MILITARISM AND WORLD WAR II

HISTORY POLITICS RELIGION History Overview Early Japan Nara, Heian Periods Kamakura Period Muromachi Period Azuchi, Momoyama Edo Period Meiji Era Post War Atomic Bomb

During the era of the weak emperor Taisho (1912-26), the political power gradually shifted from the oligarchic clique (genro) to the parliament and the democratic parties. In the First World War, Japan joined the allied powers, but played only a minor role in fighting against German colonial forces in East Asia. After the war, Japan's economical situation worsened. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the worldwide depression of 1929 intensified the crisis. Territorial expansion seemed to be the most promising solution to Japan's problems; after all, the Western nations also owned colonies all over the world. During the 1930s the military established almost complete control over the government, while, on the other hand, keeping itself independent from it. Many political enemies were assassinated, and communists persecuted. Indoctrination and censorship in education and media were further intensified. Navy and army officers soon occupied most of the important offices, including the one of the prime minister. China was the target of the Japanese expansion plans. Already earlier, the Japanese had forced China into unequal economical and political treaties; furthermore, many Japanese emigrated to China, especially Manchuria. In 1931, the Japanese army occupied Manchuria, and in the following year, 'Manchuko' was declared a Japanese protectorate. In the same year, the Japanese air force bombarded Shanghai in order to protect Japanese residents from anti-Japanese movements. In 1933, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations since she was heavily critisized for her actions in China. In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out. A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by the Japanese army which acted rather independently from a more moderate government. The Japanese forces succeeded in occupying the whole coast of China and commited severe war atrocities on the Chinese population, especially during the fall of the capital Nanking. The Chinese government, however, never surrendered completely, and the war continued on a low scale until 1945. Japan's next step was the expansion to the South and the establishment of the "Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" which included the liberation of the South East Asian countries from European colonial powers. In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) and joined the Axis powers Germany and Italy. These actions intensified Japan's conflict with the US and Great Britain which reacted with an oil boycott. Due to the resulting oil shortage, Japan decided to plan the capturing of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) which were rich of oil recources, and, therefore, to risk a war with the US and Great Britain. In December 1941, Japan attacked the USA at Pearl Harbour and was able to expand her control over a huge territory that expanded to the border of India in the West and New Guinea in the South within the following six months. The turning point in the Pacific War was the battle of Midway in June 1942. After deciphering Japanese messages, the US forces were able to defeat the Japanese heavily. From this point on, the allies slowly won back all the territories occupied by the Japanese. In 1944, intensive air raids over Japan started, and the Japanese desperately launched suicide air attacks (Kamikaze) on allied positions. The last fights took place in Okinawa in 1945. On July 27, 1945, the Allied powers requested Japan in the Potsdam Declaration to surrender, or, they warned, destruction would continue. Nevertheless, the military officials did not think about surrendering, partially even after the US air force dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, and the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan on August 8. On August 14, however, the more moderate emperor Hirohito finally decided in favor of the unconditional surrender of his country.

WORLD WAR II WWW Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre A site with much resources about the Japanese war atrocities and links to other pages. The Attack on Pearl Harbour (Michael Portillo's Fabulous Web Page) About Pearl Harbour. Battle of Midway (Grolier Online) About the battle of Midway. The Fall of Singapore (National Computer Board, Singapore) About the fall of Singapore. See the special Page about the atomic bombs. No links yet.