Japanese History
Post and During WWII
Key figures and their roles
- Japanese Emperor Hirohito
- Hamaguchi Osachi: Japan’s Prime Minister
- Chiang Kai-shek: Chinese Political and Military Leader
What When Where
- 1924: Japanese Exclusion Act: prohibited the Japanese from immigrating to the US
- 1926: Emperor Hirohito passes away and conflicts between political parties start
- Universal male suffrage: All residents in Japan, no matter the class are eligible to vote – increases voters from approximately 3 million to 12 million
- 1928-1932: Domestic Struggles
o Economic collapse due to the Great Depression
§ Unemployment
§ Falling exports
§ Social unrest
- Early 1930s:
o Nov 1930: Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi was shot by an ultra-nationalist
o Industrialization, education, and military conscription became popular
o Western politicians limited the Japanese military expansions
o Ultra-nationalists believed the ‘ABCD Powers’ (America-British-Chinese-Dutch) were threatening the Japanese Empire
o Control was limited in the government as the army had invaded Manchuria without consent
§ Conquered entire border region
o League of Nations found it powerless to intervene, and Japan withdrew their membership
- May 1932: Army officers from japan attempt coup d’etat by killing Hamaguchi’s successor
- The idea of the ‘Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere’ emerged within government:
o Asian unification: people did not want colonies in the west however, the government desires more colonies in the west
- 1937:
o July 1937: Japan invades China
§ Was a full-scale war between China and Japan
§ One of the darkest events in the last century
§ War was called the “Rape of Nanking”
§ Japan had the upper hand and the more advanced military
o Dec. 13, 1937:
§ Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing
§ Japan conquered Chinese forces in Shanghai and seized Nanking
o Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese Political and Military leader led the 6-week campaign to take back Nanjing
o Majority killed were Japanese soldiers
o 300 000 civilians slaughtered
- 1939: War was in stalement (a draw)
o Chinese communists + nationalist forces continued to resist
- 1940:
o Japan signed the tripartite pact, creating Rome-Tokyo Berlin Axis
o Italy, Germany and Japan make an alliance to take over the whole world and split into 3 (Japan gets the pacific side of the world)
- 1941:
o US President stops trade agreements with Japan (i.e. Oil Trades)
o Japan uses this reason to make war with the U.S. (bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii)
- At the end of the nineteenth century, Japanese nationalism was born
Why
- The events that occurred pre-WWII were Japan's first steps to conquering more land:
- Goal: Imperialism (having colonies spread throughout the world). -
§ Joining the war alongside Italy and Germany gave them a chance to control the Pacific side of the world