How much of China was occupied by Japan in World War Two?
I’ve now attended four lectures on my City Lit course on Chinese history. The fourth lecture – which will be my last of the six because I’m off to Ethiopia – covered events during the Second World War.
I knew that Japan occupied Manchuria before the war but I did not realise how large that territory was. I knew that Japan later occupied the eastern coastal area of China but I did not realise how far inland the occupation extended. And I did not realise at all that the Japanese took over coastal sections in the south.
The total area of occupation was very considerable as you can see from this map (areas of Japanese control in red):
