outbreak of World War II

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outbreak of World War II par Mind Map: outbreak of World War II

1. Britain was more receptive to the rise of Japan, ad set a different precedent. In 1920, Britain signed an alliance with Japan called the Anglo-Jpanese Alliance.

2. Japan's ambition to establish itself in Asia & Europe

2.1. a) conflict ith russia

2.1.1. -the rise of Japan was an immediate threat to Russian interests in the Far East

2.1.2. -sea travel was the most viable route between Russia and China. hence, the Russian Empire established a sphere f influence i Manchuria in northeastern China and secured a permanent ice-free port

2.1.3. Russia attempted to establish a permanent militaryand naval base in Manchuria, whichwas seen as a security threat to Japan and its interests and influence in Korea

2.1.4. -Japan offered to accept Russian influence in Manchuria if ussia accepted Japanese influence in Koea. However, Russia was not interested in reaching a compromise. Russia did not believe tghat it needed to negotiate with Japan as an equal power as the East was seen as less powerful and inferior to the West.

2.1.5. -the Japan government declared a war Russia (Russo-Jaanese War) which tok place n 1904, and the Japanese defeated the Russians in 1905.

2.1.6. -In the treaty of Portsmouth sign after the war, Japan gained control of Liaodong Peninsula, the South Manchurian Railway, and the southern half of the Sakhalin island.

2.2. b) Alliance with Britain

2.2.1. -the basis of this alliance as utual recgnition of British and Jpanese interests in Asia. This treaty was renewed in 1905.

2.2.2. -Britain recognised Japan's right to defend Korea, and Japan recognised Britain's right to defend India. both agreed that China was a place of 'common interest'.

2.3. c) Conflicts with China

2.3.1. 1.First Sino-Japanese War: In 1984, Japan fought a successful war against China over the control of the Korea peninsula. Korea was under the influence of the Chinese Qing dynasty, and Japan, like the European powers, used to take advantage of the weaknesses of the Qing government in order to take control of Chinese territory and trade. At the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1985, China was forced not only to give up control of Korea but also Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan came under th direct rule of Japan. Japan embarked on a colonization process that mirrored European efforts around Asia, including the construction of schools ad other modern infrastructure, and created economic projects that primarily benefited Japan e.g. raw materials were extracted, processed and sold. In Korea, the Japanese overnment tried to ruleindirectly through th Korean Royal family. tehse efforts were not successful as the Korean kign and queen tried to assert their independence. The korean uen, even asked the Russians for help to expel the Japanese in 1985. As a result, she was assassinatd by Japanese agents. In 1910, Japan took control of Koria and ruled it drectly. Japanese policies in Korea inluded educaton in Japanese, forced labour and miliitry service for Koreans, settlement of Japanese migrants and the confiscation of land for Japanese farmer.

2.3.2. 2.Twenty-One demands: the western powers became very interested in China from th late 19th century onwards because of its large territory, population and potential or economic activity. Japan established a foothold in Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese War and gained cntol of Korea and Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese War. this fuelledJaanse ambitions to expand further into Chia.china experienced political instability during this perid as the fall of the Qing Dynasty lrfed to a power struggle between Yuan Shi Kai and Sun Yat Sen. Japan had joined WW1on the side of the Allies and occupied German-controlle Qingda. Japan the delivered the Twenty-One Demands as an ntimatum to China in 1915.

2.4. d) Worsening relations with the USA

2.4.1. 1.American racism against the Japanese: American discrimination against the Japanese contributed towards tense relations between the USA and Japan. laws were passed to protect American economic interests ad to exclude the Chinese, Korean and Japanese immigrants to prevent them from competing for jobs. In 1882, the USA passed te Chiense xcluson Act to supend Chinese immigration. this was followed by the establsihet of the Jpanese and Korean Exclusio Lague in 1905. The Japanese and American government did not want a conflict, but both faced pressure fom the citizns to act against the other The Jpanee were greatly offended by this racial discrimination.

2.4.2. 2.Paris Peace Conference: In response t the Fourteen points and the League of Nations in his speech to the Ameican congress i January 1918, the prince of Japan (Prince Fumimaro Konoe) wront an essay "RejectthAnglo-Ameican-Centered Peace". In that essat, he called for the 'radcatin of racal discrimination'. In 1919, he was part of the Japanese delegaton which attended the aris Pace onference and proposed clause aed fr the equality of all foreign immigrants in the USA.

3. crises in japan

3.1. economic crises

3.1.1. rapid population increase and there was shortage of land causing the availbiliy of land for farming.the farmers do not have enough land to grow crops thus not able to earn a decent profit.there was a shortage of rice due to traditional japan farming which takes time therefore the farmers lost hope in the government not only that the economy was also affected by the great depression.

3.2. over population

3.2.1. there were too many people in japan , more space and resources are use . the political climate is getting unstable and the rise of militarism played a large role in japan being ambitious and aggressive towards other country

3.3. growth of military influence in japan politics

3.3.1. martial law was was declared ,people was control under military law which consist of 15 member cabinet made up of 10 military figures with 5 political party members form.

