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Tanaka Memorandum

A memorandum dated July 25, 1927 supposedly presented to Emperor Showa (Hirohito) by Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi following the Far Eastern Conference; it contained a detailed plan for the conquest of Manchuria and Mongolia. A copy of the memorandum was leaked and published in 1929 in a Chinese newspaper, and word of it spread to the West. Though the Japanese government denied the authenticity of the memorandum, it had considerable international impact, especially as Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931 and later advanced into China. The issue of the supposed memorandum, for which no corroborative archival material has ever been found, was taken up inconclusively at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East following World War II. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)

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