Reasons that led to the rise of military in Japan by the 1930s

Reasons that led to the rise of military in Japan by the 1930s

In the 1930s , Japan turned to militarism and this led to the overseas expansion of its empire to maintain its economic prosperity. Hence ,it decided to expand into China . This Japanese aggression was brought about due to several reasons.

     1.Rivalry between China and Japan.

In 1931, Chinese troops killed 2 Japanese agents in Manchuria.Japanese soldier retaliated by blowing up a section of the railway in Mukden.The Japanese soldiers blamed the Chinese troops for starting a conflict and taking control of Mukden. The Japanese made use of this incident as an excuse to control the whole of Manchuria.The Japanese troops occupied the whole of Manchuria within 5 months. They proceeded with the Occupation despite objections from the League of Nations. Japan then tried to extend its control over the other parts of China. It fought with China even though there was no official declaration of war. China retaliated by boycotting Japanese goods. In 1937 , the Marco Polo Bridge incident caused full-scale invasion of China. Japanese soldiers at the bridge wanted to enter the city of Wanping . But the Chinese troops refused their entry . This led to the second Sino-Japanese War. This shows that Japanese were aggresive towards China because of their rivalry.

A cartoon showing the rivalry between Japan and China

    2 .  Expansionist policy adopted by Japan

Japan followed an expansionist foreign policy because it needed land for its increasing population and needed raw materials for its industrialized programs.After taking over Manchuria , which was renamed Manchukuo, the Japanese went on to expand further. It aimed to gain control of more and more land , hence continued to invade other parts of China. By 1937 , the Japanese had captured Beijing , Shanghai and Nanjing.

   3 . Weaknesses of the League of Nations

When Japan occupied Manchuria ,  the Japanese were condemned by the League of Nations.A commission led by Lord Lytton , a British , was sent to Manchuria to come up with a proposal. This did not deter Japan from controlling Manchuria . Manchuria was renamed Manchukuo . But the Allied powers did not wan to recognise this state. Japan then pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933. Thus it was clear that the League of Nations was simply incapable of stopping Japan from taking over the other parts of China. In fact , by 1941 , there were around 2 million Japanese troops in China.

 4 . Expansionist policy followed by Japan

The global economic depression had adversely the economic condition in Japan . Hence the desire for expanding its territories was the only solution as these new territories would proved them with raw materials and at the same time , act as captive markets . The rivalry between Japan and China were merely an excuse . Even if the League of Nations had been strong , Japan would have still proceeded on with its expansion in China

 4. Impact of the Great Depression

The Great Depression further worsen the bad economic of Japan. Unemployment was massive. When there are no jobs, there would not be money contributing to the economy, thus led to the increase of prices of food. People then blame the government.Government lost support and people turn to military. Believing that using violence is the only way to solve this matter.