The Rise of Japanese Militarism The Interwar Years

Post-World War I Japan After World War I, Japan saw itself as the dominant power in the East It began to pursue policies that would increase their territory and their influence in Asia Ultimately, these policies would lead to the outbreak of war in the Pacific

Motives for Japanese Expansion Economics Japan was in desperate need of natural resources to fuel its industry and military Extreme Nationalism Many Japanese citizens believed that Japan was the most superior country in Asia and therefore had the right to rule everyone else Acts by Western Powers Several actions by Western powers were motivated by the belief that Japan was not equal; these insults fueled imperialistic desires in Japan

The Invasion of China Begins In 1931 Japan invaded the northern area of China, Manchuria, which had huge deposits of natural resources like coal The League of Nations did nothing

1937: The Invasion Spreads After a few years, Japanese forces moved south and invaded China During this invasion they took control of the Chinese capital, Nanking (also written as Nanjing—same place)

Go to this site and read the Japanese ambassador’s justification for this invasion Answer the three questions at the bottom of the document panese_ambassador.pdf panese_ambassador.pdf Go to this site and read the Japanese ambassador’s justification for this invasion Answer the three questions at the bottom of the document panese_ambassador.pdf panese_ambassador.pdf

The Rape of Nanking, 1937 During the invasion, the people of Nanking were treated horribly by the Japanese soldiers Go to this website and read the short history. cide/nanking.htm cide/nanking.htm Then look at some of the pictures in the this photo gallery. Be warned, some of them are very horrific:

The Japanese Government Though Japan had an emperor, the military had taken control of the government by this time Emperor Hirohito could not stand up to the powerful generals, but he was worshipped by the people, who often fought in his name The military leader of Japan was General Hideki Tojo

The need for more resources Next, Japan began to look towards Southeast Asia for more resources Their quest for territory and resources in this part of Asia would lead the US to become involved with stopping their expansion But more on that later….

Imperial Japan in 1939