WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Conflict in Asia began well before the official start of World War II. Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Americans were angry at the Japanese for their invasions of first Manchuria (1931), then China (1937), and later French Indochina (1940). After the Japanese moved into Indochina, President Roosevelt ordered a trade embargo on American scrap steel and oil, on which the Japanese military depended.

Detailed explanation-3: -From 1911 to 1931 Manchuria was nominally part of the Republic of China. In practice it was under Japan domination, which exerted influence through local warlords.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Japanese invasion of Manchuria set off a major international crisis. It was the result of Japanese imperialism that had started with its modernization nearly a century earlier. The invasion ultimately led to the Second Sino-Japanese War and helped to increase tensions before World War II.