THE MANCHURIAN CRISIS
This page is about Japan's invasion of Manchuria (known as 'Manchukuo', the Japanese name, on the map below) in 1931.
Look at the map which shows Japanese expansion up to 1939:
Look at the map which shows Japanese expansion up to 1939:
During the first half of the 20th Century, the Japanese Empire's foreign policy was controlled by its military. As you can see it was clearly aggressive- for example, Taiwan and Korea were occupied by 1895 and 1910 respectively. By 1931, Japan turned its attention to the Northern Chinese province of Manchuria.
During any international dispute where one country is acting as an aggressor, there are always two important factors:
Factor number 1 is always more significant than factor number 2.
Japan wanted to control Manchuria because of its wealth of natural resources. This was especially important during the time of the Great Depression- international trade was in decline. This represents the more significant underlying cause of Japan's decision to invade Manchuria.
Japan used an incident of sabotage (which may or may not have happened) on the Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railway to send troops to Manchuria. This represents the subtext.
Look at the map of Manchuria below.
During any international dispute where one country is acting as an aggressor, there are always two important factors:
- The longer-term, underlying causes for an aggressive action
- The sub-text (excuse) for an aggressive action
Factor number 1 is always more significant than factor number 2.
Japan wanted to control Manchuria because of its wealth of natural resources. This was especially important during the time of the Great Depression- international trade was in decline. This represents the more significant underlying cause of Japan's decision to invade Manchuria.
Japan used an incident of sabotage (which may or may not have happened) on the Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railway to send troops to Manchuria. This represents the subtext.
Look at the map of Manchuria below.
Japan controlled the section between Dalian and Changchun. Once the act of sabotage took place on this section of the line, Japan sent troops to defend its property. They claimed they were acting in self defense as China was in a state of anarchy.
This was a serious test for the League. Remember, Japan was a powerful nation in the 1930's. It was a permanent member of the Council, had a strong economy and was in the process of creating an empire in the Asia-Pacific region.
The League's response was weak.
The League's officials sailed around the world to view the situation in Manchuria for themselves and only released their report on the crisis in 1932- one full year after Japan's invasion. They decided that Japan was at fault and should return Manchuria to China. In early 1933, the League's Assembly voted to approve the report, with only Japan voting against it. Japan decided to leave the League and announced its intention to invade more of China. Although the League discussed economic sanctions, they were powerless to stop Japan.
The impact of economic sanctions without the involvement of the USA, Japan's major trading partner, was minimal and Britain was more concerned with keeping good relations with Japan. Throughout the entire crisis, there was a fear that Japan would retaliate militarily. The Cartoon below best sums up the League's response to the crisis:
This was a serious test for the League. Remember, Japan was a powerful nation in the 1930's. It was a permanent member of the Council, had a strong economy and was in the process of creating an empire in the Asia-Pacific region.
The League's response was weak.
The League's officials sailed around the world to view the situation in Manchuria for themselves and only released their report on the crisis in 1932- one full year after Japan's invasion. They decided that Japan was at fault and should return Manchuria to China. In early 1933, the League's Assembly voted to approve the report, with only Japan voting against it. Japan decided to leave the League and announced its intention to invade more of China. Although the League discussed economic sanctions, they were powerless to stop Japan.
The impact of economic sanctions without the involvement of the USA, Japan's major trading partner, was minimal and Britain was more concerned with keeping good relations with Japan. Throughout the entire crisis, there was a fear that Japan would retaliate militarily. The Cartoon below best sums up the League's response to the crisis:
Apart from proving that the League was fundamentally flawed, this crisis provided more encouragement to other aggressive countries who would also test the League's resolve in the 1930's- Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Moreover, it was a crucial step to WWII in the Pacific, as Japanese aggression was not stopped.