Part 2

• Dark Valley


  Years of political and military division, questioning over the authority of the Japanese democratic government compared to the power of the Japanese military
• Factions in the Japanese military


  • Imperial Way (pushing for military dictatorship, seeing Soviet Union and communism as biggest adversary)
  • Control Faction (calling for more military influence on government, pushing for conquest of China)
• Imperial Way attempts coup of the government, fails and is discredited, leaving Control Faction in charge

  1936
• General Hideki Tojo


  Lead member of Control Faction, becomes Chief of Staff of Kwantung Army
• Second Sino-Japanese War begins with Marco Polo Bridge Incident


  July 1937
• Second Sino-Japanese War


  • Supported by devastating air raids, Rape of Nanjing (hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians murdered)
• Japanese hopes of quick Chinese surrender never realised, Chinese nationalism and guerrilla forces slowed Japanese advances, international outrage over atrocities
• Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere


  Japanese propaganda claiming Asian nations could work together to drive out Western forces, in reality Japan moving to dominate Asian nations
• General Tojo becomes Prime Minister of Japan


  October 1941
• Japan signs Tripartite Axis Pact with Germany and Italy


  Germany and Italy focus on European expansion, Japan can focus on East Asian expansion, Japan gains ability to move into European colonial holdings in Asia
• Japan signs Neutrality Pact with Soviet Union

  April 1941
• Japan moves troops into Indochina

  United States imposes embargo on steel and oil exports to Japan, negotiations between US and Japan fail
• Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Dutch East Indies


  December 7, 1941
• Pearl Harbor not closed off, American aircraft carriers out at sea and not sunk
• United States declares war on Japan


  December 8, 1941