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Commodore Matthew Perry Arrives in Japan
Naval Officer Commodore Matthew Perry arrived on Japanese shores determined to get Japan to open up and accept US demands. Intimidated by the ships and mindful of what had happened to China when they resisted westernization they signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, this resulted in power returning to the Emperor and a new, more modernized Japan. There were many military reforms which modernized the army and established a new navy. -
Treaty of Kanagawa
First treaty between the United States and the Tokugawa shogunate. Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220 year-old policy of national seclusion (sakoku), by opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels. It also established an American consul in Japan, and initiated relations with other Western powers. -
Start of Meiji Restoration
In 1868 the Tokugawa shogun lost his power and the emperor was restored to the supreme position. The emperor took the name Meiji, which meant enlightened ruler as his reigning name. This event is known as the Meiji Restoration. -
Charter Oath of the Meiji Restoration
Issued after the Meiji Restoration ended the Tokugawa shogunate, installed a new Japanese government, and restored imperial rule in Japan. The Charter Oath described the intentions of the new government and was intended to ease the worries of Japanese citizens. -
The Meiji Constitution
Described the roles and responsibilities of the Japanese Emperor and Parliament, and laid out basic rules that citizens had to follow. One of the things that Japan did to become one of the world's advanced, civilised powers. -
1st Sino- Japanese war
First Sino-Japanese War | Facts, Definition, History ...
The First Sino-Japanese War ended with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, in which China recognized the independence of Korea and ceded Taiwan, the adjoining Pescadores, and the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria to Japan. China also agreed to pay a large indemnity and to give Japan trading privileges on Chinese territory. This lasted from 24 July 1894 – 17 April 1895 -
Triple Intervention
German Russia and France were concerned about Japan's growing power so they:
Forced Japan to give up the Liaodong Peninsula - Russia took it.
Germany secured control over Shandong Province.
France and Great Britain took advantage of the weakened China to seize port cities - expanded spheres of influence.
These moves encouraged the growth of nationalism and militarism in Japan. -
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
Signed between Britain and Japan, it agreed that if either party became involved in war with another country, the other party would remain neutral. If either party were confronted by two or more opponents, however, the other party would come to its aid. It essentially protected Japan against Russia, and accepted Japanese domination of Korea -
Period: to
Russo-Japanese War
Start: Japan and Russia clashed over their interests in Korea and this resulting in a war which started with a suprise attack on the Russians from Japan. There were extreme losses of life and resources on both sides.
End: This resulted in the Treaty of Portsmouth. Japan gained control of Korea, much of South Manchuria, along with Port Arthur, as well as railway rights in Manchuria and half of Sakhalin Island. -
Treaty of Portsmouth
END OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
- Japan gained control of Korea and much of South Manchuria, including Port Arthur.
- Japan gained railway rights in Manchuria along with the southern half of Sakhalin Island.
- Japan earned respect of the West, and also Asian countries (Japanese role model)
- Affirmed Japan’s belief in its destiny as leader of Asia.
- Some Japanese were worried – imperialism was costly (wars and the need to defend its new territories) -
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First World War
A global conflict fought between two coalitions, the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. Fighting took place throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia -
Twenty-One Demands
The secret demands would greatly extend Japanese control of China. Japan would keep the former German areas it had conquered at the start of World War I in 1914. It would be strong in Manchuria and South Mongolia. It would have an expanded role in railways. -
Treaty of Versailles
On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, France. The treaty was one of several that officially ended five years of conflict known as the Great War—World War I. -
Creation of the League of Nations
The League of Nations officially came into existence on 10 January 1920. On 15 November 1920, 41 members states gathered in Geneva for the opening of the first session of the Assembly. This represented a large portion of existing states and corresponded to more than 70% of the world's population. Its aims were to prevent another World War and resolve international disputes. -
Five-Power Naval Treaty
Part of the Washington Treaty system
- This limited the tonnage of the US, British, Japanese, French and Italian navies.
- 5:5:3:1.75 - restricted competition in battleships and aircraft carriers by setting a ratio of 5:5:3 for Britain (5) & USA (5), Japan (3).
- France and Italy - each allowed a 1.75 ratio.
