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| 1940, March 30 |
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| The Japanese supported the establishment of a puppet government under Wang Ching-wei at Nanking to administer the areas of China under their control. | 1 |
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| April 17 |
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| Secretary of State Cordell Hull warned the Japanese that the U.S. would oppose any attempt to change the status quo of the Netherlands East Indies by other than peaceful means. | 2 |
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| June 9 |
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| Russia and Japan reached an accord regarding the disputed frontier of Manchukuo. | 3 |
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| June 25 |
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| With the collapse of France, the Japanese demanded the right to land forces in French Indochina. Japanese warships arrived at several ports there. | 4 |
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| July 18 |
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| The British government closed the Burma Road. This was the main route by which the Chinese Nationalist armies under Gen. Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) could obtain foreign war materiel. The Japanese agreed to discuss peace terms with the Chinese Nationalist government. | 5 |
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| Aug. 9 |
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| British garrisons at Shanghai and in northern China were withdrawn. | 6 |
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| Sept. 4 |
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| Secretary of State Hull warned the Japanese government that aggressive moves against Indochina would have an unfortunate effect upon public opinion in the U.S. | 7 |
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| Sept. 26 |
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| After the French government at Vichy had conceded the use of three airfields and several ports in Indochina, Japanese forces began the occupation of Indochina and crossed into China 120 miles from Hanoi. The U.S. government placed an embargo on the export of iron and steel scrap after Oct. 15 to countries (except Great Britain) outside the Western Hemisphere. The Japanese ambassador at Washington described this (Oct. 8) as an “unfriendly act.” | 8 |
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| Sept. 27 |
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| JAPAN JOINED ITALY AND GERMANY in a ten-year tripartite pact (See Sept. 27). | 9 |
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| Oct. 18 |
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| Great Britain reopened the Burma Road. | 10 |
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