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Manchurian Crisis (1931)
- In 1931 the Kwangtung army was stationed in Manchuria- the officers set off a bomb on
the Southern-Manchurian railway on 18th September 1931
• Blamed on local Chinese troops
• Within hours Mukden had been taken over by Japanese forces
• Four days later, Kwangtung troops occupied towns within 200 mile radius of Mukden
- League of Nations response:
• 21st September 1931 the Chinese appealed to the League of Nations under Article 11
of the Covenant
• Japan were ordered to withdraw by the next council meeting on 16th November 1931,
but the Kwangtung officers ignored this
• 10th December 1931 a commission was ordered to investigate the claims of China
and Japan in Manchuria
• The commission landed in China 29th February 1932- progress was slow and
exacerbated by deliberate Japanese obstruction
• Britain had commercial interests in China and a former alliance with Japan
• Britain could not afford to send a peacekeeping force in such a remote area due to the
Great Depression
• Public opinion was pessimistic
• Could not impose economic sanctions as the US was Japan’s major trading partner
and the US had refused to respond to the crisis
• With no clear sanctions the Japanese continued to expand
• By the end of 1932 the invasion forces had pushed to Shanghai, the largest port in
Asia and all of Manchuria was under Japan’s control
• The province was renamed Manchukuo in March
• Former Chinese Emperor, Henry Pu Yi, was installed as a puppet rule under
Japanese direction
- Consequences of the League’s decisions:
• Despite the escalation, the 139-page Lytton report was not published until 10th
October
• It condemned the creation of Manchukuo as a Japanese protectorate, which
contravened with the policy of self-determination and insisted on the withdrawal of
Japanese forces
• Japanese delegation under Matsuoka was furious, arguing that China was equally to
blame for the conflict
• All member except Japan accepted the Lytton report
• Talks continued until early 1933
• In February 1933 the issue was referred to the Assembly which had stronger anti-
Japanese sentiments and more member states
• A new report was drafted incorporating the Lytton’s findings- withdrawal of the
Japanese and recognition of China’s rights to Manchuria
Manchurian Crisis (1931)
- In 1931 the Kwangtung army was stationed in Manchuria- the officers set off a bomb on
the Southern-Manchurian railway on 18th September 1931
• Blamed on local Chinese troops
• Within hours Mukden had been taken over by Japanese forces
• Four days later, Kwangtung troops occupied towns within 200 mile radius of Mukden
- League of Nations response:
• 21st September 1931 the Chinese appealed to the League of Nations under Article 11
of the Covenant
• Japan were ordered to withdraw by the next council meeting on 16th November 1931,
but the Kwangtung officers ignored this
• 10th December 1931 a commission was ordered to investigate the claims of China
and Japan in Manchuria
• The commission landed in China 29th February 1932- progress was slow and
exacerbated by deliberate Japanese obstruction
• Britain had commercial interests in China and a former alliance with Japan
• Britain could not afford to send a peacekeeping force in such a remote area due to the
Great Depression
• Public opinion was pessimistic
• Could not impose economic sanctions as the US was Japan’s major trading partner
and the US had refused to respond to the crisis
• With no clear sanctions the Japanese continued to expand
• By the end of 1932 the invasion forces had pushed to Shanghai, the largest port in
Asia and all of Manchuria was under Japan’s control
• The province was renamed Manchukuo in March
• Former Chinese Emperor, Henry Pu Yi, was installed as a puppet rule under
Japanese direction
- Consequences of the League’s decisions:
• Despite the escalation, the 139-page Lytton report was not published until 10th
October
• It condemned the creation of Manchukuo as a Japanese protectorate, which
contravened with the policy of self-determination and insisted on the withdrawal of
Japanese forces
• Japanese delegation under Matsuoka was furious, arguing that China was equally to
blame for the conflict
• All member except Japan accepted the Lytton report
• Talks continued until early 1933
• In February 1933 the issue was referred to the Assembly which had stronger anti-
Japanese sentiments and more member states
• A new report was drafted incorporating the Lytton’s findings- withdrawal of the
Japanese and recognition of China’s rights to Manchuria
