Wanderlust World Wanderlust World On September 18, 1931, the Kwantung Army—Japan's garrison in the South Manchuria Railway Zone—staged the Mukden Incident as pretext for full-scale invasion. Within months, Japanese forces occupied all of Manchuria, establishing the puppet state of Manchukuo in March 1932.
Puyi, the last Qing emperor (deposed in 1912), was installed as Manchukuo's figurehead "Chief Executive" and later "Emperor Kangde." Real power resided with Japanese military advisors and civilian administrators who controlled resources, infrastructure, and security apparatus.
The League of Nations' Lytton Commission condemned the invasion as aggression, prompting Japan's 1933 withdrawal from the League. Western powers imposed limited sanctions but avoided military confrontation—a failure of collective security that emboldened further Japanese expansion into China proper (1937) and Southeast Asia (1941).
Manchuria's seizure marked the effective beginning of World War II in Asia. It demonstrated the League's impotence, validated militarist dominance in Tokyo, and secured industrial resources (coal, iron, soy) crucial for Japan's war machine. The region remained under Japanese control until Soviet entry in August 1945.