The catalyst of Japan’s invasion was the Mukden Incident on September 18, 1931. The Chinese were accused of blowing up a section of a Japanese South Manchuria railroad when, in fact, it was the Japanese themselves who did it to provide themselves with an excuse to send troops into China to take over Manchuria. Their goal was accomplished and, as Japan withdrew from the League of Nations, they continued to press on into China from 1937.
Find out more from the map below about Japan's expansion into Manchuria and China proper while the Chinese are embroiled in civil war.
Quiz 2: Why did conditions in China encouraged the rise of militarism in Japan. Explain your answers in comments.
credit: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072957549/student_view0/chapter36/interactive_map_quiz.html
