Japanese Expansionism

Rise of Militarism Japan was an aggressive nation In 1930’s they began a policy of territorial expansion Not enough land to support it’s growing population Depended on U.S. and other countries for essential goods Military leaders resented the dependence on foreign countries Pushed into mainland Asia

Invasion Manchuria – Japan needed space and raw materials – Manchuria provided both September 1931 – Japan invaded Within a few months, Japan had taken over September 1932 – Japan set up a puppet government and renamed the region Manchukuo

Reaction Japan was a member of the League of Nations League of Nations condemned Japan for its aggression Japan simply withdrew from the League Argued that its military action was crucial to its long-term security

The “China Incident” Japan set its sites on China U.S. did not like this – It’s stake in the Open Door Policy was close to $100 million a year If Japan grew stronger and had more natural resources – they would be able to compete with the U.S. for global trade U.S. citizens sympathized with the Chinese people FDR authorized small loans to China to buy military supplies

The “China Incident” 1937 Japan launched a full scale attack on Shanghai and Nanjing – cities in China They killed tens of thousands of Chinese civilians Japanese leaders tried to down play what happened by calling it the “China Incident” This angered many Americans, however it was nothing more than words

Review Why did Japan need to expand? Where did they invade and why? How did the U.S. feel about Japanese expansionism? What was the “China Incident”?