What were the causes and motives to the aggressive Japanese expansion in the 1930's?

        Therefore the early 1920’s co-operation with Britain and the U. S saw an end to the previous imperial expansion. This co-operation was not with out its faults, after a decade there had become a growing hatred of the West. In 1924 an immigration act was passed which basically banned Japanese emigration to the U. S. The Japanese government saw this as racism and an insult, the Japanese were also angry at the League of Nations for their refusal of a racial equality clause in 1919. This made the Japanese government feel inferior to the western Great Power. However what really scared them was the growing sympathy for China, the new nationalist government worried the Japanese because it was getting so much recognition from the U. S and Britain. It was the Japanese government that together with the two powers recognised the new nationalist government in China. It was a close relationship between the two powers and the Nanking government in China that worried the Japanese, they believed this would jeopardise their position as imperialist leaders in Asia. They believed they would have to give up their influence over Manchuria. It was the growing influence China had on Global economy that drove many Japanese forces to the annexation of Manchuria.

        It was the Great Depression that became the breaking point in the relations between Japan and the west. It was the economic collapse in the States that led them to adopt a policy of economic isolation. This isolation drove Japanese exports to fall by 43% in value during 1929-1931. For Japan this meant thousands lost their jobs in the city and the rural communities were hit as the price of rice and other crops was cut in half. When trade declined and the exports fell dramatically, the gold reserve in Japan started to become instable. This in its turn effected the purchasing power and increasing the unemployment. There were two different theories. One, that the western capitalists had abandoned them through protectionist policies and was treating the Japanese unequally. The second theory was that the western capitalist economic system had been introduced to the Japanese to cause problems such as these. The way out of this economic depression was to create an economic bloc. Exports were the key to stopping the economic crises, exports to China and Manchuria were declining but the exports to the Japanese colonies Taiwan and Korea increased from 18.1 to 23.3 of the total amount of exports. The imports from the same colonies increased from 20 to 27.1% of imports at the same time. This showed the Japanese that expansion would help them against this economical crisis. By expanding Japan would find more raw materials and more new markets. This would, it was believed stop the economical depression and establish a new co-operation with Asia.

        The economical depression also had the effect of destabilising the political system in Japan. It all started on the 14th of November 1930 when a right wing fanatic whom had supported the military gunned down the Japanese Prime Minister Harmaguichi. It was Harmaguichi that supported the London naval disarmament. It was the treatment that the assassin got from media that was remarkable, the treatment was sympathetic and the incident led to numerous other murders. During these murders a secret society called the Cherry Blossom society was formed by business and political there goal was to reform the Japanese society. The Cherry Blossom society formed a coup d’etat in March 1931 but it was foiled due to the lack of support from certain leading politicians.

        The economic depression had caused the disbelief in western ideals, there was a call out for traditional imperialism and the nationalists were very critical of new leadership. The army was to play an important role in the political change. The army’s most immediate problem was that of Manchuria. Manchuria was the lifeline that Japan needed with raw materials and potential markets. During this time the Great powers were giving into China’s demands, so the Japanese felt threatened that there position in Manchuria would brought to a halt. With this problem two senior figures in the Kwantung army decided to take it upon them to start the annexation of Manchuria, these figures where Kanji and Seishiro. To do this they blow up a section of the Japanese owned South Manchurian railway, they blamed it on Chinese force, then they immediately attacked. The army would normally never attempt these, but at the time the Great Depression had weakened the Japanese government. The government could not do anything about this situation because there would be most certainly a coup d’etat. It was the lack of the League of Nations to take action that encouraged the army to set up a puppet government. There was a commission set up to look into the invasion of Manchuria; it was called the Lytton report. It was this report that lead Japan to leave the League of Nations in 1932. It also undermined the whole League of Nations because they did not take any actions against the hostile take over of Manchuria. In 1937 there was a Sino-Japanese war, which also failed to give China any real support from the west.  

        A final and equally important motive to Japanese aggression was the relationship between Japan and Germany. During the 1930’s the Japanese sympathised with Germany and Italy over their resentment of being late into establishing their power and influence. In November 1936 Japan and Germany signed an Anti-Comintern pact, later they were joined by Italy. The increasing nationalism in Japan brought upon an admiration for the Nazi state and its military success. They were also concerned with the influence of the U. S in Europe and the Russian military build-up; this united the Japanese and the Germans. They also signed this deal with Germany, because they were afraid of missing out on an eventual German success.

        Thus in conclusion, Japanese aggression was a motive created by the Great Depression, also a disappointment in the western powers lead to a rally by the military leaders and the right wing groups. Expansion was seen as essential to rescue the Japanese economy from ruin. The improvement of import and export with their colonies lead the Japanese to believe in expansionism. Also the failure of the Japanese government to act brought forth the Kwantung armies force and the failure in the League of Nations. As Japan continued to defy Britain and the U. S by continuing to expand into China it allied itself more and more with Germany and placed itself on a head on collision with the Western Powers, which was to result in war.

                     §By Oliver Wilkins