Japanese Military Mentality
To what extent was Japanese military mentality responsible for the Nanking massacres?
The aggressive Japanese military mentality was the largest contributor towards the brutal nature of the 1937 Nanking massacre. Both long term Japanese military personalities formulated over the years combined with the short term circumstances such as the Battle of Shanghai and the First Sino Japanese War exacerbated the extent (of the Japanese military mentality.)
The Nanking massacre, also commonly known as the Rape of Nanking, has become a symbol of outrages committed by the Japanese troops during World War II for the Chinese and highlights China’s victimisation by imperialist aggression . The international military tribunal alongside the Tokyo war crimes …show more content…
World War I created a huge demand for Japanese iron, steel, textiles production and foreign trade but by the 1920s as the War reached a conclusion, it halted the previously insatiable demand for military products and in turn shut down production factories leaving thousands of labourers unemployed. The 1929 US stock market crash and great depression heavily crippled trade relations with Japan, the economic downturn having a devastating effect on the Japanese community with businesses ceasing, inflation and unemployment soaring and the September 1923 Earthquake only heightening these dismal conditions. By the 1930s, the Japanese economy had mostly recovered, with new acquired technological skills and advancements. The government wanted to this time build a better and stronger society, using the nation’s military superiority over its neighbours to embark on a program of foreign conquest. However as an island country, Japan did not have the sufficient amounts of supply of natural resources especially oil and iron within its territory, and this became the largest reason for the Japanese government to expand its zone of influence over other countries particularly in regions such as China and the South East . Around the same period, China had also strengthened herself as a nation from a disintegrating empire into a struggling national republic and as Chiang Kai Shek’s gained momentum, it threatened Japanese interests in Manchuria and Mongolia. After discovering that Chiang was supported by both the United States and the United Kingdom through several trade routes, the leadership of Japanese military forces argued that
The aggressive Japanese military mentality was the largest contributor towards the brutal nature of the 1937 Nanking massacre. Both long term Japanese military personalities formulated over the years combined with the short term circumstances such as the Battle of Shanghai and the First Sino Japanese War exacerbated the extent (of the Japanese military mentality.)
The Nanking massacre, also commonly known as the Rape of Nanking, has become a symbol of outrages committed by the Japanese troops during World War II for the Chinese and highlights China’s victimisation by imperialist aggression . The international military tribunal alongside the Tokyo war crimes …show more content…
World War I created a huge demand for Japanese iron, steel, textiles production and foreign trade but by the 1920s as the War reached a conclusion, it halted the previously insatiable demand for military products and in turn shut down production factories leaving thousands of labourers unemployed. The 1929 US stock market crash and great depression heavily crippled trade relations with Japan, the economic downturn having a devastating effect on the Japanese community with businesses ceasing, inflation and unemployment soaring and the September 1923 Earthquake only heightening these dismal conditions. By the 1930s, the Japanese economy had mostly recovered, with new acquired technological skills and advancements. The government wanted to this time build a better and stronger society, using the nation’s military superiority over its neighbours to embark on a program of foreign conquest. However as an island country, Japan did not have the sufficient amounts of supply of natural resources especially oil and iron within its territory, and this became the largest reason for the Japanese government to expand its zone of influence over other countries particularly in regions such as China and the South East . Around the same period, China had also strengthened herself as a nation from a disintegrating empire into a struggling national republic and as Chiang Kai Shek’s gained momentum, it threatened Japanese interests in Manchuria and Mongolia. After discovering that Chiang was supported by both the United States and the United Kingdom through several trade routes, the leadership of Japanese military forces argued that