Hsinking (Changchun), Manchukuo • February 18, 1932 The Meiji Restoration of Imperial rule in Japan in 1868 resulted in the downfall of that country’s powerful military commanders, the shoguns, and the Japanese samurai warrior class. Partly as a concession to the samurai, the Japanese government embarked on an aggressive foreign policy in Manchuria in Northeastern China…
Tokyo, Japan • September 18, 1931 The assassination of the Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin in June 1928 was the first in a daisy change of major Sino-Japanese crises faced by the new Japanese emperor, Hirohito (posthumously referred to as Emperor Shōwa), whose reign began 18 months before. Manchuria (sometimes referred to by its historical name Guandong)…
Moscow, Soviet Union • August 20, 1939 The Soviet Union and Japan, 2 expansionist powers that occupied portions of the Asian mainland, had butted heads as early as 1904–1905 (the Russo-Japanese War) over influence in China, Mongolia, and Manchuria, the latter country rich in coal, iron, and grains. In September 1931 soldiers in the Kwantung…
Moscow, Soviet Union • August 8, 1945 On this date the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, the last Axis hold-out after the Soviets and their Western Allies had vanquished Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had long urged Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin to join…
Wanping, Near Beijing, China • July 7, 1937 The major turning point that ultimately led to Japan’s disastrous war with the United States and its European allies in December 1941 occurred late on this date, July 7, 1937, and into the next. Japanese and Chinese soldiers clashed at a bridge over the Yongding River near Wanping,…
Tokyo, Japan • October 16, 1941 On this date in 1941 three-time Prime Minister of Japan Prince Fumimaro Konoe resigned from office. Konoe (also rendered Konoye) had lost the support of cabinet and Army minister Gen. Hideki Tōjō, who called for a firmer line with the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt over the U.S….
Tokyo, Japan · October 16, 1941 On this date in 1941 Prince Fumimaro Konoe resigned as prime minister of Japan. Konoe had lost the support of cabinet and Army minister Gen. Hideki Tōjō, who called for a firmer line with the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt over the U.S. ban on the export of…
Mukden, Manchuria · September 18, 1931 The political and economic consequences of the collapse of produce prices in the 1920s and the onset of the Great Depression in Japan were marked by an unemployment rate of 25 percent in 1931, factory idleness at 50 percent, exports down by two-thirds, malnourishment in farming settlements, and high tariff barriers…
Hsinking (Changchun), Manchukuo · February 18, 1932 The Meiji Restoration of Imperial rule in 1868 resulted in the downfall of Japan’s powerful military commanders, the shoguns, and the Japanese samurai warrior class. Partly as a concession to the samurai, the Japanese government embarked on an aggressive foreign policy in Manchuria in Northeastern China and on…
Tokyo, Japan · October 16, 1941 On this date in 1941 Prince Fumimaro Konoe resigned as prime minister of Japan. Konoe had lost the support of cabinet and Army minister Gen. Hideki Tōjō, who called for a firmer line with the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt over the U.S. ban on the export of…