The Impact of the Manchurian Incident to Japan during the Taisho Period
As World War 1 came to a close, the world's prevailing superpowers took their seats. At the Paris Peace Conference to divvy up the bloody proceeds of their nationalistic fervor. Sharing in hearty laughter. And the sippings of grandeur French-made champagne, the young Japanese empire. A new member of the transnational community, joins in on. The rich imperialist bounty of the world's first international bloodbath. The biting topic in question is not the unfolding of the world's first unsparing global conflict. But rather how each player sitting within the du jour halls of Versailles entered. Into the blood-stained battlefield, displaying their nation's pride, greed and, insecurities.
It is important to consider such gruesome details. As many of the nationalistic "empires" involved within the world's bloodier battles shared. A larger role in debating diplomacy, writing history and shaping the modern global community. This essay will discuss one of the world events that took place during the 19th century. That lead to Japan's emergence as a global militarized superpower. The Manchurian Incident. I will first briefly discuss what the Manchurian Incident was and will then transition into. An analysis of what this event meant to Japan at the time.
The Meiji period marks a pivotal time for the Japanese Empire as it enters into the 19th century as a nation marked by the imperialistic ideology of militarism. Consumed by the ideas that it must prove itself to its newly made Imperialist friends and protect its sovereign territories in China and Russia, following the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, Japan had begun to rule with the understanding that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation. (Sewell 216).
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Japanese militarism had become more pronounced following the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, as the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, granting Japan the lease of the South Manchuria Railway branch of the China Far East Railway (Duus and Hall 294). Believing that a conflict in Manchuria would be in Japan's best interests, Kwantung Army Colonel Seishiro Itagaki and Lieutenant Colonel Kanji Ishiwara had devised a plan to prompt a Japanese invasion of Manchuria (Spiller 315). An invasion would be incited through the provocation of nearby Chinese forces, but due to anti-militarist opposition, this was an inefficient approach, instead sabotage seemed more appropriate (Taylor 93).
The new plan was to frame nearby Chinese troops, by staging an explosion near priority targets on the Japanese rail, inciting a radical response from the Japanese government (Behr 180). At 10:20 PM on September 18th of 1931, an explosion was felt along the Liutiao Ditch causing minor damage to one side of a 1.5 meter section of railing (Behr 181). Only a day later, the Japanese military incited war crimes by responding with the artillery shelling of nearby Chinese troops and then invading Manchuria with 500 combat-ready infantry, violating the Treaty of Versailles, calling for war with China and ultimately, eliciting a slaughter in the Far East (Wilson 508).
An investigation had occurred shortly after the invasion, led by constituents of the League of Nations (Ferrell 67-68). The concluding report, written by the Lytton Commission, split the blame for the conflict on both Chinese nationalism as well as Japanese militarism; when introduced within the League Council, Japan had made a bold statement, by walking out and vowing to never return, thus breaking the Nine-Power Treaty and proving Japan's new identity as a war power (Ferrell 67). Thus the aftermath of the Manchurian invasion resulted in Japan's resignation from the League of Nations, continued occupation of Manchuria and, eventually a signed truce between China and Japan (Behr 182-183).
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The Impact of the Manchurian Incident to Japan during the Taisho Period. (2023, Jun 28). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-impact-of-the-manchurian-incident-to-japan-during-the-taisho-period/
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