Editing Manchuria (section)

====Japan====
The term ''Manchuria'' has been described as "controversial" or "troublesome" by several scholars including Mark C. Elliott, Norman Smith, and Mariko Asano Tamanoi. The historian Norman Smith wrote that "The term 'Manchuria' is controversial" based on reasons outlined by Mariko Asano Tamanoi in the "Introduction" of ''Crossed Histories: Manchuria in the Age of Empire'' (2005).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2pjbx91hb_gC&pg=PA219 Smith 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116111301/https://books.google.com/books?id=2pjbx91hb_gC&pg=PA219 |date=16 November 2022 }}, p. 219.</ref> According to Tamanoi, "'Manchuria' is a product of Japanese imperialism, and to call the area Manzhou is to accept uncritically a Japanese colonial legacy." Japan used the name "Manchuria" to convey the idea of a contested region distinct from China while China insisted on its ownership of the region by rejecting the name "Manchuria". Japanese colonists who returned to Japan from [[Manchukuo]] in the post-war period used terms such as ''Manshu'' (Manchuria), ''Man-mō'' (Manchuria-Mongolia), and ''Mō-man'' (Mongolia-Manchuria) almost interchangeably.{{sfn|Tamanoi|2005|p=2-3}}{{sfn|Narangoa|2002|p=5}} Hyphenated terms such as ''Man-sēn'' (Manchuria and Korea) and ''Man-mō'' (Manchuria-Mongolia) emerged in Japanese media and traveler writings during the first three decades of the 20th century, implying that these regions were extensions of each other.{{sfn|Narangoa|2002|p=12}} Tamanoi notes that the name "Manchuria" cannot be found on Chinese maps and acknowledged that she "should use the term in quotation marks" even though she did not.<ref name ="Tamanoi">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/2658656 Tamanoi 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702073843/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2658656 |date=2 July 2019 }}, p. 249.</ref>

Historian Bill Sewell denies that ''Manchuria'' is "a genuine geographic term", claiming the Japanese never viewed Manchuria as a discrete entity and it was Europeans who first started using the name Manchuria to refer to the location.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=El9Lj_EKzBAC&pg=PA114 ed. Edgington 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116111300/https://books.google.com/books?id=El9Lj_EKzBAC&pg=PA114 |date=16 November 2022 }}, p. 114.</ref> Others such as Forêt described ''Manchuria'' as a solely geographical term without indicating a political connection and used it in that capacity despite acknowledging its imperialistic overtones.<ref name="Forêt2000"/> The historian [[Gavan McCormack]] agreed with Robert H.&nbsp;G. Lee's statement that "The term Manchuria or Man-chou is a modern creation used mainly by westerners and Japanese", with McCormack writing that the term Manchuria is imperialistic in nature and has no "precise meaning" since the Japanese deliberately promoted the use of "Manchuria" as a geographic name to promote its separation from China at the time they were setting up their puppet state of Manchukuo.<ref>McCormack 1977, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GoSrAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4 p. 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116111301/https://books.google.com/books?id=GoSrAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4 |date=16 November 2022 }}.</ref> In the 1920s, Japanese media still presented Manchuria as part of China, albeit as a distinct region, and sometimes called it the "Garden of China". However, in 1932, the puppet state of Manchukuo was founded covering not only the northeastern three provinces but also parts of eastern Inner Mongolia.{{sfn|Narangoa|2002|p=12}} In 1933, the Bureau of Information and the Publicity Department of Foreign Affairs of the Manchukuo Government published a ''Handbook of Information of Manchukuo'' stating that Manchuria did not belong to China, had its own history and traditions, and was the home of the Manchus and Mongols.{{sfn|Narangoa|2002|p=18-19}} Elliot notes that one scholar considered the use of "Manchuria" as not only inaccurate but giving approval to Japanese colonialism.<ref name="Elliot 2000"/>