Having been barely affected by World War I, Japan was becoming increasingly crowded due to its limited size as a nation and its rapidly increasing population. Also Japan’s economy was seriously affected by the Great Depression which began in 1929, with the increase of foreign tariffs imposed on its exports of manufactured goods limited the capacity of Japan to pay for its food imports. Manchuria offered nearly 200,000 square kilometres which, could easily solve the over population problem. Japan also believed that Manchuria offered large amount of raw materials, such as minerals, forestry and rich agricultural land. With all the problems that Japan had experienced at home, Manchuria seems to be a great solution to it.
