8. The Mukden incident was staged by the Japanese Army in 1931
The Japanese troops in Manchuria were known as the Kwantung Army. In the spring of 1931 officers from the Kwantung Army decided (with or without the support of officers in Japan remains debated) to stage an incident in which it appeared Chinese troops had created an act of sabotage against Japanese interests in the railway. Their plan was carried out in September 1931, though the damage as a result of the explosion the Japanese planted along the railway was minimal. The following day, in “retaliation” for the alleged Chinese sabotage, Japanese artillery shelled a nearby Chinese army installation. After the commander of the Kwantung Army endorsed the shelling (initially he was hesitant to do so) he requested reinforcements from Japan.
The incident was the excuse for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and drew international condemnation when Japan refused to accept a settlement proposed by the League of Nations. It also had ramifications within Japan, as the military moved to seize control of the Diet and the machinery of government. To the Japanese militarists and their supporters, the invasion and occupation of Manchuria was an act of defense in the face of Chinese aggression and the violation of an existing treaty. The Mukden incident allowed the military to seize control of the government of Japan, under the auspices of the Emperor to whom they owed their loyalty.
