TECK WHYE SECONDARY SCHOOL Humanities DepartmentElective History NotesWorld War 2 in the Pacific

Areas of Focus for Questions: Investigate the extent to which peace was challenged in the Asia Pacific in

the 1930s Analyse the reasons for the onset of World War II in the Asia Pacific

Students will be able to: Investigate the extent to which peace was challenged in the Asia Pacific in

the 1930s Analyse the reasons for the onset of World War II in the Asia Pacific

Factors for possible Structured Essay Questions:Why was peace in the

Asia-Pacific region threatened?

Why did Japan invade Manchuria?

Why did Japan invade China?

• Japan’s foreign policy aims between 1931 and 1941

• Japan’s military aggression

• Japan’s foreign policy aims between 1931 and 1941

• Japan’s military aggression

• Japan’s foreign policy aims between 1931 and 1941

• Japan’s military aggression

• Weakness of the League of Nations

Japan’s Foreign Policy Aims between 1931 and 1941: To build an empire in the Asia-Pacific region To free Asians from Western control Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Find room for Japan’s growing population To control resources

Explanation (condensed for SEQ): Peace in the Asia-Pacific region was threatened because Japanese

foreign policy aims between 1931 and 1941 were aggressive in nature as Japan wanted to build an empire in Southeast Asia to mark its status as the leading country of the region.

Similarly, Japan felt that Asia should be free from Western control and that Japan should lead Asia. It launched the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere where Southeast Asian countries would be part of its empire. These resource-rich countries would help Japan become self-sufficient and serve as markets for Japanese goods.

In addition, Japan had to find room for its growing population. As Japan lacked land and resources, the military decided to use overseas expansion to provide land for living and for growing crops.

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Finally, affected by the Great Depression, Japan, which needed more and more natural resources, turned to Manchuria as a solution to its problems as it had cheap manpower, raw materials and could act as an overseas market for Japanese goods. Such actions, undertaken to expand Japan’s influence in the Asia-Pacific and Manchuria, clearly threatened peace as they necessitated the use of the military expansion.

Japan’s military aggression: Growing influence in Manchuria and Mainland China The military acting without government permission The Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Explanation (condensed for SEQ): Peace in the Asia-Pacific region was threatened because Japanese had a

foothold in Manchuria where it invested heavily in infrastructure. Manchuria was also strategically beneficial to Japan – both in protecting the Japanese islands and in providing essential raw materials cheaply.

The Japanese military in Manchuria – the Kwangtung Army, acted without government permission from the Japanese government, often going ahead with plans to get the Tokyo government to take over Manchuria. Launching the first initiative – the Mukden Incident – Kwantung Army officers bombed the train of a Manchu warlord, hoping his death would lead the Japanese government to take over Manchuria. When this failed, they plotted again.

In 1931, a train carrying Japanese passengers exploded outside Mukden. Accusing the Chinese of being behind the attack, the Japanese occupied Southern Manchuria, set up the state of Manchukuo and installed the Last Qing Emperor of China, Pu-yi, as a puppet head-of-state.

These actions, which were clearly aggressive, challenged the peace in the Asia Pacific as Japan used aggressive methods to acquire Machuria, putting it closer to conquering China.

This section ends at the conquest of Manchuria. Following the occupation of Manchuria, the Japanese Kwangtung Army decided to move on to conquer the rest of China. The next section is applicable to the conquest of China…

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident marked the start of the Japanese invasion into China. When a Japanese soldier went missing, Japan demanded to be allowed to search the Chinese side. When China refused, both sides exchanged fire. When the soldier did show up later, Japan still demanded that the Chinese withdraw from the Bridge. China refused and both sides exchanged fire again. This eventually grew into a full-scale invasion of China by the Japanese.

Direct Causes of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident:Instilling values and lifeskills to achieve success

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TECK WHYE SECONDARY SCHOOL Humanities DepartmentElective History NotesWorld War 2 in the Pacific

Explanation (condensed for SEQ): Japanese Military:

As the Chinese had not really defended their northern provinces, the Japanese military did not expect it to put up such a huge defence for the Marco Polo Bridge. It also believed that the Chinese resistance would collapse within a week.

Therefore, the Japanese military felt it was best to invade China when its economy and military strength was weak.

International Situation Japan feared a 2-front war – one with China and the other with Russia. However, Stalin was conducting Purges within his officer corps and the

Germans were rising in power in Europe. Furthermore, the Western powers were distracted with events in Europe.

This enabled the Japanese military to take advantage of Europe and Russia’s distraction and concentrate its military resources to defend China.

Japanese Control over the Japanese Military in Manchuria was Weak The Kwangtung Army acted on its own in northern China and the

Japanese government could not order its withdrawal or there would be a loss of face.

