kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia
Manchukuo
Origins
In September 1931 officers of the Kwantung Army, based in the Kwantung Leased Territory, staged an explosion on the South Manchuria Railway near Mukden and used it as a pretext to occupy all of Manchuria. In March 1932 they proclaimed the state of Manchukuo, with Puyi as chief executive and Hsinking (Changchun) as capital; he was enthroned as emperor in 1934.
Rule and society
Chinese ministers such as Zheng Xiaoxu and Zhang Jinghui held office, but Japanese vice-ministers and the Kwantung Army held real power. The League of Nations refused recognition, and Japan left the League in 1933. Manchukuo became a laboratory for state-planned heavy industry, mining and railways, and received Japanese and Korean settlers. Resistance was suppressed brutally, and Unit 731 conducted lethal human experiments near Harbin.
Decline and legacy
The Soviet Union invaded in August 1945, and the state collapsed within days; Puyi was captured. Manchuria passed back to China, and its industries became a prize in the civil war.
Lineage
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- Manchukuo was a vassal of Empire of Japan1932 CE – 1945 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Manchukuo. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/manchukuo
- MLA
- “Manchukuo.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/manchukuo. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Manchukuo.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/manchukuo.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Manchukuo’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/manchukuo (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