JAPANESE
INVASION OF
MANCHURIA
IB 2OTH CENTURY TOPICS
DEVELOPMENTS IN
JAPAN
•  Japan fought with the Allies in the First World War, but
was disappointed by its gains from the 1919-1920 peace
settlements.
•  When the Depression hit in the early 1930s, Japan was
particularly badly affected, and nationalists in the country
began to press for Japanese conquests to aid the
economy.
•  Asia seemed the natural area for expansion– However,
this brought Japan into potential conflict with those
European nations that already had Asian colonies (Britain,
France, and the Netherlands)
DEVELOPMENTS IN
JAPAN
•  Japanese imperialists ambitions also concerned the USA,
which was trying to extend its own influence in the Pacific
region.
•  The army increasingly dominated or ignored the civilian
governments of Japan. – linked to industrial companies
which urged for a more aggressive foreign policy
•  Military influence increased even further after 1930, when
a serious drop in exports led to a political crisis.
JAPANESE INVASION
OF MANCHURIA
•  Japan had occupied Korea in 1905 and formally annexed it
in 1910.
•  Japanese nationalists and various economic interests had
wanted to expand into Manchuria, most of which was
ruled by China.
•  By 1927, Japanese firms owned most of Manchuria’s
mines, factories, and ports, and to protect these interests,
Japan was allowed a large military base in southern
Manchuria
JAPANESE INVASION OF
MANCHURIA (1931-1932)
•  By 1928, a new nationalist government was established in
China, and Japan feared that it would want to re-establish
Chinese control over Manchuria.
•  By 18 September 1931, the officers of the Japanese
Kwantung army staged an attack near the town of Mukden
•  On the Japanese owned South- Manchurian Railway which ran
through Manchuria
•  The Mukden incident was used to justify sending in a
Japanese army of occupation.
•  Japan’s civilian government tried to get the military to
withdraw, but the army refused.
INVASION OF
MANCHURIA
•  The Japanese invasion was a breach of the League’s
collective security system, and both China and Japan were
League members.
•  The invasion of Manchuria also defied the Washington Naval
Treaty of 1922
•  Improve relations between the USA and Japan
•  To prevent a naval building race, Japanese navy would be
limited
•  The western powers promised not to build any more naval
bases within striking distance of Japan
•  The USA, Japan, Britain, and France agreed to guarantee the
neutrality of China and respect each other’s possession in the
Far East.
JAPANESE INVASION
OF MANCHURIA
• 
AT Japan’s suggestion, the League set up a Commission of Enquiryheaded by Britain’s Lord Lytton- to investigate the situation.
• 
The Lytton Commission did not report until November 1932, 11
months after Japan had established complete control of Manchuria
• 
The report criticized both China and Japan, and did not recommend
either economic or military sanctions.
• 
The League accepted the report in February 1933, admitting the
validity of Japanese claims• 
• 
The report stated that Japan was wrong to have used force and
should therefore withdraw troops.
As a result, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations.
IMPACT
•  The Manchurian crisis clearly showed the idea of
collective security was not working in practice.
•  The USA and countries within Europe were more
concerned with domestic economic problems than in
resolving a crisis thousands of miles away.
•  The USSR considered the Japanese act of aggression to
be a direct threat to its Asian territories, and was willing to
act. However, no Western European territories were willing
to cooperate with a communist regime.