Due to the strength of the military in Japan, the Tokyo government feared political instability in Japan if they tried to stop the Kwangtung Army and decided to go ahead with the invasion.

Zaibatsus The zaibatsus saw China as a potential market for their goods, to build

industries and to gain natural resources. They also wanted to destroy Chinese business competition in northern and southern China. As such, they pressed the military to go ahead and invade China.

The League of Nations

Explanation (condensed for SEQ): The League of Nations was too weak to stop the Japanese invasion of

Manchuria, eventually leading to the Japanese conquering more of the Chinese territory.

When the Lytton Commission recommended that Japan be allowed to keep its special economic privileges and investments in Manchuria BUT that Manchuria remain a part of China with its own government, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations and Japanese troops remained in Manchuria. The League took no action which allowed Japan to think that the Western powers were too weak to stop their expansion into China. This emboldened the Japanese to start their invasion of China.

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TECK WHYE SECONDARY SCHOOL Humanities DepartmentElective History NotesWorld War 2 in the Pacific

Poor relations between Japan and the West

Explanation (condensed for SEQ): Japan had poor relations with the USA because many Japanese believed

that the West was being hostile towards the Japanese. The Japanese also saw the Washington Naval Treaty as discriminatory and saw it as an attempt to prevent its expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japanese non-compliance would mean that war was most likely because Japan’s actions of violating the Washington Naval Treaty meant it would be threatening security in the Asia-Pacific region.

You had better Study…

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TECK WHYE SECONDARY SCHOOL Humanities DepartmentElective History NotesWorld War 2 in the Pacific

Model Essay #1

[O Level 2009]Was the Depression the main reason Japan attacked Manchuria in 1931? Explain your answer. [12m]

# Sometimes, there is a need to expand on certain factors if they are taken in isolation for an SEQ…That is why blind memorization is pointless if you have no understanding of the chapter. A good understanding of chapter content allows you to take the basic factor and expand on it / modify it to suit the question’s answer.

The Great Depression had a disastrous effect on the Japanese economy. As Japan’s earnings from the export of goods fell, factories were closed and jobs were lost, causing many Japanese to suffer. Furthermore, the loss of earnings meant that Japan, which needed more and more natural resources, had less means to import natural resources. Desperate, the Japanese military decided to turn to Manchuria as a solution to its problems as it had cheap manpower, raw materials and could act as an overseas market for Japanese goods. Invading Manchuria would solve Japan’s economic problems and allow it to be used to further Japan’s economic growth.

Japan also attacked Manchuria because the Japanese had a foothold in Manchuria where it invested heavily in infrastructure. Manchuria was also strategically beneficial to Japan – both in protecting the Japanese islands and in providing essential raw materials cheaply. In addition, Japan had to find room for its growing population. As Japan lacked land and resources, the military decided to use overseas expansion to provide land for living and for growing crops. Manchuria was an ideal location as it was located near to Japan and could serve its short-term and long-term needs.

The Japanese also attacked Manchuria because the Kwangtung Army, which was stationed in Manchuria, having wanted to take over the territory for a long time, used two sabotage attacks as excuses to invade Manchuria. Acting without government permission from the Japanese government, Kwantung Army officers bombed the train of a Manchu warlord, hoping his death would lead the Japanese government to take over Manchuria. When this failed, they plotted again. In 1931, a train carrying Japanese passengers exploded outside Mukden. Accusing the Chinese of being behind the attack, the Japanese occupied Southern Manchuria, set up the state of Manchukuo and installed the Last Qing Emperor of China, Pu-yi, as a puppet head-of-state. The Japanese government had no choice but to go ahead with the attack and invasion of Manchuria as to pull back the Kwangtung Army would

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have been a serious loss of face as it would show the weakness of the Japanese government’s hold over its military.

Model Essay #2

[O Level 2003]Why were the Japanese aggressive towards China during the 1930s? Explain your answer. [12m]

The Japanese were aggressive towards China during the 1930s because they were following an aggressive foreign policy which was aimed at empire building, gaining scarce natural resources and finding land for its population. Being a large country, which was rich in natural resources and had a large population, China would be able to solve Japan’s economic problems by being a good source of natural resources and it’s large population would be a market for Japanese goods. As Japan’s economy suffered from the Great Depression, its military believed that an aggressive foreign policy towards resource-rich countries was the solution to pull the country out of its economic problems.

However, there were also other factors which made the Japanese aggressive towards China during the 1930s. This included The League of Nations being too weak to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, eventually leading to the Japanese conquering more of the Chinese territory. When the Lytton Commission recommended that Japan be allowed to keep its special economic privileges and investments in Manchuria but that Manchuria remain a part of China with its own government, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations and Japanese troops remained in Manchuria. The League took no action which allowed Japan to think that the Western powers were too weak to stop their expansion into China. This emboldened the Japanese to start their invasion of China which they commenced shortly after the Lytton Commission’s report.

