Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

INTRODUCTION • 17
recognize the validity of past treaties and agreements relating to
Manchuria. Several Sino–Japanese military clashes ensued, although
Kijūrō Shidehara returned to the foreign minister’s post in 1929 no less
convinced than he had been previously of the continued efficacy of the
Washington Conference system. In 1930, Japan extended formal recognition
to the new Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek, and decided
to cooperate with the United States and Britain on the question of abrogating
extraterritoriality in China.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the Washington system came from the
American stock market crash on 29 October 1929 and the subsequent
Great Depression. Its reverberations were felt around the world, although
the situation in Japan was particularly acute. Lacking in raw materials,
Japan relied on foreign trade to pay for them. With the onset of the Great
Depression, however, its Washington system partners—most notably the
United States and Great Britain—lost their enthusiasm for free trade. The
United States Congress in June 1930 passed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act,
imposing the highest rates on imports in the 20th century. The system of
free trade that held the Washington system together suddenly unraveled.
THE ROAD TO PEARL HARBOR AND THE PACIFIC WAR
Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in September 1931 marked the beginning
of the end of the Washington Conference system. By this action, the
Japanese military signaled its disregard for both the principle of noninterference
in China’s internal affairs and the notion of cooperation among
the great powers. Worse still, the civilian government in Tokyo proved utterly
powerless to restrain the military. By January 1932, the United
States government concluded that Japan was no longer a partner for stability
in Asia and the Pacific, and Secretary of State Henry Stimson informed
both Japan and China that the American government refused to
recognize any changes in China brought about by force and in violation
of the Open Door policy. When the League of Nations formally refuted
Japan’s contention that Manchuria—which Japan called “Manchukuo”—
was an independent nation, Japan quit the League of Nations. The final
nail in the coffin of the Washington Conference system came in 1934
when the Japanese navy determined to end the era of naval limitation.
U.S.–Japanese relations considerably worsened after Japanese and
Chinese forces clashed at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing in July