The First Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War
The then Prime Minister of Japan, Tanaka Giichi, believed that an unstable China was a threat to Japanese holdings in Korea, Taiwan, and the Manchurian Railway. The Northern Expedition was sent into China to attempt to stabalize Japanese holdings, giving support to the Manchurian Warlord Zhang Zuolin. Japan also created the "Positive Policy", which asserted that even if Chiang Kaishek was able to reunite the country, Manchuria would still be under separate jurisdiction. This positive policy had strong support from the Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria. Due to the Exclusion Act of the US, Japan believed that Western powers had deserted Japan. This was echoed by a later Prime Minister, Shigemitsu Mamoru, who said "Manchuria was Japan's own problem". This approach was very different from the "Shidehara Diplomacy" undertaken by Prime Minister Shidehara, which advocated non-intervention and non-expansionist policies against China, instead opting for Economic and Diplomatic ties to safeguard Japanese interests in Manchuria.