of East and South-east Asian countries under Japanese leadership.
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26. In September, Japan formed the Axis Pact with Germany and Italy and received permission from the Nazi-allied Vichy regime in France to occupy northern French Indochina.
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27. Despite these moves, Japan remained greatly dependent on the USA for vital materials, including oil, steel and heavy machinery. The U.S. government, alarmed by Japanese expansionism, began placing embargoes on these goods.
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28. Japan’s leaders knew that they could not sustain their war effort in the long term without U.S. oil, so agreed to negotiate in April However, when Japanese troops occupied southern Indochina in July, the U.S. responded by placing a complete embargo on oil.
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29. In October, Prime Minister Konoe resigned, having failed to reach a diplomatic resolution to the problem. Konoe was replaced by the hawkish General Hideki Tojo, who began preparations for war with the United States.
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