Mukden incident

On September 18, 1931, near Mukden (now Shenyang) in southern Manchuria, a section of railroad owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway was dynamited.[1] The Imperial Japanese Army, accusing Chinese dissidents of the act, responded with the invasion of Manchuria, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo the following year. This Mukden Incident represented an early event in the Second Sino-Japanese War, although full-scale war would not start until 1937. While the responsibility for this act of sabotage remains a subject of controversy, the prevailing view is that Japanese militarists staged the explosion in order to provide a pretext for war. This event is known by various names, including the Mukden Incident. The favored name in Japan is the Manchurian Incident (Kyūjitai: 滿洲事變, Manshujihen: 満州事変). The favored name in China is the September 18 Incident (Chinese: 九•一八事变/九•一八事變 → Jiǔyībā Shìbiàn) or the Liutiaogou Incident (Chinese:柳条沟事变/柳條溝事變 → Liǔtiáogōu Shìbiàn).