Cause
Nanking’s genocide was mainly caused by Japan’s lust for power, but also a few other factors. The Japanese government wanted to be one of the world’s super powers, just like the USA and Great Britain. The government decided that the only way to become a leading super power was to take over parts of China and Korea. They picked the parts carefully, estimating which would have the most resources and which natural resources they would need, Nanking being one of their main targets. They captured the city, then went farther and started doing things that would be frowned upon. The Japanese killed all the Chinese men they found, and raped the women. Many of the women died from it. The “Nanking Massacre occupied a central place in Chinese efforts to win international support for their cause in the war against Japan.” (Cook).
