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Japan Expands to Korea
During the late 1800s, Japan industrialized. They became a powerful country. To fuel their industrialization, Japan needed more raw materials. Like European countries and America, Japan expanded and took over other lands in order to get more raw materials. -
Japan Expands Trade and Democracy
During the 1920s, Japan moved toward more widespread democracy. By 1925, all men had the right to vote. Despite greater democracy, powerful business leaders, called the zaibatsu, strongly influenced the government through donations to political parties. They pushed for policies that favored international trade and their own interests. This did not always go over well with America and Europe. Japan limited its navy to make other countries happy. -
Economic Troubles
During the 1920s, tensions between the government and the military simmered not far below the surface. Conservatives, especially military officers, were upset by government corruption, including payoffs by powerful zaibatsu. They also condemned Western influences for undermining basic Japanese values of obedience and respect for authority. A deadly earthquake in 1923 and the Great Depression in 1929 left many Japanese jobless. -
Nationalism Grows
As economic problems worsened, the military and nationalists became more upset with the government. They wanted Japan to become more powerful and were upset that the Japanese government had listened to Western powers and reduced their navy and stopped expanding. Japan had industrialized. They were strong. They did not want to be pushed around by Europe and America. They wanted to be allowed to expand and create colonies just as America and Europe had. -
Taking Over Manchuria
In 1931, a group of Japanese army officers provoked an incident that provided an excuse to seize Manchuria. They set explosives and blew up tracks on a Japanese-owned railroad line. Then they claimed that the Chinese had committed the act. Claiming self-defense, the army attacked Chinese forces. Without consulting their own government, the Japanese military forces conquered all of Manchuria. Japan also ended its naval disarmament agreements with the Western powers. -
Military Takes Control of The Government
Nationalism was taken to the extreme by the end of the 1930s. Emperor Hirohito became the face of the Japanese government, but the military was actually the one making all of the decisions. Western dress and religion were discouraged. Democratic rights were suppressed or ended. To spread its nationalist message, the government used schools to teach students absolute obedience to the emperor and service to the state. Japan invaded China for a second time. -
Entering WW2
Japan expected to complete its conquest of China within a few years. But in 1939, while the two nations were locked in deadly combat, World War II broke out in Europe. That conflict swiftly spread to Asia, where France and Britain had large empires. In 1936, Japan had allied with two aggressive European powers, Germany and Italy. These three powers signed the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, cementing the alliance known as the Axis Powers. This alliance brought Japan into WW2.