Japanese invasion of Manchuria
By the end of the 1920s, 39.4 percent of all colonial financial investments went into Manchuria. This massive economic stake created a fragile dependency for Tokyo. The world financial crisis had left Japan in chronic malaise for three years before the invasion began. Economic desperation drove radical groups within the Army to seek new opportunities abroad. Zhang Xueliang reunited with the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek in 1928. This political shift aroused intense anti-Japanese sentiment among nationalists in the region. Foreign Minister Kijūrō Shidehara pursued a non-interventionist policy that many officers viewed as negative for future interests. Radical military officers including Daisaku Komoto and Suzuki Teiichi planned a coup d'état to seize control of the civil government. They believed taking full control of Manchuria would be in the best interests of Japan.
On the night of the 18th of September, a bomb was placed near the tracks of the South Manchuria Railway at Mukden. Captain Imada Shintaro of the Army Special Service Agency likely planted the explosives. The detonation occurred at around 10:20 pm on September 18. The explosion caused no real damage but served as a pretext for immediate military action. Fighting between Japanese Railway guards and Chinese soldiers ensued shortly after the blast. Within fifteen hours, all important military installations in and about Mukden were completely in the hands of the Japanese army. Colonel Seishirō Itagaki and Lieutenant Colonel Kanji Ishiwara devised the plan to provoke an invasion. They acted in the spirit of the Japanese concept of expansionism. Rumors of a Manchurian expedition began circulating in August before the actual attack took place.
On the early morning of the 19th of September, the 29th Infantry Regiment entered Mukden and overwhelmed resisting Chinese forces. By the end of September 19, the Japanese occupied Yingkou, Liaoyang, Shenyang, Fushun, Dandong, Siping, and Changchun. On September 21, the Japanese captured Jilin City. On the 23rd of September, they took Jiaohe and Dunhua. The Governor of Kirin, Zhang Zuoxiang, was deposed on the 26th of September. A new government friendly to Japan allowed them to occupy Kirin city bloodlessly. General Ma Zhanshan chose to disobey the Kuomintang government's ban on further resistance at Nenjiang Bridge. Despite losing more than 400 men since the 5th of November, he declined a Japanese ultimatum to surrender Qiqihar on November 15. Japanese forces took Harbin on the 4th of February 1932. By the end of February, official Chinese resistance in Manchuria had ended.
At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. After occupying Manchuria, Japan converted Chinese public enterprises into state-owned enterprises of Manchukuo. Secession movements were organized in Japanese-occupied Kirin by General Xi Qia head of the Manchukuo Imperial Army. In early October, General Zhang Haipeng declared his district independent of China in return for military supplies. The last major Chinese regular force in northern Manchuria was led by General Ding Chao who organized the defense of Harbin successfully until the arrival of the Japanese 2nd Division. On the 27th of February 1932, Ding offered to cease hostilities. Approximately 100,000 Chinese students left Manchuria in summer 1932 as a political act intended to demonstrate their unwillingness to live under Japanese occupation.
American historian Louise Young described Japan from September 1931 to spring 1933 as gripped by war fever. The conquest of Manchuria proved to be an extremely popular war among the general public. Mainstream newspapers like the Asahi switched over to an aggressively militaristic editorial position to increase sales. The liberal journal Kaizō criticized the war with journalist Gotō Shinobu in the November 1931 edition. He accused the Kwantung Army of a two-fold coup d'état against both the government in Tokyo and against the government of China. Even Akiko Yosano, Japan's most famous pacifist, wrote a poem in 1932 praising bushidō. She urged the Kwantung Army to smash the sissified dreams of compromise. The Japanese Communist Party denounced the invasion in the Red Flag but launched an anti-war campaign that met with little success.
The League of Nations produced the Lytton Commission headed by British politician Victor Bulwer-Lytton to evaluate the situation. The organization delivered its findings in October 1932. Its recommendations stated that the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo not be recognized. The report also called for the return of Manchuria to Chinese sovereignty. The Japanese government withdrew from the League entirely in response to these findings. The Manchurian Crisis had a significant negative effect on the moral strength and influence of the League of Nations. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were aware of this outcome. They ultimately followed Japan's example in aggression against their neighbors. Italy attacked Abyssinia between 1935 and 1937 while Germany moved against Czechoslovakia and Poland later.
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Common questions
What caused the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931?
Economic desperation and a fragile dependency on colonial financial investments drove radical military groups to seek new opportunities abroad. The world financial crisis left Japan in chronic malaise for three years before the invasion began.
When did the Japanese invasion of Manchuria begin with the Mukden Incident?
The detonation occurred at around 10:20 pm on September 18, which served as a pretext for immediate military action. Fighting between Japanese Railway guards and Chinese soldiers ensued shortly after the blast.
Which cities did the Japanese army occupy during the invasion of Manchuria in 1931?
By the end of September 19, the Japanese occupied Yingkou, Liaoyang, Shenyang, Fushun, Dandong, Siping, and Changchun. On September 21, the Japanese captured Jilin City, and they took Harbin on the 4th of February 1932.
How did the League of Nations respond to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria?
The Lytton Commission delivered its findings in October 1932 stating that the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo not be recognized. The report also called for the return of Manchuria to Chinese sovereignty, leading the Japanese government to withdraw from the League entirely.
What was the public reaction to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria within Japan?
American historian Louise Young described Japan from September 1931 to spring 1933 as gripped by war fever. Mainstream newspapers like the Asahi switched over to an aggressively militaristic editorial position while some pacifists wrote poems praising bushidō.