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| 1931, March |
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| The Cherry Society, an ultrarightist group of army officers, planned a coup in Tokyo but failed. | 1 |
The Japanese military was itself not united. In addition to endemic differences between the army and the navy, there were serious rifts within the army. One antidemocratic clique, the Imperial Way Faction, called for direct rule by the emperor; among its leaders were future war minister Gen. Araki Sadao (1877–1966) and Gen. Mazaki Jinzabur (1876–1956). Another group, the Control Faction, called for all-out war and the complete militarization of Japan to that end; its members included Gen. Nagata Tetsuzan (1884–1935), Ishiwara Kanji (1889–1949), and Tj Hideki (1884–1948). The factions fought each other, and often with deadly force. | 2 |
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| April |
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| Hamaguchi was succeeded as prime minister by Wakatsuki Reijir, the new leader of the Minseit. | 3 |
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| Sept. 18 |
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| The Manchurian incident in Mukden (See 1931–32), masterminded by rogue elements of the Guandong Army, erupted, leading to Japanese occupation of key sites in Manchuria. | 4 |
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| Dec |
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| The Wakatsuki government fell, and a new government was formed by Inukai Tsuyoshi (1855–1932), with Gen. Araki Sadao as war minister. | 5 |
| By this year, 80 percent or more of all Japanese foreign investments went to China, amounting to over one-third of all foreign investments there. Most of it went to Manchuria and Shanghai. Japanese textile manufacturing in China was substantial, nearly 40 percent of the Chinese textile industry being owned by Japanese in 1930. | 6 |
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