4. Japanese expansionist foreign policy

4.1. Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere

4.1.1. The success of Japanese expansion encouraged plans for creation of what japan called the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, through which the japanese would dominate the whole of East Asia and Southeast Asia. The plan was to expel the European colonial powers from these regions and to replace them with satellite states loyal to Japan. These would be defended by the japanese military and governed through local elites aided by japanese advisors. The japanese sought to expand into Southeast asia due to the availability of important raw materials there. For example japan was especially interested in rubber and oil from malaya and indonesia. These resources were crucial to its military machine and were lacking in Korea, taiwan and Manchuria.

5. Japan's response to world developments in the 1930s

5.1. American foreign policy changes

5.1.1. Changes in American foreign policy encouraged the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor. As the USA initially adopted an isolationist policy, the Japanese expected to have a free hand in their war against China. However, American popular opinion sided with China and Roosevelt followed by changing his foreign policy; He spoke of the need for aggressor nations to be 'quarantined', and used Japan's aggression to justify military aid to China. The commercial treaty with Japan was also cancelled, placing restrictions on Japanese trade with the USA. Roosevelt further imposed a trade embargo on Japan when they occupied Vietnam in 1940, formally banning the export or steel, scrap iron and fuel to Japan which were essential to support Japan's war effort in China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and made the control of oil-rich countries in SEA more attractive. Even though the USA was not a formal participant of WWII, these actions indirectly made her one of Japan's enemies

5.2. War in Europe

5.2.1. The outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 meant that the British and French defences in the Asia Pacific were critically weakened and depleted. With European powers preoccupied by war, SEA was defenceless. The War in Europe created an opportunity for Japan to take the place of the declining powers in the region. French Indochina and the British colonies of Malaysia and Singapore became easy targets for Japanese invasion.

5.3. Attack on Pearl Harbor

5.3.1. Attack on Pearl Harbor resulted from the American foreign policy changes and War in Europe. Roosevelt hoped that Japan's reliance on American oil would force it to accept American demands to end the war in China and limit its expansion in the region. Japan faced a choice to either give in by withdrawing from China, or to retaliate by attacking the USA. Japanese politicians however could not back down; Even the emperor feared the anger and power of the military factions and did not want to embarrass himself or endanger Japanese imperial interests in China. The Japanese military advised the emperor that their stockpiled oil reserves would run out within two years and told the prime minister and emperor that war with the USA could not be avoided. They hoped that a quick knockout blow against the USA and rapid expansion southwards would convince the Americans to negotiate a peace settlement. In October 1941, Prince Fumimaro Konoe, who preferred negotiation to war, resigned as Prime Minister, and Hideki Tojo was appointed as the new prime minister. Tojo's plans for a war against the USA, Britain and the Netherlands based on a quick knockout blow and surprise was approved by November 1941

6. Weakness Of The League Of Nations

6.1. Mukden incident and invasion of Manchuria

6.1.1. Manchuria was both economically and strategically important to japan as it was a good source of raw materials and resources needed for Japan's growing industries. It also provided Japan with a market to sell their products. On 18 September 1931, a bomb exploded near the Japanese-owned railway near Mukden. The Japanese Army blamed the Chinese nationalists and demanded that the Japanese government take action to protect Japanese interests in Manchuria. This event became known as the Mukden incident and provided an opportunity for a military takeover of Manchuria. A full scale invasion of Manchuria was launched on 19 September 1931. China was too preoccupied with its own civil war to resist the attack. In September 1932, the japanese government recognised the new state by signing a treaty with Manchuko, placing the new country under japanese military control. China and the other great powers refused to recognise the new state of Manchuko, claiming it belongs to china. The League responded by commissioning an investigation and a report to the assembly chaired by the British Earl of lytton. A motion was raised at the League of nations to condemn Japan as an aggressor, and the league refused to recognise Manchuko. However the japanese delegation walked out of the assembly and the japanese government formally withdraw from the league of nations soon after. The league was thus unable to enforce its decision upon Japan.

6.2. Second Sino-Japanese War

6.2.1. From 1932, Tensions escalated between China and Japan.The Second Sino-japanese War broke out in 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge incident, resulting in a full-scale invasion of China. Japanese troops stationed in the vicinity of the Marco Polo bridge near the town of Wanping outside Beijing were carrying out training exercises. A few shots were fired, prompting the Chinese troops there to return fire in defence. Later, the japanese discovered that one of their soldiers were missing. Thinking that the chinese might have captured him, the Japanese demanded to be allowed to search the town. The chinese said they would conduct the search, with one of the officer accompanying them. The Japanese troops tried to force their way into wanping, but failed. Both sides issue, the heightened tensions between the Japanese and Chinese resulted in a full-scale invasion of China after this incident.

6.2.2. Although China appealed to the League of nations to intervene, the Western powers were not willing to get involved. The western powers were occupied with developments in Europe as Hitler attempted to impose his own expansionist policy in Europe. The Western powers only began to provide aid to China when the extent of Japanese violence in the Nanking Massacre was made known internationally.