WW2 IN ASIA CHEAT SHEET

WW2 IN ASIA
Outbreak of WW2 in Asia and Defeat of Japan

REASONS FOR OUTBREAK

1868 JAPAN’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS (1)
A) MEIJI RESTORATION
- Feudal regime known as Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end.
- Wanted to modernise Japan.
- Establishment of a parliament which governed the country together with the
Emperor (militarists were also represented by the government).
- By 20th century, parliamentary democracy had been weakened due to
corruption and lost the respect of the people.
- Extreme Japan nationalists preferred militarists taking full control over the
government as they supported military campaign to acquire colonies.
1894 - Japan went to war with China and gained control of Korea and Taiwan.
1900 JAPAN’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (1)
- Social and economic problems in Japan
- Japan had mountainous terrain, which limited the arable land for rice
cultivation
- Created food, housing, and labour shortage
- Worsened by overpopulation – Japan’s population rose from 40 million in 1900
to 64 million in 1930.
1902 - Britain was more welcoming of the rise of Japan.
- Signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance where they negotiated each other’s
interests in Asia.
- Britain ended the pact with Japan in 1922 as USA was suspicious of Japan.
1904 JAPAN’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS (2)
– B) RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
1905 - In the 19th century, Russia had established its influence in Manchuria (province
in China). Russia needed Manchuria to provide them with an ice-free port all
year round.
- Japan saw this as a threat to its colonial interests in Manchuria.
- Japanese wanted a diplomatic solution (accept Russian influence in Manchuria
if Russia accepted Japanese influence in Korea).
- Russians refused as they saw Japan as inferior and much less powerful than
the Western powers.
- Japan thus declared war on Russia and defeated the Russians in 1905.
- Both countries agreed to end the war with the signing of the Treaty of
Portsmouth in Sep 1905.
- Japan gained control of the South Manchurian Railway, the Liaodong Peninsula
and the Southern half of the Sakhalin Island.

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 SO?
Treaty of Portsmouth marked the emergence of Japan as the strongest power in
the Asia Pacific.
1905 WESTERN DISCRIMINATION (1)
A) AGAINST JAPANESE PEOPLE
- USA established the Japanese and Korean Exclusion League.
- Japanese felt greatly insulted by this discrimination as they felt that they were
just as good, if not even better than the Westerners.
- In the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Japan proposed a racial equality clause to
be included in the agreement with the League of Nations. However, it was
rejected and relationships deteriorated.
1911 - Qing Dynasty fell. Japan took advantage of situation to gain more territories in
China.
1915 - Japan fought alongside the Allies in WW1 and was able to gain the German-
controlled territories in China.
- Issued the ‘Twenty-One Demands’, which forced China to give the Japanese full
rights in the Chinese areas.
1921 WESTERN DISCRIMINATION (1)
– B) AGAINST JAPANESE DEFENCE
1922 - USA organised the Washington Naval Conference to agree on naval
disarmament.
- However, Japan had to reduce their strength more than Britain and USA in the
ratio of 5:5:3.
- Japan felt that this was a deliberate ploy to keep them weak.
1929 JAPAN’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (2)
- During the Great Depression, countries raised taxes and decreased their
demand for Japan’s exports.
- Economic conditions made Japan more determined to acquire new colonies.
- Can obtain new resources and markets for Japanese manufactured goods.
- Can solve overcrowding as excess population could be relocated to these new
territories.
1931 JAPAN’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS (3)
C) MANCHURIAN CRISIS
- Bomb at the Japanese-owned railway at Mukden (Capital of Manchuria)
exploded.
- Japan blamed China and started full-scale invasion.
- Manchuria was taken over and a puppet government was established
(Manchukuo).
- China and Western powers refused to recognize Manchukuo and only agreed
to regard Manchuria as a Chinese territory.
- LON sent Lord Lytton to investigate the crisis.
- After a year, the Lytton Commission found that Japan had committed an act of
aggression.
- Condemned Japan and demanded it to withdraw from Manchuria.
- Tense relations continued as Japan tried to conquer more territories in China.

