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Depression, empire and collapse, 1931 to 45

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In the 1930s the army took control of Japanese policy. Expansion in Asia led to war with China and then with the USA, ending in defeat in 1945.

Manchuria and the military

In 1931 the Japanese army seized Manchuria and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo (1932).
The League of Nations condemned it, and Japan left the League (1933).
Politicians were assassinated, and the military gained control. Left-wing activists were pressured to renounce their beliefs (tenko).
Prince Konoe announced a New Order in East Asia.

War in Asia

Full-scale war with China began in 1937.
Japan proclaimed the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, claiming to free Asia from Western rule while exploiting it.
In December 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and conquered much of Southeast Asia.

Defeat

US forces fought their way across the Pacific and bombed Japanese cities.
Atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August 1945).
The Showa Emperor (Hirohito) announced Japan's surrender in August 1945.
Worked example

Explain why Japan seized Manchuria in 1931.

  1. The Depression hit Japan's economy hard.
  2. Manchuria had coal, iron and land for settlers.
  3. The army believed conquest would solve Japan's problems and acted without government approval.

Answer: To gain resources and land in the Depression, with the army acting on its own.

Key idea

1931: the army seized Manchuria; Manchukuo (1932); Japan left the League (1933). The military took control; tenko silenced the left; Konoe's New Order. War with China (1937), the Co-Prosperity Sphere and war in Southeast Asia. Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945) and surrender.

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