2015 Japanese Acts of Militarism Graphic Organizer for Pair/Triad Note-Taking Activity and Oral Presentations
Act
SinoJapanese
War
Key Characteristics
Though outnumbered, Japan defeated
China with their modern technology
Japan is a major, expanding, and
industrializing nation
Of
1894-1895
Historical Evidence
Cause: Conflict over Korea
China and Japan fight for influence in
Korea
Tonghak rebellion in Korea leads to
Chinese troop intervention-war is
declared
Japan successfully invades vital provinces
and fortifications
Treaty of Shimonseeki ends conflict
Outcomes/Effects
Results: Japan won and increased its
influence in Korea.
Japan also took Taiwan
Lasted just a few months, Japan drove
China out of Korea, destroyed the
Chinese navy, and gained a foothold
in Manchuria
Japan gets first colonies; Japan gets
imperial control of Manchuria
China goes through reform movement as
a result
RussoJapanese
War
Of
The war was developed by the Russia
and Japan, who sought to gain control of
Korea and Manchuria
The Russians viewed the Japanese as
weak or small; and thought that they
would receive an unproblematic victory
1904-1905
Japanese took key hilltop
Russian Propoganda
Causes: 1868: Meiji Restoration,
Reasserted sphere of influence, 1894-95:
Japan defeated China, Russia interfered
over Liaodong Peninsula, Russian Empire
seeking warm-water port, Trans-Siberian
railway, Vladivostok, 1898: Russia forced
China to lease Port Arthur (Lüshun), etc.
Even though the Japanese had a much
smaller army, they were still
victorious toward the end of the war
Battle of Mukden: 270,000 forces each
side, 90,000 Russian casualties, 70,000
Japanese casualties
First Asian victory over European
power, though at great sacrifice
Battle of Tsushima Strait: Japanese fleet
destroys Russian Pacific fleet in two
hours
The Russian underestimated that
strength of the Japanese army,
resulting in Russia losing the war
With the victory, Japan gained
recognition as a major imperial power
Russia forced out of Manchuria and
Korea
Act
Key Characteristics
After defeating Russia, Japan attacked
Annexation
Korea with a vengeance
Of
Korea
1910
Historical Evidence
By 1910, Japan took over, or annexed all of
Korea
Japan then set out on a brutal campaign to
destroy Korean culture, and take over their
businesses and industries
Japanese were repressively, harsh rulers,
forbidding public protests, newspapers and
Korean schools from operating
Japan’s imperialism was an example of
“imperialism at its worst”
Outcomes/Effects
As a result of repeated protests &
demonstrations on the part of
Koreans against Japan, Japan forced
Korea into colonial status, and took
total control of its government and
society from 1910-1945
Japan takes total control over Korea
European nations began to fear
Japan’s growing power and harsh,
repressive rule over Korea
Many didn’t react though due to
their own imperialistic goals and
actions
Role
During
World
War
One
On August 23, 1914, Japan entered
World War I on the side of the Allies
It captured several German-occupied
locations in China and the Pacific
Building on this momentum, Japan
presented the Chinese government with a
secret list of Twenty-One Demands which
would have reduced China to a protectorate
of Japan and reflected Japan’s
determination to dominate East Asia and
served as a basis for future Japanese
pressure on China
The Chinese leaked the note to the British
who spoke up for the Chinese and
prevented complete capitulation, but still
China acquiesced too many of the demands
After World War I, Japan saw itself
as the dominant power in the East
It began to pursue policies that
would increase their territory and
their influence in Asia
Ultimately, these policies would lead
to the outbreak of war in the Pacific
Act
Inter-War
Years
Key Characteristics
Motives for Japanese Expansion:
Economics, Extreme Nationalism, Acts
by Western Powers
1920s-
Historical Evidence
Poor economic times caused by the Great
Depression led people in Japan to blame
their Government for a lack of action and
aid.
Outcomes/Effects
During this time, Military leaders gained
support and began to run Japan behind
Emperor Hirohito as figure head
1930s
Nationalism grew and so did their empire!
