00
Japanese Expansion
Objective: To show the expansion of Japanese control up to 1942.
Teaching Notes and Mapping Activity
You or your students can mark the following on the World War II in the
Pacific map. Note that the map shows 1941 boundaries.
1. Japan is a small, mountainous island country with limited natural
resources. Outline Japan.
2. Japanese expansion began in 1895. As a result of the ChineseJapanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I, Japan’s
empire grew on both the Asian mainland and on islands in
the Pacific.
a. In 1895, Japan seized Formosa (Taiwan). Formosa is the large
island north of Luzon. Label it J for Japanese control.
b. In 1910, Japan seized Korea. Korea is on the peninsula west of
Japan. Label Korea J.
c. During World War I, Japan seized the Marshall, Mariana, and
Caroline Islands. Label the Marshall Islands and the islands
north of Guam J.
d. By the end of World War I, Japan controlled the areas labeled
with J. With your finger, on the main map, trace the extent of
Japan’s empire in 1918.
e. With a marker, on the locator map, outline the same area.
3. While Germany and Italy were expanding in Europe and Africa,
Japan began a program of aggressive expansion in Asia. Japan’s
military leaders began calling their empire the Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity Sphere.
a. In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria. On the main
map, label Manchuria J.
b. Japanese troops continued to move south. By 1938, they
occupied many of China’s key ports. Label several occupied
areas of China’s coast J.
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World War II in the Pacific
4. To cut off China’s supply route (and keep the supplies for itself),
Japan invaded southeast Asia in 1940.
a. By 1941 Japan had occupied all of French Indochina. Label it J.
b. Now, with your finger, trace Japan’s empire up to 1941.
c. With a marker, on the locator map, outline the same area.
5. To protest Japan’s invasion of Indochina, the United States refused
to export oil and other raw materials to Japan. Realizing that the
United States stood in the way of its expansion, Japan decided to
capture or cripple U.S. military bases in the Pacific.
a. In December 1941, Japan captured U.S. bases on both Guam
and Wake Island. Label them both J.
b. By April 1942, Japan had captured the Philippines, a U.S.
territory. Label the Philippines J.
6. By May of 1942, Japan’s empire extended from the Aleutian Islands
in the north to the Solomon Islands in the south. The empire
extended from 90˚ E to 180˚.
a. In southeast Asia, Japan captured Burma, Thailand, the
Netherlands Indies, northern New Guinea, and the Solomon
Islands. Label each of them with a J.
b. In the Aleutians, label Attu Island J.
c. Now trace the line that marks the
farthest extent of Japanese control.
d. On the locator map, outline this area.
Correlates with:
✰
Have students compare the size of
Japan’s empire in 1920 and in 1942.
They might make a list Japan’s possessions. Or they could use the map scale
to calculate area in square miles.
●
The Nystrom Atlas of
United States History, pages
92–93