When Does The Pursuit Of National Interest Become Ultranationalism?

Sometimes when a nation is pursuing its interests, its actions can become harmful to
other nations. Ultranationalism is when a nation puts its own interests before the interests of
another nation, an ultranationalistic individual is usually fanatically loyal to their own nation, and
racist, maybe even hostile, towards other nations. The Nanjing massacre is a genocide that
resulted from Japanese ultranationalism. A genocide can be defined as the deliberate and
systematic killing of a large group of people, which is what occured in Nanking in 1937. Many
people faced immeasurable suffering at the hands of Japanese troops. It is because of this
suffering that we can recognize this event as ultranationalism. There are peaceful ways to
expand an economy but instead, Japan invaded China, claiming it as its own and bringing
suffering and loss to a nation and its people. While Japan sought after a broadened economy
and more political influence, the people of China feared for their lives, their loved ones, and their
nation.

The Nanjing massacre was a horrifying event but it was not isolated. During the second
Sino-Japanese War, Japan invaded China in hopes of claiming the entire nation and was met
with little and futile resistance until allied forces forced Japan’s surrender in 1945. Tension
between Japan and China had been building for a long time and many events lead up to
Japan’s attack. In the beginning, Japan had a leasehold on Liaodong peninsula and railways
that gave them control of Manchuria which compromised Chinese sovereignty. As an attempt to
fight this, China built their own railways that encircled the Japanese’s and the ruler of Manchuria
allied with the nationalist party. As tension continued to rise, a bombing of the Japanese railway
occurred and the Japanese proceeded to install the puppet government of Manchukuo. But this
was not enough. In 1934 Japan declared all of China under Japanese control. July 7, 1937, the
Marco Polo bridge incident occurred, a minor clash between Chinese and Japanese troops that
turned out to be much more significant. The Japanese saw this and thought that the nationalist
party must be eliminated; and in december they came to the nationalist capital, Nanking.
Japan’s military was much more prepared and faced little resistance, when they reached
Nanking, all official Chinese troops were ordered to flee, leaving only untrained auxiliary troops.
It is estimated that 300,000 Chinese people were murdered in Nanking alone. The slaughter of
these people was not a crucial step towards expanding Japan’s political influence or economy, it
was the result of the ultranationalistic ideals of the Japanese.

When considering an event’s significance, things such as an event’s prominence at the

time, magnitude, scope, and the impact help clarify exactly how significant the event was.
Nanking was only one of many cities invaded by Japanese troops but it faced the greatest
devastation. At the time, Nanking was just another city taken by the Japanese during the war
but ultimately it was much more significant than just that. It is estimated that nearly 300,000
people were killed and while the scope of this event is small, the magnitude is shocking.
Perhaps, if more cities faced similar devastation or if more people were made aware of the
sickening events that occurred, other nations would have stepped in sooner but just because
the nanjing massacre did not draw international attention does not lessen its significance. The
treatment of the people in Nanking was inhumane and unnecessarily harsh, most likely due to
the Japanese’s indoctrinated hatred towards the Chinese. Ultimately, thousands of lives were
lost because of Japan’s selfish and bloody pursuit of its own interests.
 Overall, what occurred in not only Nanking but during the war took place because of
Japan’s ruthless pursuit of money and power. When a nation is seeking to expand their
economy and political control, that is generally good. But when a nation not only declares
another nation under its control but also invades, attacks, and slaughters another nation, that is
ultranationalism. It is important for people to recognize what ultranationalism looks like and
know what horrible things it can do so that we might be able to prevent that kind of suffering
from taking place again. It is important for people to recognize that the pursuit of national
interest becomes ultranationalism when you are no longer building a nation but tearing one
down.