<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_gray.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_gray.svg" width="40px" /> In this lesson, you will…
Discuss the rise of Imperialist Japan. Examine the policy of appeasement with Hitler. Discuss the beginning of World War II.
Big Question: What were the direct and indirect causes of World War II?
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Following the Meiji Restoration and Interwar Period, Japan rose as the industrial powerhouse of the East.
Imperialist ambitions grew with the need to provide resources for Japanese industry.
The need to acquire need raw materials meant the Empire continually set its sights on new territory across Asia.
A growing group of nationalists within the government called for conquest
Nationalists were prevalent throughout civilian-life and the armed forces and the military soon began to influence Japanese national policy
Many of them glorified traditional samurai beliefs of martial discipline and loyalty and set Japan on a policy of expansion in Asia.
Following the invasion of Manchuria - a northern province of China - in 1931, Japan set up a puppet government and poured more resources into the military.
Japan invaded the rest of China in 1937 where its army committed horrific atrocities against civilians in Shanghai and other Chinese cities.
Japanese society pivoted toward wartime as a military draft began and industry turned towards military production
Meanwhile in Europe, Mussolini began his campaign to create an Italian Empire by invading Ethiopia in Africa in 1935.
The League of Nations condemned Japanese and Italian aggression but did nothing to stop the attacks in an effort to maintain peace.
Hitler was also stirring turmoil in Europe by breaking several provisions of the Treaty of Versailles