Sino-Japanese War
a conflict in 1894 and 1895 between Japan and China. Japan’s victory and subsequent occupation of Korea, Taiwan, and other territories marked the beginning of Japan’s Imperial expansion. This expansion, including Japan’s invasion and annexation of Manchuria in 1931, led in turn to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Japan’s aggression throughout the Pacific also led to World War II in that region.