U.S.–Japan Economic Contention in Manchukuo: What did Manchukuo’s Economic Control Bring to the U.S.–Japan Relationship?

Abstract

This article examines the impact of Japan’s economic control of Manchukuo on U.S.-Japan relations. From 1933 to 1935, ties between the two countries came to a temporary standstill. However, during these years, Washington and Tokyo waged a diplomatic war in the background over Japan’s control of Manchukuo’s economy. Although the United States accused Japan of violating the Nine Power Treaty it had signed endorsing the Open Door Policy, Japan established several special companies in Manchukuo, and some American firms withdrew from Manchuria. What kind of diplomatic negotiations developed between the United States and Japan during this period? What impact did they have on the relationship between the two countries? This article examines Japan’s development of economic control in Manchukuo and considers its impact, while situating the matter within the history of U.S.-Japan relations during the interwar period. In doing so, it will show how Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented measures that prevented Japan’s economic domination of Manchukuo from immediately worsening U.S.-Japan relations. At the same time, it demonstrates that Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as its army, played an important role in the process of Japan asserting dominance over Manchuria.