Manchuria:

A Fight for Natural Resources

Japan Invades Manchuria

Manchuria had plenty of natural resources. It had soil that was good for farming, coal, iron, and minerals. In 1931, the world was concerned about the unemployment and money shortages, so Japan took this opportunity to invade Manchuria on September 18. The Chinese urged the League of Nations, a group of countries that tried to create peace throughout the worlds, to tell Japan to stop. China was concerned because Manchuria was the northern region of China. The League of Nations did nothing to help because it didn’t have its own military force. The countries that made up the League of Nations had to offer to use their armies, but no country wanted to use its army to stop Japan. By January of 1932, Japan had occupied all of Manchuria. Japan’s next step was to control China, and then extend its territory all through Southeast Asia.

"China Operations." The Simons and Schuster Encyclopedia of World War II, 1978.

Jeff Wurst. Japanese Aggression. <www.snu.edu/syllabi/history/597projects/ww2/japanese.htm> Last Visited: January 2001.

Militarism and WW2 (1912-1945). <www.japan-guide.com/e/e2129.html> Last Visited: December 2001.

Ropp, Theodore. "War In The Modern World." World Book Encyclopedia, 1982.

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