What then … Continue reading Why did Japan invade SE Asia? Strategically, the Japanese had occupied areas of south-east Asia and the Netherlands East Indies to secure supplies of rubber, oil, and other natural resources. Why, Yamamoto and the Japanese Fleet would be able to roam up and down the Western seaboard of the U.S. at will, spreading carnage in their wake. The key to the invasion of Burma was the Japanese occupation of Thailand, which was followed by the signing of a treaty of friendship on 14 December 1941. The rich oil fields of Dutch East Indies would enable Japan to be almost self-sufficient. Japan invaded French Indo China October 1941 followed by Pearl Harbour Dec 1941. The Government of Thailand provided token resistance and then allowed Japan access. Why Did Japan Invade Manchuria in 1931? The U.S. might be forced to back out of it's 'Germany First' strategy with its British allies, or even drop out of the war completely. The Japanese invaded Thailand (at that stage Siam) on the 8th of December 1941. The Thai army only resisted for 5 hours before giving in and letting the Japanese land on their soil. On the following day the first Japanese troops entered Burma in the Kra Isthmus, the narrow land bridge that connects the Malaya peninsula to the rest of south-east Asia.

The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on 18 September 1931, when the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident.At war’s end in February of 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo.Their occupation lasted until the success of the Soviet Union and Mongolia Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation in mid-August of … First and foremost Japan did not have its own supply of raw materials! Japanese invasion route into Thailand, 8th December 1941. This was the same day they also invaded Manila, Singapore and Indonesia. Entering Burma from Thailand, the Japanese quickly captured Rangoon, cutting off the Burma Road at source, and depriving the Chinese of their … Not only did the Japanese army condemn the plan, but the navy general staff also deprecated it, unable to spare the million tonnes of shipping the invasion would have consumed." But did the Japanese actually intend to continue their southward march and invade the Australian mainland? Instead, they preferred to leave the French in charge and develop Vietnam as a client state. Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Nationalist leaders in Japan desired to unite all of Asia under one emperor, an ideology known as hakkô ichiu. Historians agree Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 for two main reasons: ideology and natural resources. In Australia, the government, the military and the people were deeply alarmed after the fall of Singapore in February 1942 about the possibility of a Japanese invasion. This tactic contradicted Tokyo’s policy of “Asia for Asians” – but at the time, Japan did not have the resources for a full-scale occupation of Vietnam. The potential consequences of losing Midway, therefore, were dire almost beyond calculation!