Rise of Militarism Japan was an aggressive nation In 1930’s they began a policy of territorial

expansion Not enough land to support it’s growing

population Depended on U.S. and other countries for

essential goods Military leaders resented the dependence

on foreign countries Pushed into mainland Asia

Invasion

Manchuria – Japan needed space and raw materials – Manchuria provided both

September 1931 – Japan invaded Within a few months, Japan had taken

over September 1932 – Japan set up a

puppet government and renamed the region Manchukuo

Reaction

Japan was a member of the League of Nations

League of Nations condemned Japan for its aggression

Japan simply withdrew from the League Argued that its military action was

crucial to its long-term security

The “China Incident” Japan set its sites on China U.S. did not like this – It’s stake in the

Open Door policy was close to $100 million a year

If Japan grew stronger and had more natural resources – they would be able to compete with the U.S. for global trade

U.S. citizens sympathized with the Chinese people

FDR authorized small loans to China to buy military supplies

The “China Incident” 1937 Japan launched a full scale attack

on Shanghai and Nanjing – cities in China

They killed tens of thousands of Chinese civilians

Japanese leaders tried to down play what happened by calling it the “China Incident”

This angered many Americans, however it was nothing more than words

Review

Why did Japan need to expand? Where did they invade and why? How did the U.S. feel about Japanese

expansionism? What was the “China Incident”?