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The Covenant of The League of Nations (A)
In 1919 the League of Nations created the Covenant. This Covenant was supposed to be the framework for worldwide security and peace and to stop war from being a means of responding to conflict. World War 1 had recently ended and had a devastating impact on the world, so the Covenant was created in order to stop another catastrophic war from happening. At the time, this Covenant was a good step towards worldwide security, however the League of Nations' inability to use the Covenant when needed - -
The Covenant of The League of Nations (B)
meant that the Covenant became useless for its own purpose. This inability to use the Covenant in the future, for example against the Japanese in Manchuria, showed the weakness of the League of Nations. -
The Washington Naval Conference (A)
The Washington Naval Conference was meant to limit the naval arms race of the participating countries (USA, Britain, Japan, etc). These countries had recently been in World War 1, and didn't intend to have another war similar to it. So, they came up with the 5:5:3 ratio in order to limit the amount of naval power they could each have. Britain and the US had the 5 in the ratio, while Japan was left with the 3. The Japanese could've seen this act as a way the Western powers were trying to limit - -
The Washington Naval Conference (B)
their military growth. Because of this detail of the ratio, the Japanese also might've taken this act as one of aggression against the Japanese. This possibly caused more fear of Western domination, as they literally were given limited power by Western powers compared to the power the Western powers held over Japan. -
The National Origins Act of 1924
The National Origins Act of 1924 severely discriminated against Asian and Japanese immigrants to the US. The National Origins Act was passed due to the nativist sentiment and influence that the US was under at this time. The National Origins Act prevented Asian immigration into the US, which could be seen by Japan as an act of aggression towards its citizens and also the country itself. This act of aggression towards Japan gave the Japanese more reason to be afraid of western domination. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact (A)
The Kellogg-Briand pact was passed by the League of Nations in 1928. Because of the devastation World War 1 had caused, many countries wanted measures to prevent a catastrophic war similar to it to ever happen again. So, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was approved in order to prevent the use of war as a means of national policy. Although it was a good way to renounce war, later in the timeline we will see because of the League of Nations' weakness to enforce it on Japan, Japan will be able to expand - -
Kellogg-Briand Pact (B)
further into Manchuria and China with little resistance from the League of Nations. -
The Assassination of Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi (A)
In 1930, Hamaguchi Osachi was assassinated by an ultranationalist Japanese man. During this time, the depression was going on in Japan, and many people were unhappy with the current government's response to the depression. This assassination started the term "government by assassination" where many prominent Japanese politicians were assassinated by ultranationalists. This unrest led to the rise of the military in politics, as the ultranationalists backed the military-influenced government- -
The Assassination of Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi (B)
rather than the current democratic parliamentary-style government. Therefore, because of this event, the Japanese military began having more effect on the politics and government of Japan. -
The Lytton Commission Report (B)
League of Nations in protest and didn't do anything the Lytton Commission asked of them. Instead of placing embargos or taking action against the Japanese, many nations of the League like France and Britain did very little to actually stop the Japanese aggression towards Manchuria. This ineffective response to the Japanese aggression towards Manchuria showed the weakness of the League of Nations. -
The Lytton Commission Report (A)
The Lytton Commission Report was sent by the League of Nations to Manchuria to assess if Japan's entry and control into Manchuria were going against the League of Nations covenant or any other League of Nations pacts. During this time, the Japanese had just begun their occupation of Manchuria against the wishes of China. The report said the Japanese takeover of Manchuria was unjustifiable and that Japan should withdraw their troops from Manchuria. Instead, in 1933, Japan withdrew from the - -
Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi Is Assassinated (A)
In 1932, Japanese PM Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated by 11 naval officers. During this period, the Depression was ravaging through Japan and caused many civilians but also military personnel to believe their Zaibatsu-Capitalistic and democratic parliamentary government was becoming incompetent. So, 11 "death-bands" or Japanese ultranationalists assassinated PM Inukai to show their unhappiness with the government. This event shows that the Japanese were becoming increasingly unhappy with their- -
Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi Is Assassinated (B)
government, which allowed the military to become more and more popular politically, and eventually would cause the Japanese government to be controlled by the military and resort to militarism -
Manchuria Becomes Manchukuo
