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THE MAKING OF JAPANESE MANCHURIA, 1904-1932. By Yoshihisa Tak Matsusaka. Cambridge (Massachusetts): Harvard University Asia Center (distributed by Harvard University Press). 2001. xviii, 522 pp. (Maps, tables.) US$49.50, cloth. ISBN 0-674-00369-1.
Emphasizing process over outcome, this study explores the formation of official Japanese policy towards Manchuria over the first three decades of the twentieth century. It usefully untangles the evolving perceptions (and fears) of key factions in light of their policy options. As such this is a valuable work, but the narrow focus on the ebb and flow of elite politics also leaves much unsaid, even about official policy.
Matsusaka's basic premise is that the creation of the puppet state of Manchoukuo (Manchukuo) did not constitute a decisive break with earlier Japanese activities. Both the seizure of Manchuria and the ensuing implementation of certain economic programs represented elements of longstanding Japanese agendas. Matsusaka arrives at this conclusion through a chronological exploration of Japanese strategic thinking about Manchuria at the highest levels - that of prime ministers,...