AP World History POD #23 – Emerging Asia

AP World HistoryPOD #23 – Emerging Asia Japan & the World Wars

Class Discussion Notes Bulliet – “China and Japan: Contrasting Destinies”, pp. 778-780 Bulliet – “East Asia, 1931-1945”, pp. 805-808 Bulliet – “The Second World War”, pp. 808-814

China & Japan: Contrasting Destinies • “China and Japan were both subject to Western pressures, but their modern histories have been completely opposite. China clung much longer than Japan to a traditional social structure and economy, then collapsed into chaos and revolution. Japan experienced reform from above, acquiring industry and a powerful military, which used to take advantage of China’s weakness. Their different reactions to the pressures of the West put these two great nations on a collision course.” (Bulliet, p. 778)

Japanese Geographic Limitations • Few natural resources • Very little arable land for farming • Typhoons regularly hit the southern regions • Earthquakes and volcanic activity were a constant threat • This made it extremely difficult to meet the needs and demands of a rising population and to support modernization and industrialization

Modernization vs. Tradition • “Economic growth aggravated social tensions. The narikin (“new rich”) affected Western ways and lifestyles that clashed with the austerity of earlier times. In big cities, mobos (modern boys) and mogas (modern girls) shocked traditionalists with their foreign ways: dancing together, wearing short skirts and tight pants, and behaving like Americans. Students who flirted with dangerous thoughts were called “Marx boys.” (Bulliet, p. 779)

Zaibatsu • Business conglomerates that were the main beneficiaries of the prosperity Japan was experiencing as the result of modernization and industrialization • Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Yasuda and Mutsui controlled most of Japans economy and commerce

Farmers • Comprised half of the population • Remained poor • Some in an act of desperration sold their daughters to the textile mills or domestic service • Labor Unions were weak and repressed by the police

Japanese Economic Prosperity • Highly dependent on foreign trade • Exported silk and light manufactures • Imported nearly all fuel, raw materials, machine tools and even some food

Japan & WWI • Japan joined in the war on the side of the Allies • After the war they were rewarded for their contributions by gaining control over many of the surrendered German colonies in Asia • These colonies were essential in helping Japan meet its critical resource needs for modernization and industrialization

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945 • July 7, 1937 – Japanese troops attacked the Chinese force near Beijing (launched by junior officers who were quickly supported by senior officials) • Within weeks Japan seized Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and other coastal cities as the Japanese Navy successfully blockaded the coast • USA & League of Nations denounced Japan, yet the western powers were too preoccupied by Hitler’s rising power in Germany (even though the Japanese sank and American gunboat) • Japan continued their imperial conquest of China (they gained control of Manchuria in 1931) in an effort to gain natural resources to fuel and support their modernization • The Chinese army was large and brave, but poorly led and armed – they lost every battle • Japan gained control of the most valuable, rich and populous land in China within a year (coastal provinces and the river valleys around the Yellow and Yangtze)

Rape of Nanjing • Winter of 1937-1938 • Japanese troops took Nanjing and raped 20,000 women • 200,000 prisoners and civilians were killed • The city was looted and burned • In an attempt to slow down the Japanese, Chiang ordered the Yellow River destroyed leading to a massive flood wiping out 4,000 villages, killing 890,000 people, and leaving 12.5 million homeless • Japan responded with a “kill all, burn all, loot all” campaign

World War II – A Historical Analysis • “Many people feared that the Second World War would be a repetition of the First. Instead, it was much bigger in every way. It was fought around the world, from Norway to New Guinea and from Hawaii to Egypt, and on every ocean. It killed far more people than World War I, involved all civilians and productive forces, and showed how effectively industry, science, and nationalism could be channeled into mass destruction.” (Bulliet, p. 808)

War in Asia & the Pacific • With the fall of France and the German engagement with Great Britain and the Soviet Union, the colonial lands in Asia became an available prize • These colonies possessed abundant supplies of oil, rubber and other strategic materials

Economic Embargo • July 1941 – when the French government allowed Japanese forces to occupy Indochina, the United States stopped shipments of steel, scrap iron, oil, and other products that Japan desperately needed • Japan was left with three choices: (1) give up its conquests; (2) face economic ruin; (3) war • WAR would be the choice

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto • “If I am told to fight regardless of the consequences, I shall run wild for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for he second or third year …. I hope that you will endeavor to avoid a Japanese-American War.”

Key Battles • Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) – United States naval base in Hawaii attacked by Japanese aircraft – much of the American Pacific fleet is sunk – draws the USA into World War II • Battle of Midway – U.S naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers – the United States is no longer on the defensive but is attacking towards Japan with and island hopping campaign • Hirsoshima & Nagasaki (August 6 & 9, 1945) – United States uses an atomic attack to force Japan into unconditional surrender

Constitution of 1947 • A democratic government was established in Japan • All Japanese overseas territory is lost • Emperor retains figurehead status (constitutional monarchy) • Japan is banned from possessing a military • Great effort is placed on rebuilding the Japanese economy and reestablishing their role in the world marketplace

AP World History POD #23 – Emerging Asia