- This treaty required Japan’s Imperial Navy to abandon its plans for a massive expansion and was deeply opposed by the Navy General Staff. -
Four-Power Treaty
Part of the Washington Treaty system. USA, Japan, Britain and France would discuss with each other if there was a crisis in the Pacific -
Nine Power Treaty
Part of the Washington Treaty system
This treaty was signed by Britain, USA, France, Italy, Portugal, China, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan. The aim was of the treaty was to respect Chinese independence and their own integrity. -
USA Passed 'Immigration Act'
The Immigration Act of 1924 imposed severe restrictions on all immigration from non-European countries, and effectively ended Japanese immigration, supposedly forever. -
Period: to
Chinese Civil War
War between the communists and nationalists in China -
The Great depression impact on Japan
The Wall Street crash lead many people of Japan to loose faith in democracy. PM Hamaguchi was blamed for the great depression. He was shot in 1930, but did not die. With practically no natural resources, the nation had to import oil, iron, steel, and other commodities to keep its industry and military forces alive.Generals and admirals, working together with leading industrialists and financiers, dreamed of a Japanese empire that would bring. -
Japans Dark Valley
Late 1920s to 1930s
Wartime Japan has often been depicted as a “dark valley” in which the government and military actively manipulated information and values so as to achieve mass conformity and unquestioning obedience among its imperial subjects, and the cogency of this notion has long been a topic of spirited debate. The “Fifteen Year War,” which began with escalating conflicts in Manchuria and China and ended in the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
President Hoover tariffs Japanese goods
US president Herbert Hoover in 1930 set tariffs on Japanese goods by as much as 200%, making Japanese invasion of Manchuria more enticing -
Manchuria under Japan
Manchuria was under control of Japan, the last emperor of Japan Pu Yi ruled as a puppet of the Japanese in the new state of Manchukuo. -
The Lytton Report
1.) Recognised Japan have special interests in Manchuria, however Japan had acted unlawfully and they should retreat.
2.) Manchuria should be and independent state under Chinese sovereignty and NOT the puppet state Japan had set up.
3.) That the solution was an improvement in Sino-Japanese relations. To negotiate a settlement.
The Assembly of the League of Nations approved the Lytton Report in February 1932. -
Shanghai Bombing
Japan bombs Shanghai. There was intense bombing over the densely populated area of Chapei, which resulted in may casualties and refugees who were created as a result of the attack. -
Treaty of Tangu
China accepted Japanese control of Manchuria in Treaty of Tangu because of fear of full scale invasion. -
Japan leaves the League
On 24 February 1933, the Lytton Report from the League’s officials was approved by 42 to 1 in the Assembly (Japan only nay).
Japan resigned from the League as a result of this action. They pointed out the British and French hypocrisy in using force themselves to gain territory in China (not wrong). -
Anti-Comintern Pact
Japan saw USSR as an ideological and territorial threat and viewed the soviets as key potential opponents in the region, November 1936 Japan signed the anti-comintern pact with nazi germany -
Marco Polo Bridge Incident
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident or the July 7 Incident, was a battle during July 1937 in the district of Beijing between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Japanese blamed the Chinese for the destruction of the railway, however the culprit is the Japanese military. -
The Rape of Nanjing
Japan unleashed a rape attack they raped over 30,000 women 1937. The Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Nanjing was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Battle of Nanking in the Second Sino-Japanese War, by the Imperial Japanese Army. Beginning on December 13, 1937, the massacre lasted six weeks. -
Period: to
Second World War
World War II lasted for six years -
Start of Second World War
September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. September 3, 1939 Honoring their guarantee of Poland's borders, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. September 17, 1939 The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east. For Japan, they signed the Tripartite Act with Germany and Italy, guaranteeing them their sphere of influence in the Pacific. This event also narrowed the focus of GB, France and the US on Europe, therefore ignoring Japan for a while. -
Tripartite Treaty:
Japan, Germany and Italy decided to stand by and cooperate with one another in Europe and Greater Asia Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke, signed the Tripartite Axis Pact: agreed that Germany and Italy dominate Europe;
Japan to dominate East Asia - British, French and Dutch colonies. -
Fall of Singapore
In 1942 the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Singapore, an island under British control. This was a humiliating disaster for the British Empire in the Pacific. Britain's Singapore Strategy, supported by Australia, had been to build a naval base on the island to defend the region from a Japanese invasion. -
Japanese move into Indo-China
Japanese advance into southern Indochina marked the first step towards a full-scale attack on European and American possessions in the whole region, which materialized in December 1941. -
New Guinea invaded by Japan
Territory under the control of British empire, next to Dutch West Indies. Could have been used as a base against the British. Also needed to gain more natural resources that were being cut off from them after Pearl Harbour. -
Pearl Harbour Attack
The attack on Pearl Harbour was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941 -
Invasion of Hong Kong
The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. His surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the Japanese forces that invaded the territory. -
Bombing of Darwin
Japan bombs Darwin Australia. The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. -
Battle of Guam
Battle of Guam | Pacific Theater, US Invasion, Japanese ...
Battle of Guam, (21 July–10 August 1944), World War II event. In attacking Guam, U.S. forces were not only acquiring a fine harbor and a number of airfields to use in future operations, but were also liberating U.S. territory—Guam had been captured by the Japanese in 1941.