e Japanese public.
In 1931, the Japanese military, having determined to oust the civilian government in Japan staged the Mukden Incident in Manchuria. The Mukden Incident was designed to make it appear that the Chinese had attacked Japanese interests, force the hand of the sitting Japanese government, and set the stage for an aggressive change in Japanese foreign policy. Soon thereafter, Japanese army troops began moving north from Korea into Manchuria.
China appealed to the League of Nations for help against Japanese aggression. Although the Unite States supported the Chinese position, there was little the country could do, as it had earlier refused to join the League of Nations. The Western industrial powers by 1931, however, were in the midst of a devastating economic depression, and were none too eager to engage in hostilities against Japan. As a consequence, the League of Nations simply suggested to China and Japan that the two countries not worsen the situation in Manchuria. The American and British governments decided "that i
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