Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Agreement signed between Germany and Japan on November 25, 1936 that aimed to combat international communism by sharing intelligence on parties belonging to the Comintern (see the international ). Both states also promised not to sign any agreement with the soviet union and, though the Pact was not a military alliance, they undertook to defend their “mutual interests.” In the event of either country finding itself at war with the USSR, the other party pledged neutrality . Japan was wary of entangling itself in any European conflict and was seeking to strengthen its hand against Soviet influence in China. As part of the deal, hitler's regime also agreed to recognize the Japanese puppet state of Manchuria. In 1937 the Pact was joined by mussolini's Italy, which was already party to the Rome-Berlin axis dating from the previous year. In 1939 Hitler effectively reneged on his undertakings to Japan by making the nazi-soviet pact . However, the Anti-Comintern agreements of 1936–7 still helped to form the basis for the Tripartite Pact of September 1940 involving a Japanese alliance with Germany and Italy during much of world war ii . These accords were again influential in 1941 when several states in alliance with or satellite to Hitler's regime, as well as Spain and the Chinese Nationalist government in Nanjing, made similar commitment to the defeat of communism. ... log in or subscribe to read full text