Japan has been a nation which has played an important part in formulating the Asian history. It has been a part of a number of historic events and occurrences and have also been active in treaties and wars. In this research paper the study will be focused on the history of Japan and the forces which led to the aggression in mainland China. The analysis will be done on the whether the Meiji settlement had led to the inheritance of militants in Japan. Further, there was an abrupt change in the policies of Japan after 1931. In addition to this the political social and economic forces during those times will be discussed.

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History of Japan
History of Japan
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History of Japan
History of Japan
Introduction
Japan has been a nation which has played an important part in formulating the Asian history. It
has been a part of a number of historic events and occurrences and have also been active in
treaties and wars. In this research paper the study will be focused on the history of Japan and the
forces which led to the aggression in mainland China. The analysis will be done on the whether
the Meiji settlement had led to the inheritance of militants in Japan. Further, there was an abrupt
change in the policies of Japan after 1931. In addition to this the political social and economic
forces during those times will be discussed.
Political and social factors
After the World War 1, there were a number of changes in the political and social consequences
of Japan. Though, being a good neighbor in the initial times. In the year 1920, Japan was one of
the good neighbors in the western Pacific region. It was involving itself in a large number of
treaties. The nation was involving more and more in the treaties and had aligned itself for the
preservation of peace. The extremist element which were present in the government of Japan,
had never renounced to the use force for the purpose of expanding of the army in the Japanese
territory. But, towards the end of 1920’s, there was a combination of different kinds of
economic, social and political factors which played the nation in the hands of the militarist. After

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History of Japan
the World War 1, there had been a dramatic expansion of the Japanese industry in order to fill
the gap of the European industries (Young, 1997). Between 1918 and 1930, there was a great
increase in the population of Japan. This led to the consumption of the natural resources in the
nation. In order to help the rising population, food items were imported from the nations such as
United States. Also, the nation tried to solve the problem by supporting immigration to the
nations such as US. But, during the same time, it face resistance from Americans who had the
fear of losing their jobs to the cheap labor. When the emperor Hirohito was ascended to the
throne in the year 1926, Japan was enveloped in the struggle between the liberals. Thus due to
the economic effect of Japan, the troops were forced to march into China.
The rise of the domestic crises during the times of 1931 was another major reason for the
movement to mainland China. Because of the great depression there was a huge economic
collapse in the nation. Because of the great depression there was a hike in the prices,
unemployment, falling of the exports and social unrest among the people. During the times of
November 1930, the then Prime Minister was shot dead by the ultra-nationalist. Because of the
same there was an overall shift in the controls, from the civilian government which included an
army which acted in an independent manner in order to invade Manchuria.
Also, the powerlessness of the government of Japan was another reason which prevented from
the happenings related to the military. The actions of the Guandong’s army was condemned and
it enjoyed a lot of popularity back home.
Forces that led to the aggression of Japan in mainland China
Thus, the problem wasn’t resolved yet. In order to solve this problem Japan looked towards the
mainland China as an area to expand its military and to provide an ideal solution for the military.

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History of Japan
After the 1920’s, the militarist view had changed in Japan. The nation wanted to create a source
for getting raw materials and to ensure proper food to its population. The international reactions
were extremely negative to the incident.
The militarists of Japan proposed the government about the proposals related to the military
aggression against China. But, these were turned down by the civilian government. During the
times, the military of Japan became more and more distrustful from the civilian government.
After the Washington Naval conference in Japan, a smaller naval tonnage was allocated to Japan
in comparison to Great Britain and United States. The military officers observed the same as the
humiliation for Japan. After the 1925, Kato government cut the Japanese army in order to control
the budgets. Japan had a massive interest in the commercial processes in China and had
significant influence in the politics. The militants also demanded action by the imperial block in
order to block the nationalist movement in China. After this the Prime Minister, Tanaka
responded by sending the Japanese troops to China (High, 2003).
During the same times, great depression had impacted the economy of Japan, which further
expanded the commercial interest of Japan who were now willing to be under threat from
Chinese Nationalists.
Settlement of Meiji in Japan
The Meiji government settled in Japan after the year 1929. They combined the traditional
Japanese militarists along with their own imperial government which further increased the
difficulties for the moderates, the parliament (diet) and the armed services. A number of
bureaucrats, politicians and armed servicemen in Japan were disregarded for their national
interest. They had opposed to the increase of the military expansion in Japan. But, by 1930, the