Manchuria is officially taken by Japan, as it is renamed Manchukuo by the Japanese and seen as a Japanese puppet state because of their strong military control over the area and government. At the time, the Kwantung Army had been in Manchuria for a long time trying to gain control over the area like with the Mukden Incident in 1931 but finally gained total control in 1932. This Japanese aggression towards Manchuria showed Japan's desire for Asian domination and their conquest for more resources. -
Kodoha Faction Attempted Coup In Tokyo (A)
In 1936, the Kodoha attempt to overthrow the government by taking over Tokyo. During this time, the power of the military in Japanese politics was on the rise due to many Japanese citizens and military members believing the current government was incompetent because of their inability to deal with the economic depression. So, 2 political-military factions were on the rise, the Toseiha and Kodoha. However, the Kodoha were soon shunned and discredited because of this coup, as their coup quickly- -
Kodoha Faction Attempted Coup In Tokyo (B)
was quickly taken care of. This event is significant because it led to the Toseiha being in full control of the Japanese government and therefore increased the Japanese miltary's influence over the government -
The Second Sino-Japanese War
In 1937, due to the Marco Polo Bridge incident, when the Japanese assaulted an important access point to Beijing, it started the Second Sino-Japanese War. During this time, the Japanese were occupying Manchukuo and continued to show aggression towards the Chinese. The Sino-Japanese War represented the Japanese desire to not only control Manchuria, but also the Chinese mainland. This Japanese aggression showed their desire to control China, but also continue to show their desire to dominate Asia. -
The New Order of East Asia (A)
In 1938, the Japanese announced their New Order of East Asia, which Japan would use to gain the main trade control over Asia instead of the Western countries. During this time, Japan was increasing its aggression into Asia, from Manchuria to the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan was increasingly getting more aggressive towards Asia. Before the New Order, the US had not gotten involved with the Japanese aggression in Asia. However, once the Japanese announced their New Order and the US realized - -
The New Order of East Asia (B)
their trade with Asia would be interfered with, they began aiding China against the Japanese by sending 25 million dollars in oil to Japan. The New Order of East Asia can be seen as a reason the US would place the oil embargo of 1941 on Japan, as the US began to realize how big of a threat the Japanese were becoming to the US. -
Tripartite Pact (A)
The Tripartite Pact was a pact that created an alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan. During this time, the Japanese were continuing the conquest to dominate Asia through China and their control of trade over Asia. Now that the US was beginning to cut ties with Japan, the Japanese realized they needed other countries to support their needs to control Asia, and with this alliance, they could continue to control Asia but be protected from the US. Because of this pact, the US grew more - -
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (A)
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept the Japanese imposed on Asia in 1940. The idea of this concept was to help Asian countries become economically self-sufficient from the Western Powers and to be led by Japan. However, this concept was also seen as a way Japan would try to become the main economic power in Asia and get rid of any Western competition in Asia. During this time, the Japanese were rampaging through China in the Sino-Japanese War on their conquest to - -
Tripartite Pact (B)
concerned of the growing Japanese power in Asia. This pact could also be seen as one of the reasons behind the US's oil embargo in 1941 -
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (B)
dominate Asia. In light of GEAC, the US could see it as a way Japan was trying to shut the US trade out of Asia. Therefore, this event can be seen as a reason to why the US would place an oil embargo on the Japanese in 1941 -
Japanese Invasion of French Indochina (A)
The Japanese Invasion of French Indochina was the first Japanese invasion outside of Manchuria and mainland China. During this time, the Sino-Japanese War was going on and meant the Japanese were all-in in their conquest of Asian dominance. Because this was the first Japanese invasion outside of China and against the French, it meant the Japanese didn't care about the consequences from the Western Powers, instead, they were fully focused on their goal of Asian dominance. - -
The Hull-Nomura Talks (B)
well, both the US and Japan's positions on their demands were too rigid to come up with a final peace deal. The US demand that Japan leave China and Indochina were too much for the Japanese, as the Japanese were only willing to leave Indochina. This demand specifically to leave China as well as Indochina could be seen by the Japanese as a way for the US to gain power of Japan. Therefore, it could be seen as a way the Japanese feared Western domination. -
Japanese Invasion of French Indochina (B)
Therefore, this invasion signified the Japanese desire for Asian dominance. -
The Hull-Nomura Talks (A)
The Hull-Nomura talks were discussions between the US and Japan. The demands of the US were for the Japanese to stop their conquest for Asian dominance by getting out of China and Indochina. In return, the US would lift the oil and other trade embargoes that they had placed on Japan. During this time, the Japanese were engaged in the Sino-Japanese War and had also just engaged in the invasion of French Indochina, showing their intentions to dominate Asia. Although the talks could've gone -