Japanese Atrocities Marked Fall Of Social Darwinism In China

Japan's conquest of Asia lasted from the early to mid 1900s. During their time invading the receiving countries felt oppressed. Their cultural identity was suppressed and there was non stop forced labor. Not only that but there was an unrelenting amount of rape such as the Rape of Nanking (or Nanjing). Many US newspapers describe this event as “Japanese Atrocities” (The New York Times Japanese Atrocities Marked Fall of Nanking After Chinese Command Fled). These Japanese acts of cruelty all trace back to the concept of Social Darwinism. Oxford Languages defines Social Darwinism as “the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals.” (Oxford Languages). It is said

Japan’s rule in China started in 1931 and ended in 1945 due to WWII. Initially, Japan started its invasion in the territory of Manchuria which is located in northeast China. When Japan gained control it created a semi autonomous region called Manchukuo. Then, in 1937, Japan launched its full scale invasion of Beijing. This invasion was to pursue Japan’s job of taking over East Asia and teaching people a better culture and way of life. They are Social Darwinists believing they are the better type of person and they should teach the rest of the world. A story in the New York Times states “It is not the cause of ‘incidents’ with Japan but the result of such incidents. Japanese have made. They have awakened the Chinese to the danger of losing independence and singled themselves out as the threat.” (Peffer Japan Pursues Her 'Destiny' In China). This quote describes the effect of the Japanese invasion of China. It shows how they need to annex and implement their ideas. As the quote says, it is not the cause that matters but the result, and that result is a changed China weakened by Japan. As well as Japan’s need to take over, they did many uncivil actions. One of these actions includes the Rape of Nanking. This event occurred in late 1937 and lasted for six weeks. During this, the Japanese murdered,

Japan started its invasion of Indonesia in 1942, attacking two main cities (Jakarta and Surabaya). This strike was a series of aerial and naval attacks. The Dutch did try to resist the Japanese with help from the British, Australians, and Americans but eventually failed. During Japan’s rule, they exploited Indonesian crops. A Washington Post article states “The Japanese have announced that a large part of Java’s rice crop is being shipped to Japan, in exchange for cheap pottery goods, in spite of the fact that the teeming island raises barely enough rice for its own use.” (Menefee Occupied Indonesia). This quote shows how much Japan has ruined Indonesian life just due to their idea of being better than others. The quote states that they took Indonesian crops and sold them for themselves. Not only did this make the Japanese money but it also left the Indonesians poor and starving. This is a perfect example of how the Japanese need and job to take over East Asia is morally wrong. Another example of the effect of these devastating acts lies in the article Indonesia Warned Of Further Action. Within, it is said that “Tracing the history of the Indonesian difficulties to the Japanese Occupation … ‘we are not fighting a colonial war, but that with the Indonesians we are fighting the evils of the Japanese inheritance.’” (Indonesia Warned Of Further