CONFLICT IN THE PACIFIC 1937-1941

SURVEY OF THE STATE AFFAIRS IN THE PACIFIC 1937, INCLUDING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION MANCHURIA AND US ISOLATION

Rise of Japanese Imperialism:

• Many factors helped foster the development of Japanese imperialism. Some main factors include:
- The need for raw materials
- Population pressures
- Fear of western intentions
- Nationalist indoctrination and militarist influence
• 1904 Japan attacked Russia at Port Arthur. Russo-Japanese war ended in a dramatic Japanese victory that both surprised and impressed the west.
• 1915 China rejects Japan’s twenty-one demands – an ultimatum demanding widespread powers to expand Japanese control of Chinese territory and resource and intervene in Chinese affairs.
• Implementation of Open Door Policy – no one nation should seek special treatment for itself at the expense of others.

Twenty-one demands challenged this policy.
• Japan was now the dominant power in East Asia and it had expansionist ambitions.
• Versailles Peace Conference 1919, US President Wilson contested Japan’s claims to the former German territory it had acquired in China and the Pacific
• Japan opposed by the US and Australia when it proposed all members of the League of Nations (LON) support racial equality.
• Compensation with control of several mandates and temporary control of Shandong
• Washington Conference (Nov 1921 – Feb 1922): danger of a naval race developing (seven important agreements) including:
- Five Power Naval Treaty between US, Britain, Japan, France and Italy to limit size of navies. Japan agreed to limit the number of its battleships according to ratio 5:5:3 for the US, Britain and Japan respectively.
- Nine Power Treaty signed by all the nations at the conference, originally respect China’s independence and Open Door Policy
• The non-renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was viewed as an insult in some quarters of Japan. Felt the loss of Shandong; Washington Conference was humiliation at the hands of westerners
• Extreme nationalists within army believed Japan should abandon international system, which was dominated by western powers and pursue own interests through military expansion.

Japanese Internal Developments:

• Japanese politics – right wing
• Violence and assassination became frequent, nationalist/militarist/patriotic groups grew and hoped to achieve a restoration of traditional values
• Widespread corruption

Failure of Japanese Liberalism:

• Japanese imperialism had at first supported the Asian revolutionary movement against the West but this was then developed into the armed forced seeing themselves as the champions of Asia to stop the Western powers and create a Co-Prosperity Sphere.
• Political parties functioning were renowned for their corruption and were continually squabbling. The need for a firm government was obvious
• These ‘patriots’ believed that the solution for a weak, political system run by corrupt, squabbling politicians was a loyal, militarist regime guided by the high-minded principles of nationalism, obedience and honour.
• The solution for a depressed economy, in which living standards were plummeting, was a strong militarist regime that would champion the farmer and secure Japan’s economic interests abroad by means of an overtly imperialist policy.

Rise in Japanese Militarism in the 1930s:

• Manchuria
- Northern province of China, occupied by Russia after the Boxer uprising of 1900
- After Russo-Japanese war 1905. Manchuria retuned to Chinese control
- Japanese consolidated their position in Manchuria with the twenty-one demands of 1915 and established significant investments in the area in industrial plants, mines and railways
• Mukden bomb incident
- 18 Sept 1931, middle-grade officers of the Kwantung Army had a section of the Japanese-owned southern Manchurian Railway blown up.
- Chinese were blamed for the incident and the Kwantung Army used it as an excuse to take over the whole of Manchuria.
- Japan placed the last Emperor of China as the puppet Emperor of the new nation of Manchukuo in September 1931. This gave the Japanese further living space and resources, but raw materials proved to be of poor quality.
- China appealed to the LON for assistance; demanded Japan cease operations in Manchuria, Japanese military ignored this demand and civilian government in Tokyo was powerless to act to restrain the Kwantung army conducting own foreign policy

Effects of Manchurian Incident:

• Invasion of Manchuria and subsequent inability of LON to discipline Japan had enormous ramifications both inside Japan and throughout the world
• Wave of patriotism
• Japanese politics now shifted to the right as extremist groups gained further ground.
• Feb 1932 young bloody extremists from League of Blood assassinated Prime Minister Inukai. Assassination virtually ended party governments, as the army would not supply a minister of war if a party leader headed the government. “acting in the name of patriotism…political parties were betraying the true interests of Japan.”
• Leaders of army did not believe in the actions of the young officers but used the circumstances to achieve further political reform to their own advantage
• BY invading Manchuria, Japan broke numerous international agreements, Nine Power Treaty and League Of Nations (LON) Covenant member nations would not resort to aggression in international disputes
• LON only offered mild criticism of Japan’s invasion, March 1933 Japanese resigned from LON.
• Dec 1934 – Japan would no longer abide by the Naval restrictions of the Washington Conference
• Japan now turned away from internationalism and embraced a policy of aggressive expansion

