In 1929, the Great Depression began with the crash of the New York stock market. Economic hardship gave Japan’s military an excuse to invade “Manchuria.”
Basic Knowledge
On October 24, 1929 (Black Thursday), the New York Stock Exchange (Wall Street) suffered a major crash. The Great Depression began, and the unemployment rate in the United States reached 25%. In Japan, the Showa Financial Crisis began in 1930. Rural areas fell into poverty as raw-silk exports dropped sharply, and “selling daughters” and “children going hungry” became social problems in Tohoku. In 1931, the Kwantung Army (the Japanese Army stationed in Manchuria) staged the Liutiaohu Incident, falsely blaming the Chinese side for blowing up a railway line of the South Manchuria Railway, and began the Manchurian Incident. In 1932, it established Manchukuo and installed Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, as chief executive (later emperor).
1929 Great Depression (Wall Street crash)
1930 Showa Financial Crisis, London Naval Disarmament Treaty
1931 Liutiaohu Incident → Manchurian Incident
1932 Manchukuo established, May 15 Incident (assassination of Inukai Tsuyoshi)
1933 Lytton Report, withdrawal from the League of Nations (Matsuoka Yosuke)
1936 February 26 Incident, Anti-Comintern Pact
In Depth (Background and Effects)
Each country adopted its own measures against the Depression. The United States adopted Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal (public works, the TVA, and social security), while Britain and France adopted bloc economies (the sterling bloc and franc bloc) that enclosed their colonies. Japan, Germany, and Italy had few colonies, so they turned toward fascism and militarism, seeking a way forward through external aggression. In the May 15 Incident of 1932, young naval officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi (“If we talk, we can understand each other”; “No questions!”), bringing party politics to an end. In the February 26 Incident of 1936, young army officers killed Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo and others and temporarily occupied Tokyo. Afterward, the military’s influence became overwhelmingly strong.
- Great Depression = 1929 crash of the New York stock market
- Liutiaohu Incident (1931) = Kwantung Army plot; beginning of the Manchurian Incident
- May 15 Incident (1932) = assassination of Inukai Tsuyoshi; end of party politics
- February 26 Incident (1936) = young army officers, Imperial Way faction
- Withdrawal from the League of Nations (1933) = Matsuoka Yosuke, opposition to the Lytton Report
- United States = New Deal; Britain and France = bloc economies; Japan, Germany, and Italy = fascism/militarism
Points of Caution (Easily Confused)
① The Manchurian Incident (1931, Liutiaohu Incident) and the Sino-Japanese War (1937, Marco Polo Bridge Incident) were different. The former concerned Manchuria, while the latter spread throughout North China. ② Distinguish the May 15 Incident (1932, navy, assassination of Inukai) from the February 26 Incident (1936, army, assassinations including Takahashi Korekiyo) by year and attacking side. ③ The head of Manchukuo was Puyi (the last emperor). ④ New Deal = Franklin Roosevelt (F. Roosevelt), who was different from Theodore Roosevelt (T. Roosevelt), who mediated the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
Practice
- What event in 1929 triggered the Great Depression?
- What was the incident in which Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated in 1932?
- In what year did Japan withdraw from the League of Nations, and who was its chief delegate?