At the same time, the Japanese took advantage of the international situation at the time. Initially, Japan was reluctant to invade China as it feared a two-fronted war with China on one side and another with the Russians. However, Stalin was conducting Purges within his officer corps and the Germans were rising in power in Europe. Furthermore, the Western powers were distracted with events in Europe. This enabled the Japanese military to take advantage of Europe and Russia’s distraction and concentrate its military resources to defend China.

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TECK WHYE SECONDARY SCHOOL Humanities DepartmentElective History NotesWorld War 2 in the Pacific

Why did World War II break out in the Asia-Pacific Region? This portion of the content deals with the reasons why Japan went to war,

attacked Pearl Harbour and brought war into the Asia-Pacific Region

Japan’s War Against China Although Japan expected its war with China to end quickly, the war dragged on

for several years and Japan nearly used up all her resources and did not have any essential war materials left.

Furthermore, China was unable to supply Japan with the resources it needed. The only option left in order to continue the war in the Philippines was to conquer British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies for their raw materials

The International Situation Japan’s Neutrality Agreement with Soviet Union

o In 1941 Japan signed a neutrality agreement with the USSR agreeing not to fight each other. Japan was worried about having to fight a war with the Russians when clashes occurred on the Russo-Japanese border and Japan suffered defeats

o At the same time, its ally, Germany, invaded the Soviets in 1941. Russia would be too busy fending off the Germans to consider war with Japan. Japan felt free to proceed to attack Southeast Asia

War in Europe left European colonies in Asia undefendedo Germany, by 1940, had occupied Holland and France while Britain was

desperately fighting for its survival in Europe. Their Southeast Asian colonies were left vulnerable because the colonial powers were unable to spare the resources to defend them

o Moving into French Indochina in 1941, the Japanese forced the French colonial government in Vietnam to let it use Vietnamese air and naval bases in the north and begun to train for jungle warfare. The Japanese also signed a neutrality agreement with Siam (Thailand) which would facilitate its invasion of the rest of Southeast Asia

Worsening US-Japan Relations Japan saw the USA as a threat to its plans to build an empire

o Throughout the 1930s, the Japanese saw the Americans as a threat to their plans to build an Asia-Pacific empire through the following actions:

Hoover-Stimson Doctrine where the USA condemned the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria and refused to acknowledge Manchukuo as an independent state

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The 1935 Neutrality Acts where the USA refused to ship war material to countries at war, cutting off important sources of raw materials to the Japanese and hampering their expansion

The USA also sided with China when Japan invaded it in 1937 by funding and supporting China’s Nationalist government which was fighting against the Japanese. Furthermore, the Panay incident where the Japanese attacked a US Navy gunboat near Nanjing in 1937 turned public opinion against Japan. The USA also allowed its fighter pilots to volunteer in China’s war against Japan

When Japan invaded Indochina, the USA expanded its Navy and moved its Pacific Fleet nearer to Japan in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. It saw Japanese expansion as a threat. Troop reinforcements were also sent to the Philippines and other Pacific islands

Some Japanese military leaders felt that Japan had to attack the US Pacific fleet in order to cripple the USA’s ability to fight a war in the Pacific. Japan would also be in a better position to fight off any American attack because it would have gained time to build up its troops and protect the positions it had conquered in Southeast Asia

US embargo on steel, scrap iron and oilo Perhaps the most crippling effect on Japan was a series of embargos on

important materials like steel, iron and oil, general trade embargos and a freezing of all Japanese assets in the USA until the Japanese agreed to immediately withdraw from Indochina

o The Japanese considered the embargo as a threat to its survival because it could not keep on fighting the Chinese war without oil and metal, which was largely purchased from the USA. The embargo also meant no other country could sell these materials to Japan. Faced with such a difficult position, the Japanese felt their only viable option was to invade the Dutch East Indies for oil

Breakdown of US-Japan talks in 1941o Talks were held by the US and Japan to improve relations in 1941. During

this talk, suggestions were made to peacefully end Japan’s war in China and prevent conflict in the Asia-Pacific

o Both sides could not agree with each other’s foreign policy regarding China and the talks eventually broke down

Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, the former Minister of War, took over as Prime Minister in 1941 He felt that war with the USA could not be avoided Opponents who supported negotiation with the USA were removed from the

government

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TECK WHYE SECONDARY SCHOOL Humanities DepartmentElective History NotesWorld War 2 in the Pacific

War with the USA was more likely to happen because Tojo supported an aggressive foreign policy

Japan orders the attack on Pearl Harbouro On 7 December 1941, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour and officially

begin the war in the Asia-Pacifico Simultaneous invasions of Southeast Asian colonies like Malaya,

Singapore and the Dutch East Indies begin

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