Definition: Axis Powers (scroll down for answer)       Definition: Axis Powers As Hitler was gaining territory, so were Japan and Italy. Japan had been in Manchuria (northern) China since 1931. Under Emperor Hirohito, Japan continued to gain land and commit atrocities on the Chinese people. In particular, the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 (also known as the Rape of Nanjing) involved the slaughtering of about 300,000 Chinese prisoners of war and civilians, including the rape and execution of thousands of women. Italy fought to gain control of Haile Selassie's Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia was able to remain free from Italian control during the Age of Imperialism in the late nineteenth century, they fell to Mussolini in 1936. That same year, an alliance known as the Axis Powers was formed between Japan, Italy, and Germany (JIG). Click here for next flash card.      Back to eFlashcard headquarters