lOMoARcPSD|1931880 Japan Foreign Policy History - A2 (Sixth Form (UK)) StuDocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Jan K?iklán (kriklanjan@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|1931880 Foreign Policies Japan ECONOMIC ● Protective policies during the Great Depression: stopped silk trade, exports dropped by 50% between 1929 and 1931, Hawley-Smoot tariff of 1930 restricted Japanese access to American markets, British policies of “imperial preference” in 1931 restricted Japanese access to British markets, further isolating Japan and leaving China as one of the few foreign markets still available to Japan ● Manchuria as a prospect of economic recovery: contained raw materials such as coal, iron ore, and bauxite and possessed people who, as well as buying Japanese goods, could be a source of cheap labor ● Great Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere 1940: Japan’s rapid modernization in the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s led to the need more raw materials, natural resources, and living space, which Japan did not inherently have → wanted an empire to secure resources for Japanese industry → embargoes set by the US encouraged Japan to seek raw materials in Asia, created a bloc of Asian nations (puppet regimes) for Japan’s self-sufficiency and freedom from Western powers, was also fuelled by Western agreements such as the Washington Naval Conference (1922), which set the battleship ratio among the US, Britain, and Japan to 5:5:3, and the 1924 Exclusion Act, which shut off Japanese immigration into the US POLITICAL/SOCIAL ● Imperialism ○ attempts included the 1894 war with China over Korea, 1895 annexation of Taiwan, 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War (obtained Port Arthur), 1910 annexation of Korea, 1914-18 alliance with Germany (obtained German islands, became council member of the League) ○ 1930s - Japanese government called for cooperation with China, but under ‘Japanese leadership’ ○ 1935 - Nationalist China established diplomatic relations with Japan but Kwantung Army was determined to establish Japanese control ○ mid-1935 - used anti-Japanese protests as an excuse to insist that Nationalist troops withdraw from Hebei and Chahar, north of Beijing, then forced the nationalists to make these provinces an autonomous zone largely independent of China ○ Invasion of French Indochina (1940) - prevented China from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina along the Sino-Vietnamese railway, signed an accord with French Indochina granting Japan the rights to station troops and move supplies through Indochina ● Perceived vulnerability of China: because of the power of warlords and lack of central government in China, Japan saw Manchuria as a vulnerable target ● Militarism ○ military takeover of Japanese government by 1931 ○ assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi who attempted to stop invasion of Manchuria ○ Mukden Incident (1931) - Japanese military set explosives in the South Manchuria Railway as pretext for invading Manchuria, led to Sino-Japanese War of 1937-41 ○ Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937) - exchanged fire with Chinese troops and claimed that the Chinese attacked first Downloaded by Jan K?iklán (kriklanjan@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|1931880 ● ● Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany 1936: Prime Minister Koki Hirota’s Fundamental Policy focused on the USSR Tripartite Pact 1940: agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan, in which Japan recognized the leadership of Germany and Italy in Europe, and Germany and Italy recognized the leadership of Japan in Asia China POLITICAL/SOCIAL ● Second United Front 1936-1946: alliance between the Kuo Minh Tang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai Shek and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) led by Mao Xedong ● Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact 1937: improved relations between the KMT and the USSR, who began sending aircraft to the Chinese national government and economic aid to help slave off Japanese occupation; Chiang Kai Shek hoped that this would be a precursor to Soviet intervention into the war, but realized that the USSR was constricted in what aid it could provide in fear of upsetting the tacit alliance with Britain, France, and later the US, who favored China in the war but would back Japan in order to weaken both and stop communism Soviet Union POLITICAL/SOCIAL ● Nomonhan Incident 1939: Japanese punitive attack failed and Soviet forces wiped out a 200-man Japanese unit, Kwantung army escalated the fighting; coincided with the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact because Stalin wanted to destroy Japan and then manipulate Germany → while Stalin was openly negotiating with Britain and France for a purported anti-Fascist alliance, and secretly negotiating with Hitler for an eventual alliance, he was being attacked by Germany’s ally and anti-Comintern partner, Japan. Stalin wanted the militarist capitalists (Germany, Italy, and Japan) to fight the bourgeois/democratic capitalists (Britain, France, and perhaps US) → ended in ceasefire between Japan and USSR USA ECONOMIC ● Open Door Policy 1899-1900: interest in Chinese market as a sphere of influence in Asia, mandated that China be kept open to trade with all countries on an equal basis, accepted by all countries ● Stimson Doctrine 1932: US would not recognize agreements between Japan and China that threaten trading interests, e.g. Japan’s 21 Demands to China requesting special privileges ● Sanctions and embargoes 1940-1941: ○ oil sanction on Japan disabling long operation in China, Roosevelt freezing of Japanese assets with allies following suit ○ ABCD (America, Britain, China, and Dutch) Encirclement embargoes discouraged Japanese militarism as 80% of Japan’s oil was imported, leading to economic collapse → perceived as aggression by Japan ● Chinese support: increased war credits, extended lend-lease (weapons) ● Hull note 1941: demanded complete withdrawal of Japanese troops from French Indochina Downloaded by Jan K?iklán (kriklanjan@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|1931880 Historiography Marius Jansen Thesis: Japanese expansionism branched from 1918, and Japan was not willing to accept China as a single nation. It saw China as a disunited collection of provinces that could be divided and conquered. William Kirby Thesis: Japanese anger at the perceived betrayals of Britain and the US shaped their diplomatic and military operational thinking. ● Japan did not accept the Wilsonian ideals of national self-determination and saw no reason to revise unequal treaties with China nor honor pre-1912 treaties imposed on China. Burns and Bennet Thesis: Chinese refusal to compromise with Japanese strength was unrealistic and led directly to war as possible diplomatic solutions broke down. Chinese diplomats aimed for complete victory rather than compromising with the Japanese, pursuing a program of public relations that turned world opinion against the Japanese. Akira Iriye Thesis: Japan felt threatened by Western economic protectionism triggered by the Great Depression, driving them to attempt to conquer China by force. Mark Peattie Thesis: Japanese military wanted Manchuria to guarantee Japan’s economic self-sufficiency. ● The invasion of Manchuria in 1931 was led by the Kwantung Army, who were already in Manchuria to protect the Japanese-controlled South Manchurian railroad. ● Kanji Ishiwara, leader of the Kwantung army, wanted autarky for Japan as he was convinced that a war was bound to happen against the Soviet Union and Western powers. ● The invasion of Manchuria was instigated and led by the Kwantung army rather than policy makers in Tokyo. Downloaded by Jan K?iklán (kriklanjan@gmail.com)