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1932-1933 JAPAN’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS (4)
D) EXPANSIONIST FOREIGN POLICY / IMPERIALIST AMBITIONS
- Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated. Militarists took the chance
to gain control of the government through the use of martial law.
- Militarists had the support of the emperor and other politicians who wanted to
avoid more instability and unrest.
- Embarked on an aggressive foreign policy
- Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere:
o Called for the removal of Western powers from Asia and create an ‘Asia
for Asians’.
o The aim is for Japan to replace them as the new colonial masters, and
Japan promised to grant SEA colonies independence from their colonial
masters.
o Interested in SEA due to its abundance of natural resources such as oil
and tin, which were unavailable in Japan’s colonies such as Korea,
Taiwan and Manchuria.
1933 - Japan withdrew from LON.
1937 - Full scale invasion of China due to Marco Polo Bridge incident (dispute over
missing soldier).
1940 - Japan invaded Indochina.
- USA imposed trade sanctions and froze all assets in Japan.
- Demanded immediate withdrawal of Japan and increased the size of its Pacific
fleet.
1941 - Total embargo as Japan refused to withdraw from China.
- Japan had no choice but to invade SEA to obtain resources as it was predicted
that its oil reserves would only last it 2 more years.
Dec 1941 JAPAN’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS (5)
E) PEARL HARBOUR
- Prime Minister Hideki Tojo approved the attack on US Pacific fleet at Pearl
Harbour
- Surprise attack caught USA off guard on 7 Dec 1941. Destroyed many aircrafts
and killed 2,400 Americans and 5 capital battleships.
- On 8 Dec 1941, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan.

REASONS FOR DEFEAT

1937 – 1945 JAPANESE WEAKNESSES
A) POOR MILITARY DECISIONS
- Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbour and provoked the ‘sleeping giant’.
- Japan drew USA, an industrial and military superpower, into the war which
hastened its own demise.
- Furthermore, Americans came into the war with a vengeance and demanded
no mercy to be shown to the Japanese due to the humiliation.
- USA industrial capacity was several times bigger than Japan and could repair
their navy quickly even after Pearl Harbour was destroyed.

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 B) MISUSE OF RESOURCES
- Resource overstretch caused Japan to be unable to sustain war.
o By 1942, Japanese territories stretched from China to SEA.
o However, Japan was small and did not have the resources to manage
large territories, in addition to constant war to conquer even more
territories, especially in vast China.
- Harsh treatment of locals in territories created more resentment and
vengeance towards the Japanese.
o Used forced labour Korea or Southeast Asia and used them to build the
Thailand-Burma Railway (Death Railway). Due to the high casualty rate,
a lot of resentment was accumulated against the Japanese.
o POWs (White soldiers from USA/Australia/Britain) were used as forced
labour and tortured. As such, the Allied powers resolved to defeat the
Japanese.

C) HIGH CASUALTY BATTLES

- Suicide pilots (Kamikaze fighters) were blinded by their loyalty towards the
Japanese emperor and were willing to sacrifice for Japan.
- Fought with an unpredictable and fanatical tendency, which led the Allies to
suffer from heavy casualties.
- Allied powers wanting to stop the war quickly at all costs to reduce casualties.
- Western powers pressurised Japan to surrender and wanted to hold the
emperor responsible for war, but Japanese were very protective and did not
want to give up.
- Japanese army wanted to continue fighting as they were hopeful to negotiate
on the terms of surrender that would not involve the emperor.
1941 – 1945 US STRENGTH
A) MANPOWER AND RESOURCES
- Became directly involved in war when Japan attacked US Naval Base at Pearl
Harbour.
- USA was the largest industrial power at that time.
- Converted its industries to produce military equipment, churning out more than
120,000 aircrafts and 70,000 tanks annually, which the Axis powers could not
match.
- Paid workers well, thus they were patriotic to USA and willing to continue
producing at high efficiency VS Japan that used slave labourers
- Recruited women to work in industries, allowing the war machine to function
efficiently. This boosted military production to sustain the war effort.
- USA also bombed the Japanese industries, putting them out of production and
causing heavy losses to Japan’s economy, which harmed Japanese ability to
sustain war.

