Japan's WWII Aggression Focus: Manchuria, China, Southeast Asia

Japan's expansionism (1931–1945) concentrated on three interconnected theaters:

1. Manchuria (1931–1945)

• 1931: Kwantung Army stages Mukden Incident → invades Manchuria.
• 1932: Establishes puppet state Manchukuo (Emperor Puyi).
• Goal: Coal, iron, soybeans, land for settlement; strategic buffer vs. USSR.

2. China Proper (1937–1945)

• 1937: Marco Polo Bridge Incident → full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War.
• Occupied: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing (Rape of Nanjing), Wuhan, Guangzhou, coastal corridors.
• Goal: Resource extraction, market control, eliminate Chiang Kai-shek's resistance.
• Stalled by vast terrain, guerrilla warfare (Communists & Nationalists), U.S. aid.

3. Southeast Asia (1940–1945)

• 1940: Occupies French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) after Vichy France capitulates.
• Dec 1941: Simultaneous attacks on Pearl Harbor, Philippines, Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, Wake.
• Conquered: Malaya, Singapore, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Philippines, Burma, Borneo, New Guinea.
• Goal: Oil (DEI), rubber, tin, rice—resources for war machine; "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" ideology.

This triad—Manchuria (base), China (quagmire), SE Asia (resources)—drove Japan into unwinnable war against Allied industrial might.