Road to War

Key Terms

• Kōdōha 皇道派
  • Araki Sadao 荒木貞夫
  • Mazaki Jinzaburō 真崎甚三郎
• Tōseiha 統制派 (Control Faction)
  • Tōjō Hideki 東條英機 (1884-1948)
• 2/26 Incident (1936)
• Lytton Commission
• Marco Polo Bridge Incident July 7, 1937
• Nomonhan Incident 1939 (47.773333, 118.756667)
• Konoe Fumimarō 近衛文麿 (1891-1945; PM June 1937 — January 1939, July 1940 — October 1941)

Great Depression and "failure of capitalism"

• Financial turmoil of 1920s
  • 27 bank failures in 1927
• Stock Market crash of 1929
• Coincides with attempt by Minseitō (PM Hamaguchi Osachi) cabinet to return to gold standard
  • Reset yen In 1930
• Severe domestic economic contraction
  • rural cash income fell from an index of 100 in 1926 to 33 in 1931, rose slightly to 44 by 1934
  • exacerbates urban-rural tensions
  • rise in tenancy and abject poverty

Tragedy of Takahashi Korekiyo 高橋是清 (1854-1936) Affiliated with Seiyūkai political party Served as finance minister 1927-29, 1931-36 Promotes aggressive "Keynesian" fiscal stimulus Takes Japan off of the gold standard Yen falls rapidly 1930 ¥100 = $50 1932 Y100 = $26.00 Lower the discount rate -- over about a year from 6.6% to 3.7% -- loose credit to finance recovery Increases gov spending from ¥1.5 billion in 1931 to ¥2.25 billion in 1933 part of this is military spending but a great deal is also village relief -- rural works projects Assassinated in 1936 by militarists

Invasion of Manchuria

Kwantung Army - Guandong Army 関東軍 Means East of Shanhai Pass Established after 1905 to guard South Manchuria Railroad Acts independently of high command in Tokyo Assassination of Zhang Zoulin in 1928 Invasion of Manchuria Rumors of planned invasion spread in 1931 South Manchuria Railroad stock price rises and falls Military high command moves to restrain Kwantung Army Kwantung Army preempts central control Manchuria Incident September 18, 1931 --tries to blow up railroad it is supposed to protect Fails to damage railroad, but uses this as pretext to invade Manchuria take-over Manchuria Troops are moved in Korea without authorization Weak resistance from KMT (Guomindang) 国民党 Weak response International: US "non-recognition" doctrine Domestic: Takahashi, "We opposed the Manchurian incident. But, now that matters have come this far, I think that there is no more use talking about it. But we should not meddle in North China" League of Nations creates Lytton Commission, December 1931 Creation of "puppet state" of Manchukuo in 1932 League of Nations accepts Lytton Commission report in March 1933, recommending non-recogniton of Manchukuo (vote of 42 to 1) Japan quits League

Rivalries with the Army

• Kōdōha 皇道派 (Imperial Way Faction)
  • Araki Sadao 荒木貞夫 (1877-1966)
  • Mazaki Jinzaburō 真崎甚三郎 (1876-1956)
• Tōseiha 統制派 (Control Faction)
  • Tōjō Hideki 東條英機 (1884-1948)
• 2/26 Incident
• Young officers stage attempted coup
• Take-over downtown Tokyo for three days
• Assassinate:
• PM's Okada's brother in law (mistaken identity)
• Takahashi Korekiyo — Former PM and FM
• Adm. Saitō Makoto - Former PM and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
• Watanabe Jōtarō - Inspector General of Military Education
• Araki tries to encourage rebels while sounding neutral
• The purpose of your actions has been reported to His Majesty.
• We recognize that your motives are based on a sincere desire to clarify the national polity.
• The current state of the national polity (including its defilement) is a matter of great regret to us.
• All the Supreme War Councilors have agreed to unite and move forward in accordance with the principles stated above.
• Beyond this everything depends upon His Majesty's will.

The "Master Plan?" and the Tanaka Memorial (1927)

• Is there a "master plan" for aggression?
• Rivalries and events suggest not until 1941
• Serious tensions/contradictions within Japanese strategy
• Fight USSR or not? Ally with Nazi's of not?

National unity efforts

National Mobilization Law of 1938

• Controls on civilian organizations
• Control over consumer commodities
• Control over contracts, prices
• Control over the news media
• Subsidies for war production
• Indemnities for manufacturers for losses caused by mobilization

Konoe Fumumarō as PM (June 1937 – January 1939 and July 1940 October 1941)

Why does China War begin in 1937?

Paradoxical figures:

• Konoe Fumimarō 近衞文麿 1891-1945
• Zhang Xueliang 張學良 1901-2001
• Ishihara Kanji 石原莞爾 (1889-1949)

Irresolution in Tokyo

• Order to mobilize Japanese forces in North China were given and then canceled four times between July 7th and July 27th
• Konoe's "aite ni sezu" January 1938
• Later collaboration with Jiang Jieshi (蔣介石)

Result: China quagmire several years before total war plan

International Agreements

Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936

• Both countries will “to safeguard their common interests” against USSR
• Neither will make political treaties with USSR
• Germany recognizes Machukuo

May - August  1939 – Nomonhan (Khalkhin Gol)

• Kwantung Army escalates firefight despite Tokyo
• Resulting stalemate
• In late August, Zhukov traps, encircles, and crushed Kwantung Army
  • USSR casualties around 8000 dead 15,000 wounded
  • Japanese are same or triple
  • Soviet tanks and planes are better
  • Japanese infantry and armor aren't coordinated
• Truce signed September 15, 1939

Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact in August 23, 1939

• Countries won't attack each for 10 years
• Just before joint Nazi invasion of Poland, September 1, 1939
• USSR invades Poland, September 17 1939

September 1940 Tripartite Pact

• Germany, Italy and Japan together in a formal alliance
• Germany, Italy, and Japan pledged aid to each other should any be attacked by a power not at present involved in the Pacific War (i.e., the United States)

Japanese-Soviet Neutrality Pact of April 1941

• U.S.S.R. pledges to respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of Manchoukuo
• Japan pledges to respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of the Mongolian People's Republic
• Neutrality with respect to new conflicts with third parties

Nazi invasion of USSR in June 1941

• Japan's agreements are in conceptually in conflict
• Arguments in Japan to abrogate treaty in favor of Nazi Germany
• BUT by 1941 US is seen as primary enemy

July 1941 — Japan invades French Indochina

• France was already Vichy
• Japan therefore does NOT expect major US response

US response:

• International oil embargo against Japan
• Freezes Japanese assets in US
  • Japan loses roughly 75% of international trade and >85% of oil
• Below price oil for China
• Japanese oil stockpile will last only one year

Konoe-Roosevelt summit proposal

• Konoe seeks one-on-one with Roosevelt
• US demands Japanese withdrawal from China and Manchukuo
• Japan will only offer to withdraw from Indochina
• US responds with Hull Note