B) MILITARY STRATEGIES
- Despite attack on Pearl Harbour, USA maintained its strengths and continue to
wage war effectively.

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 - Key Naval victories such as in the Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Midway
boosted US morale
- Doolittle raids (1942) dropped bombs on Tokyo to dampen the Japanese
morale.
- Defeat of the Japanese in strategic areas such as Iwo Jima and Philippines
allowed USA to carry out sustained aerial bombings of Japan
- In 1945, almost a quarter of Tokyo had been destroyed by the US aerial
bombing, killing 185,000 people.
- Destroyed Japanese factories and caused many people to flee from the cities.
This caused the economy to come to a total standstill, affecting war production.

C) ATOMIC BOMBS
- Japan was unwilling to surrender despite major defeats and destruction. The
increasing casualties caused by war pressurised USA to take action to end war
quickly.
- Ideological differences also began to surface between the superpowers (USA
and USSR). USA wanted to prevent Soviet entry into the war as it did not want
USSR to get share of Japan if it assisted USA in Japan’s defeat.
- 6 Aug 1942: first atomic bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima. 1/3 of population killed
instantly and thousands were injured. Radiation also affected the people and
resulted in 70,000 deaths thereafter.
- Despite calls for immediate withdrawal, Japan refused to surrender and end
the war.
- 9 Aug 1942: second atomic bomb (Fat Man) on Nagasaki. 40,000 people killed
immediately.
- Unconditional surrender by emperor on 14 Aug 1945, and formal surrender
came on 2 Sep.
1941 – 1945 ALLIED RESISTANCE
A) NAVAL STRENGTH
- Gained key control of Asia Pacific through naval battles and island-hopping
strategies.
o Battle at Coral Sea, Midway Islands and the Leyte Gulf.
- Ferocious battle between the USA & Allied powers and Japan. Resulted in
Japan losing many experienced generals, battleships, aircrafts.
- Naval power of Allies caused Japan to lose strategic islands in Asia Pacific
(Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Iwo Jima, Okinawa).
- Allies were able to bring war closer to Japanese mainland, causing Japan to
lose supremacy and motivation in the war.

B) VICTORY IN EUROPE
- Allies managed to cause Germany to fall in May 1945 and Japan was left alone
to fight the war.
- Japan was in no position to defeat USA and the Allies. It was a matter of time
that Allies would too be able to defeat Japan.

Sample essay questions

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1. “Japan embarked on an aggressive foreign policy in the 1930s due to the political
ambitions of the militarist government.” How far do you agree with this statement? [12]
2. “Events in the West resulted in the support of the militaristic policies in Japan.” How far
do you agree with this statement? [12]
3. To what extent was Japan’s decision to attack Pearl Harbour due to its desire to
implement the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere? Explain. [12]
4. “The attack on Pearl Harbour was a great victory for Japan.” How far do you agree with
this statement? [12]
5. “The Pacific War broke out mainly due to the weakness of the League of Nations.” How
far do you agree with this statement? [12]
6. “Allied victories at sea battles was instrumental in defeating the Japanese by 1945.” How
far do you agree with this statement? [12]
7. “Japan was responsible for its own defeat in WW2.” How far do you agree with this
statement? [12]
8. “The atomic bombs were dropped in Japan mainly to end the Pacific War quickly.” How
far do you agree with this statement? [12]
9. “Dropping the atomic bombs in Japan was a mistake.” How far do you agree with this
statement?

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Contact: 8118 9858