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History of Japan
views of Meiji were becoming more and more significant. Because of the increase in the
parliamentary collation in Japan, the impact of some of the big business people and others was
more or less active.
After the Meiji settlement, Japanese militarists again dominated the government and in
September 1931, a bomb was exploded in the Manchuria Railway station. Chinese terrorists
were blamed for the same. After this, the militarists did not wait for the government approval and
marched directly in Japan (Ienaga, 1993). They, proclaimed the need to save the lives of the
Japanese people and undertook the full conquest on the Chinese Manchuria. After the conquest,
it was converted from a Chinese region to a mere puppet of Japan state named as Manchukuo in
1932. After this, the last emperor of China, Henry Pu Yi, agreed to be enthroned as the emperor
of Manchuria and agreed for the rule of the Kwantung army.
After the capture on the Manchuria, Japanese armies moved further and occupied the northern
part of China which was adjoining Manchuria. The troops of Japan had been successful in
occupying the northern Jehol province. Though they did not advanced further and to Peking, the
then Capital of China after the creation of truce. Under this, the Chinese troops were banned
from the areas in the northern China by occupying the armies of Japan. In the year, 1933, the
Jehol province was completely occupied by the militarists and was added to the puppet state
Manchukuo.
As a result of the same, there was the death of around 10000 soldiers in 13 trains which were
escorted by the squadron of bombers. Because of these operations the forces had advanced to 30
kilometers to Chinchow. After this, there was the cancellation of Japanese War Minister because
of the acceptance of the modified form of League of Nations. This also led to the establishment

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History of Japan
of a buffer zone. In addition to the southern Manchuria, the Japanese was turned towards the
northern part of Manchuria.
After the 1931 incident in Manchuria, there was an overall takeover of the Japanese Government.
After this the Japanese forces also marched to Shanghai in 1932 because of the resistance of
Chinese government in Manchuria. Because of the resistance in Shanghai, there was an
undeclared war like situations in Manchuria. After the settlement of the truce, there was the
establishment of Manchukuo.
Effects of the war in 1931
Because of the war and the conquest of Manchuria, there were several impacts on the
international level. Because, of the crises in Manchuria, there was a significant negative impact
of the moral strength and the influence which was possessed by the League of Nations. It was
stated that the league did not possess any power and was completely powerless as it was the part
of the aggressive policy against other nations and allowed the Japan to commit such blatant
aggression without having any serious consequences (Wilson, 2003).
Though the Japan withdrew from the League of Nations. They also concluded that the Imperial
army of Japan after this incident, could not be regarded as an incident related to legitimate self-
defense. It was also stated that the formation of new state would not have been formed without
the presence of the troops of Japan. Thus, it was concluded that there was no general support
from the Chinese troops (Yasuba, 1996). Hence this movement was considered to be something
which is not genuine. This had also led to the assassination of the Prime Minister of Japan.

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Around 1500 troops went on the rampage because of the assassination against the former prime
ministers and the other members of the cabinet.
Conclusion
There were a number of political, economic and social conditions which has led to the
advancement of Japanese troops in mainland China. The settlement of Meiji was something
which also helped to the advancement. There were a large number of impacts of this war and the
attack on China was not considered as a very positive initiative. In the research paper, the
economic, social and political conditions which led to the advancement of the troops of Japan in
mainland China has been discussed.
References
Young, L. (1997). Japan's total empire: Manchuria and the culture of wartime imperialism (Vol.
8). Univ of California Press.
High, P. B. (2003). The Imperial screen: Japanese film culture in the Fifteen years' war, 1931-
1945. Univ of Wisconsin Press.
Ienaga, S. (1993). The glorification of war in Japanese education.International Security, 113-
133.
Yasuba, Y. (1996). Did Japan Ever Suffer from a Shortage of Natural Resources Before World
War II?. The Journal of Economic History, 56(03), 543-560.
Wilson, S. (2003). The Manchurian crisis and Japanese society, 1931-33. Routledge.