Continental policy of Japan as seen from France: around the “Manchurian incident”

This article analyzes a response of various French politicians and political analysts to a new phase of Japanese expansion into China - the occupation of Manchuria in Autumn 1931 known as the “Manchurian Incident”. The League of Nations as well as the governments of almost all Great Powers condemned Japan’s action as “agression” and violation of international law, but numerous influental French political writers, mainly of “right-wing” orientation, openly welcomed Japanese continental policy. This point of view was most meticulously and ably presented by Jacques Bainville (1879-1936), chief political analyst of Royalist Nationalist movement «Action frangaise». According to this opinion only Japan was able to bring into China, split after Xinhai Revolution of 1911, “peace and stability”. Even some left-wing French politicians and analysts, like Socialists Paul Faure and Joseph Paul-Boncour, recognized that overpopulated Japan needed some space for colonization and economic exploitation and can obtain it in Manchuria giving an impulse to the development of this region. French politicians and analysts didn’t consider Japanese expansion into the continent to be a menace to French colonial possessions in Indo-China or to French economical rights and interests in China. Quite the opposite they recognized in this expansion a kind of potential protection against “Communist danger” coming from the USSR and Chinese Communists. This danger may directly touch French possessions in Asia by the way of promoting anti-colonial movements for national liberation. Jacques Bainville warned that conflict between Japan and the League of Nations first of all would weaken European powers’ position in their Asian colonies as well as would strengthen tension between Japan and the USA and so would jeopardize stability in the whole Asia. A study of French opinion and response to Japanese continental policy will not only enrich our knowledge about the history of this period but also will help us to understand better its political philosophy as well as working of the propaganda and image-making systems.

Japan, France, Manchuria, China, League of Nations, expansion, colonization

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