March 28, 1940: Robert Craigie, London’s ambassador to Tokyo, says Britain and Japan are both maritime powers on the fringes of great continents and share an interest ‘in lasting peace’ March 29, 1940: US Navy prepares major maneuvers near Hawaii March 30, 1940: Chinese politician Wang Jingwei, center, is inaugurated as head of pro-Japanese regime…
Taiwan’s former Prime Minister Hau Pei-tsun passed away in Taipei Monday, at the age of 100. Also a former defense minister, Hau played an important role in the post-war development of Taiwan society. What is less well-known is the fact that he was also a World War Two veteran. Hau was born in Jiangsu province…
March 21, 1940: Japanese politicians, aiming to return to traditional values in a time of national crisis amid war in China, call for end to ‘liberalism based on individuality’ March 22, 1940: Japanese Army carries out mopping-up operations north of Hong Kong, sending large numbers of Chinese refugees across border into British colony March…
March 14, 1940: Japanese troops dig in north of Macao, triggering fears that the Portuguese colony may be cut off from supplies from the mainland March 15, 1940: Japanese and Soviet troops reportedly clash on Sakhalin March 16, 1940: Japan plans to send former Prime Minister Abe Nobuyuki to inauguration of Wang Jingwei, leader of…
March 7, 1940: Japanese lawmaker Saitō Takao, a vocal critic of the war in China, is expelled from parliament, and his name tag is subsequently removed March 8, 1940: Japanese Army reports progress against Chinese forces north of Hong Kong March 9, 1940: China hails US decision to extend loan of 20 million dollars,…
Feb 29, 1940: Australian armed merchant cruiser HMAS Kanimbla bring nine German nationals to Japanese port of Yokohama. The nine are among 21 Germans of military age previously captured by Royal Navy while boarding Japanese passenger ship Asama Maru March 1, 1940: Japanese lawmaker Saitō Takao under pressure to quit following speech in parliament…
Feb 22, 1940: Japan and Italy continue cooperation in Anti-Comintern Pact, targeted at Soviet Union, despite Germany’s defection the previous year with non-aggression treaty with Moscow Feb 23, 1940: Ichikawa Sadanji, leader of the kabuki school of acting, dies. A representative of traditional arts, Ichikawa was also a bridge between East and West, counting US…
Feb 15, 1940: Japanese Army admits withdrawing troops in two separate campaigns in Guangxi in southern China and Inner Mongolia in the north Feb 16, 1940: US House of Representatives approves record naval budget, but fails for second consecutive year to greenlight expansion of port facilities in Guam, worrying that such a step could trigger…
Feb 8, 1940: Japan worried that German-Soviet friendship, reflected in joint invasion of Poland the year before, will cause its cooperation with Berlin to fight global spread of communism to come apart Feb 9, 1940: Japan forms the South China Area Army, headquartered in the city of Guangzhou Feb 10, 1940: To mark 2600th anniversary…
In late 1937 and early 1938, the Swedish envoy to China, Johan Beck-Friis, who was based in Shanghai, filed a series of reports to the Foreign Ministry in Stockholm about Japanese excesses taking place in the conquered capital of Nanjing. Beck-Friis was prevented from visiting Nanjing in person, but his many connections allowed him to…