Japan’s military leaders looked to solve
their economic problems through
expansion and imperialism
Second
SinoJapanese
War
And
Invasion
Of
Manchuria
1937
In 1931 Japan invaded the northern
area of China, Manchuria, which had
huge deposits of natural resources like
coal
Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 set the
precedence that the Axis drive for empire
would result in intentional targeting of
civilian populations
The League of Nations did nothing
Invasion of Manchuria: After withdrawing
from the League of Nations in 1933, Japan
proceeded to Invade Northern China,
despite their superior numbers, China’s
army was no match for Japan’s forces who
were better trained
Northern cities such as Beijing and
Nanjing were seized and tens of
thousands of captured soldiers,
woman, and children were
slaughtered.
Act
Rape of
Nanjing
And
War
Atrocities
Key Characteristics
After a few years, Japanese forces moved
south and invaded China
Historical Evidence
In 1937, Japanese forces took control of
the then Chinese capital of Nanking
During this invasion they took control of
the Chinese capital, Nanking
Between December 1937 and March
1938, the Japanese brutalized the city’s
residents
Also known as the Manchurian
Incident, it took place on September
1931 near Mukden in southern
Manchuria
A section of railroad owned by Japan
was dynamited
Outcomes/Effects
Japanese soldiers raped as many as
80,000 women, and it is now estimated
that close to 370,000 people died
2/3 of city destroyed because of arson
torched newly built government buildings
and the homes of civilians, soldiers took
valuables and anything they wanted from
the poor and the wealthy, littered the
Yangtze River with bodies, streets were
heaped with bodies so troops could make
their way across the town
They lined people up in rows, threw
gasoline on them and shot them, creating
a big fire
They also froze some of the civilians by
breaking the ice in the river and throwing
them in
Some of the civilians were “baked” by
putting wood under them and letting it
on fire
They threw them into shallow ponds and
threw grenades after them
They poured acid all over people
Scooped out eyes, cut of ears, noses
Act
World
War
Two
Key Characteristics
Japan continued to see the US and
others as a threat to its influence in Asia
and in 1940 the Japanese began
developing plans to destroy the US Navy
in Hawaii
Historical Evidence
On Dec 7, 1941, Japan declares war on the
U.S. by bombing the naval base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. America then declares
war on Japan and enters WWII
Outcomes/Effects
Results of Guadalcanal—8/42-2/43:
First time US land troops defeat
Japanese, Americans are able to secure
the island
Bataan Death March: 12,000 Americans
walked 60 miles to a POW camp, No food
or water, 5,000 die
Results of Iwo Jima: Results: US win,
Provides a link in the chain of bomber
bases, by the war’s end, 2,400 B-29
bombers and 27,000 crewmen made
emergency landings, “4 marines raising
US flag”
Battle of Coral Sea: May 7, 1942, Strategic
Allied victory—halted the Japanese
advance on Australia, First naval battle
carried out entirely by aircraft.
Battle of Midway: June 4-7 1942, 6 months
after Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto seeks to
capture Midway atoll and thus confront
and destroy the US Navy’s carrier forces:
After losing many planes in ineffective
strikes, US dive bombers manage to set
three Japanese carriers on fire
Guadalcanal—8/42-2/43: One of the most
vicious campaigns, Japanese put up a
fierce resistance
Iwo Jima: February-March 1945: Island off
the coast of Japan—Japanese soil, Longest
sustained aerial offensive of the war
Okinawa Island - May 1945
Okinawa Results: Casualties US—
12,500 killed; 36,000 wounded,
Japan—93,000 troops killed; 94,000
civilians killed (many killed
themselves), Kamikazes—suicide pilots,
crashed planes loaded with explosives,
sank 30 US vessels
Japan continued their harsh expansion
through WWII
Following the dropping of the Atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
1945, Japan finally surrendered to the
U.S. (V-J Day)
Marked the end of Japanese
Imperialism and start of American
occupation