Access to History: War and Peace: International Relations 1890-1945 Fourth Edition
Including 3 answered questions (2x10 markers and 1x20 marker) on the causes of the outbreak of the Second World War in the Far East.
Q1: Which of the following caused more problems in the Far East during the period 1930 to 1941? i) Japanese nationalism or
ii) The policies of Britain an...
Which of the following caused more problems in the Far East during the period 1930 to 1941?
i) Japanese nationalism or
ii) The policies of Britain and the USA towards Japan
Japanese nationalism caused significant problems in the Far East between 1930 and 1941.
Firstly, nationalism initially exacerbated Japan’s economic struggles during the Great Depression, as
even though 50% of its mining and heavy industries were forced to close, the Japanese government
remained reluctant to source essential materials from elsewhere because of desires for economic
self-sufficiency among the public as opposed to trading with other countries. The subsequently
increased economic problems led to further nationalism in the armed forces, and occupying
Manchuria was seen as the only way to facilitate recovery and satisfy the growing patriotism among
the populace. Once the Japanese invasion of Manchuria was complete in January 1933, the
international community was considerably shaken because the League of Nations had failed for the
first time to curb large-scale aggression and a precedent was set whereby great powers, including
Japan, Germany and Italy, felt able to invade neighbouring countries without being opposed by not
only the League of Nations, but also Britain, France, and the USA. In addition, Japanese nationalism
grew further after the successful annexation of Chinese territory and the emergence of the military
as the leaders of foreign policy, thus making a wider invasion of China a popular option among all
areas of Japanese society. The resulting Sino-Japanese War was clearly a huge problem in the Far
East given the scale of the front, some 3000km long, and the way in which it threatened a war with
the West when Anglo-American discussion began to take place between naval officers. Despite the
danger of Western intervention, Japanese nationalism became more widespread due to the now
feasible opportunity of acquiring British and French colonies in south-east Asia, which meant that
Japan were prepared to wage war against the two powers from 1941 beginning with the occupation
of French Indo-China. This in turn put the Asian nation on a collision course with the USA since key
economic resources such as lubricating oil and aviation fuel, which were rapidly depleting in Japan
due to triggering such wars with the European imperial powers whilst simultaneously having to
supply around 1 million troops in China with air support, were restricted as an export by the
Americans, leading to a deterioration in American-Japanese relations which paved the way for the
attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941, precipitating further and greater problems in the Far
East.
Therefore, although it is important to note that US policies were separate to problems
caused by Japanese nationalism, they were a consequence of the sentiment among the Japanese
populace that ultimately led to war between the two powers. However, US policies towards Japan
caused problems from as early as 1933 during the Manchurian Crisis, because the Americans gave
the Japanese military the confidence that they would not be opposed in invading the rest of China
due to the very fact that no action had been taken by the USA in Manchuria from the outset. Equally,
British policy did not favour resisting Japanese aggression in Manchuria, thus highlighting their
inability to deal with aggression committed by a great power and hence more problems were
created in the Far East in 1937 when Japan felt able to unlawfully occupy the most fertile regions of
China in the drainage basins of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers without being opposed by the
ineffectual British and American governments. Japan consequently gained significant economic
resources and territorial power at the expense of Britain and the USA, whose policies subsequently
became more hostile towards Japan from 1939 onwards. Indeed, American-Japanese relations in
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