Expansion of Militarism (Army Uprising):

• Within army, feelings of arrogance and pride swept through officer ranks.
• Growing contempt for politicians, some officers began to see political assassination as a logical means of getting rid of them
• PM Inukai’s assassination 1932: 20 army and navy officers who immediately gave themselves up to the police after the killing, portrayed as national heroes and were given light sentences
• Army emerged as a strong political force, gained support of bureaucracy
• Mid-1930s two maries had emerged based around two factions:
- Toseiha (Control Faction): fully mechanised force, conservative modernisers, disliked the radicalism and insubordination of the junior officers, larger and less radical, wished to maintain friendly relations with Soviet Union and make China the target
- Kodoha (imperial way faction): spiritual power of the Emperor’s army was its true source of strength, backed activist officers in the field, ore influential 1932-1934 and more radical, saw war with Soviets more like and not south of Great Wall

February 26 Incident:

• 1500 soldiers, led by junior officers from Kohoda, stayed a coup attempt. Seized the Diet building and several others, and attempted a wholesale massacre of the cabinet. Only 3 ministers died.
• Conspirators declared loyalty to the Emperor, but Hirohito entered into the incident stating that the revels must be crushed within the hour.
• Greater military influence began to infiltrate civilian political life. More military personnel were appointed to the Cabinet and this had a great influence on defence spending.

US Influence in Asia/Pacific:

Manifest Destiny -
- Manifest Destiny said it was America’s obvious destiny to rule the entire North American continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
- IT was an idea that grew out of America’s confidence in the superiority of their democratic society
- Momentum of Manifest Destiny took America beyond the continent of North America
- While consolidating its position in North America, US was rapidly emerging as a Pacific Ocean Power
• Significant events in this development included:
- Commodore Perry’s expeditions to Japan 1853 and 1854, purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, formal annexation of Hawaii in 1898 after a long period of US domination, transfer of the Philippines from Spanish to American control, occupation of islands (i.e. Midway, Guam and Wake)
• All these territories gave US a strong strategic position in the Pacific Ocean and provided a series of stopover bases for the long journey between America and China
• US developed strong interest in China in 19th Century Motivated by mixture of self interest and idealism
• 1894 – US Secretary of State, John Hay, called Open Door Policy in China
• Various colonial powers could not stop other countries from trading in their spheres of interests
• Open Door Policy in China would favour USA because its economic strength would allow it to dominate in a free trade environment
• America’s Open Door Policy called upon other nations to respect China’s independence

US Isolationism:

• Refused involvement in European Conflict or power struggles
• ‘we seek no part in directing the destines of the world.” – Warren Harding
• America should not again be drawn into conflict
• Isolationism refers to a policy of avoiding alliances or any involvement with other nations

Neutrality Acts (1935-1937):

• Authorised the President to declare an embargo of up to six months on arms shipments to any nation where a state of war existed
• Also ban any American citizen from travelling to warring countries except at their own risk.
• 1936 this act was extended by adding loans and credits to the banned list
• 1937 Congress extended the Act as a result of the Spanish Civil War; President could determine when a state of war existed or a civil war threatened peace
• Belligerents could only purchase non-military goods and they had to pay cash and transport the goods themselves – cash and carry.
• Such an action avoided the US exposing itself to unrestricted submarine warfare, a reason for American entry into WWI

Losing Influence in the Pacific:

• Japan’s expanding navy after leaving Five Power Naval Treaty in 1936
• Britain and France Germany and Italy; too ill-prepared to worry about potential threat in Asia

Territorial Concessions:

• Japanese: Manchuria, Mariana, Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, Korea Formosa
• American: Philippines, Midway, Hawaii Wake, Guam
• British: India, Burma, Malava
• French: French Indo-China

JAPANESE MILITARISM 1937-1941 AND US, BRITISH RESPONSES TO IT

Invasion of China and beginning of Sino-Japanese War (July 1937):

• 7 July 1937, the army once again took control of affairs after failing to control events when fighting accidentally took place between Chinese and Japanese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge outside Peking.
• When Japanese insisted on being admitted to the town to find the Chinese said to be responsible for opening fire, the garrison refused them entry. The Japanese brought up artillery and the fighting gradually spread to Peking and Tientsin, which were occupied by early August.

Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre:

• Dec 13 1937: 50 000 massacred in an attempt to escape, refugees trying to cross Yangtze River. Trapped in the east bank because of no transportation. Japanese arrived and shot at the people on the shore and in the river
• Dec 13th 1937: more than 100000 refugees or injured Chinese soldiers; tanks and artillery entered the city and killing people continued, dead bodies covered the two major streets; ‘streets of blood’ as a result of the two day annihilation
• Dec 17th 1937: Japanese arrested anybody who was suspected to be a Chinese soldier. Captives were shot by machine guns, those still alive were bayoneted; Japanese poured gasoline onto captives and burnt them; poison gas was used, invented and exercised inhumane and barbaric methods of killing (shooting, stabbing, cutting open the abdomen…), rampant raping (over 20 000 in 6 weeks), looting & burning.

The New Order in East Asia:

• November 1938: Japanese government led by Prince Konoe issued a declaration which sought to justify Japan’s aggression in China; free the east of Western imperialist
• “In this lies the ultimate purpose of our present military campaign. This new order has for its foundation a tripartite relationship with mutual aid and co-ordination between Japan, Manchuria and China’s political, economic, cultural and other fields.”
• What Japan desires of China is that that country will share the task of bring about this new order in East Asia

Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere:

• August 1940: self sufficient and mutually beneficial economic community. Would be a Japanese controlled political and economic grouping which would be organised to supply the raw materials that Japan needed and to take exports in return.

US Response:

• Refusal to call Sino-Japanese conflict a war because this would have stopped the US supplying China with war materials under the Neutrality Laws. Loans were given to China via the Import-Export Bank
• The US viewed Japanese expansion with alarm; Secretary of Sate Cordell Hull made it clear that ‘relations could not improve unless Japan completely changed her attitude and practice towards our rights and interests in China.”
• Throughout 1939-1940, US kept ‘the door open’ for talks, Japanese saw this action of compromise as weakness and as the US’s unwillingness to fight

British Response:

• Britain was concerned to avoid causing further friction with Japan
• June 1940 the Japanese demanded that Britain close the Burma Road supply route to China; US would not help them if British refused.

Japanese Occupation of Indochina (1940-1941):

• July 1940: demands to construct airfields in northern Indochina from puppet govt. Vichy France
• July 25th: US embargo on aviation fuel exports to Japan
• August 1940: granted Japan economic concessions and use of military facilities in north
• July 1941: invaded southern Indochina
• Seen as first step in planned policy of aggression
• Response: US economic embargoes and supplying Chiang Kai-shek with money/supplies in the hope that an offensive from him would keep the Japanese fully occupied n China and unable to expand elsewhere.
- By August 1941; oil imports reduced by 90% after British & Dutch adopt similar measures


STRATEGIC AND POLITICAL REASONS FOR BOMBING PEARL HARBOUR

Political reasons:

• Japanese ‘war faction’ led by General Tojo; did not favour negotiations
• Talks in Washington were useless for the aims of the two parties were almost diametrically opposed. Japan wanted America to abandon all support of the Chinese government and in return Japan would consider withdrawing from the Axis Pact. America distrusted the Japanese and wanted then to withdraw from Indochina and China.
• US feared a ‘Munich’ and hence apprehensive in negotiations
• Underestimation of the Japanese - belief that they could be easily beaten even if economic sanctions failed

Strategic Reasons:

• Successful attack on Pearl Harbor would delay American entry in a Pacific War for two years; would be in a position of strength as they would also hold the lands of Southeast Asia and the Americans would be able to do little, therefore = negotiations. US would recover but by then Japan would have acquired enough land US would accept a peace offer to avoid costly confrontation
• As they were being denied all vital resources, they needed resources that could be found down south in S.E Asia (Malay for rubber and Dutch East Indies for oil) embargoes only left two potions: losing face and withdraw from China or find resources to continue the war.
• A restoration of pride from the people in the navy, similar to their naval victory against a Russia in 1904.
• Reaffirm the racial pride of the Japanese and demonstrate the vulnerability of the West
• With Britain, France and the Netherlands greatly weakened as a result of the war in Europe, the American fleet was the only obstacle to Japan’s expansion. With the American leet destroyed, Japan could quickly overtake this region
• America would recover but by the time it did, Japanese army - navy would have established a defence perimeter of naval and air bases to protect its vast territory.