North China Buffer State Strategy

The North China Buffer State Strategy (華北分離工作, Kahoku Bunri Kōsaku) (simplified Chinese: 华北五省自治; traditional Chinese: 華北五省自治) is the general term for a series of political manoeuvrings Japan undertook in the five provinces of northern China, Hebei, Chahar, Suiyuan, Shanxi, and Shandong. It was an operation to detach all of northern China from the power of the Nationalist Government and put it under Japanese control or influence.

In China the affair is referred to as the “North China Incident” corresponding only to the time between the series of "North China Autonomy Movements" orchestrated by the Japanese army since May 1935 and the founding of the Hebei–Chahar Political Council under Song Zheyuan in December. It is recognized as ranking alongside the Manchurian Incident, the Shanghai Incident, and the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.