Japan in WWII Japanese Imperialism Japan had joined

Japan in WWII

Japanese Imperialism �Japan had joined the Allied side of WWI very late in the war and participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Here they proposed a racial equality clause and were rejected � 1924 US passed the Exclusion Act limiting Japanese immigration into the US �Tensions between the Allies and Japan continued to grow throughout the 1930 s

Early Troubles �Between 1928 -1932 Japan experienced a series of crises Falling prices, unemployment, falling exports all led to social unrest � 1931 control slipped away from the government and the army took control and invaded Manchuria �League of Nations condemned the action, but had to power to intervene

Invading Manchuria �Created a puppet state in “Manchukuo” �Japan withdrew from the League of Nations following criticism of the invasion of Manchuria

Sino-Japanese War �Kwantung army invaded China and succeeded in occupying most of the coast �Japanese forces treated civilians brutally

Sino-Japanese War �Chinese Nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party agreed to work together to fight against Japan �China received aid from Western Democracies �Rape of Nanking December 1937 Japanese troops slaughtered an estimated 300, 000 civilians and raped 80, 000 women �War had reached a stalemate by 1940 �Economic sanctions against Japan would change the nature of the war

Japan Continues to Escalate � 1940 Japan occupies French Indochina to block supply lines to China � 1940 Japan signed the Tripartite Pact creating the Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis Strengthened the Anti-Comintern Pact signed in 1936