What happens
In November 1931, a reporter in Tianjin learns that Colonel Doihara has kidnapped Henry Pu Yi, the last Manchu emperor, and he follows the story north to Mukden. Japanese forces have taken control of Manchuria, and the reporter watches as a puppet state called Manchukuo is declared in Changchun, with Pu Yi installed as its figurehead. The story traces Japan's long interest in Manchuria, drawn by its farmland, soybeans, coal and iron, and shows how Japanese industry and control expand over Chinese workers and farmers. The Pacific Story series aired on the National Broadcasting Company, and this episode was first broadcast on June 4, 1944.
Manchuria, 1931 to 1944, including Tianjin, Mukden, Changchun, Anshan, Fushun and the Manchurian countryside
Characters: Walter, Henry Pu Yi, Colonel Doihara, General Hanzo, Mr. Walton
Listen for: The reporter's account of Pu Yi's kidnapping and the declaration of Manchukuo, and the later description of Japan's wartime industrial buildup in Manchuria
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.