Puppet state of Manchukuo

The state of Manchukuo was established after the proclamation of independence of Manchuria from China on 18 February 1932, following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Said invasion was triggered by the Mukden Incident: Kwantung Army officers, without the approval of the Japanese government, plotted the detonation of a small bomb close to a Japanese owned railway line near Mukden. Chinese activists were blamed to have caused the explosion and in response the Kwantung Army invaded the Chinese Manchuria provinces.

Map of the invasion of Manchuria, 1931 (Pinterest).

Manchukuo was a Japanese puppet state as it was de facto controlled by Japanese officers. Puyi, the last emperor of China and the last Qing emperor, was appointed head of state on 9 March 1932. Having been forced to abdicate as Chinese Emperor in 1912, Puyi was brought to Manchukuo to legitimate the creation of the new state. He was later declared Emperor of Manchukuo from 1st March 1934, when the state was renamed as Empire of Manchukuo.

Puyi, Emperor of Manchukuo (commons.wikimedia.org).

Upon the formation of Manchukuo, the Kwantung Army was given the duty of controlling the political administration and the defense of the new state. The Emperor was the formal executive power source, assisted by a State Council which consisted on several cabinet ministers. But all these ministers were controlled by vice-ministers who were Imperial Japanese Army officers appointed directly by the Kwantung Army headquarters. Furthermore the commanding officer of the Kwantung Army in Manchukuo also served as the Japanese Ambassador in the state, and had the power to veto any Emperor Puyi decision. Therefore the Kwantung Army had total control of Manchukuo.

General Kenkichi Ueda, commander in Chief of the Kwantung Army and
Japanese Ambassador in Manchukuo 1936-1939 (chinaww2,com).

Japanese investment and the rich natural resources of the area led to a fast industrialization. Manchukuo's industrial system soon became one of the most advanced in the region, but at the expense of brutal exploitation of Chinese workers. Thousands of Japanese farmers and families were sent to Manchukuo to work the vast lands. During World War II, most of Manchukuo's raw material was sent to Japan. The Japanese also created the South Manchuria Railway Company (Mantetsu), which built an extense and efficient railway system.

100 Yuan Manchukuo's banknote 1933 (worldbanknotescoins.com).

Kwantung Army was also in charge of the creation of the Manchukuo's army. It included the Manchukuo Imperial Army, which would later fight together with the Kwantung Army against Soviet troops in the Nomonhan Incident in 1939, and the Manchukuo Imperial Guards who protected the Emperor and the Government.

Manchukuo Imperial Army troops (commons.wikimedia.org).

Following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, the Empire of Manchukuo was abolished in 1945 and its territory transferred back to China the following year.

Manchukuo State Council building in Hsinking (commons.wikimedia.org).

Sources:

- wikipedia