Japan Provincial Domain

Japan is a small island nation off the coast of Eastern Asia. Despite its size, Japan has proved to be formidable both economically and militarily. Since the expedition of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 opened up the past feudalistic and reclusive Japan, this nation has expanded and adopted many imperialistic policies as well as taken a more aggressive military stance. Japan has changed in many ways, but has also continued upholding traditional practices throughout 1853 and 1941.

Japanese industry and infrastructure, which were virtually destroyed during World War II, were systematically rebuilt to transform the country into a global economic leader by the mid-1960s. Post-World War II, the seven-year U.S. occupation of Japan proved to be a blessing in disguise as the Japanese received $2 billion in aid from the U.S. in the form of food, fertilizers, petroleum products and industrial materials.

Japan had a very strong entry into World War II. After destroying the United States with the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7th, 1941, they were in a great place. Over the next couple of years in war, The United States joined with Great Britain, and other countries, and formed The Allies. After Germany had conquered most of Europe, the Allies slowly but shirley took over, and freed the countries Germany had invaded. On May 7th, 1945, Germany had surrendered, and Japan was the last enemy fighting in the war against The Allies (Stein). For the short period of time, Japan was struggling. With the United States plotting the atomic bomb, Germany joining with The Allies against them, and the Soviets considering to fight in the Pacific, Japan was

It is clear that Japan’s ‘three unifiers’ were beneficial to the development of Japan in three fundamental areas: social, economic and political. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu are known for unifying Japan after the sengoku period (c. 1467 – c. 1603), a time of internal conflict. While each unifier had a different approach to developing Japan, the corroboration of each new policy resulted in an improved Japan which set foundations for lasting central rule.

With World War Two the most deadly war in history coming into it’s final year Japan was the sole Axis power still standing after Germany and Italy fell. The United States was on the offensive and started to push the Japanese back to their land after

Withdrawal of the U.S navy: Japan was forced to open borders, they were influence by other cultures, they eventually lost the tradition.

Japanese offensive abilities were significantly reduced in June 1942, after its defeat at the battle of Midway. Suffering the loss of four aircraft carriers, Japan was forced to take a defensive posture to protect what land it held in the Pacific (U.S. History 2008). This

In Peter Duus’ Japanese Discovery of America, the author shows the learning experience that Japan went through in order to become one of the strongest countries in the early 20th century. From 1797 when the first American ship arrived in Japan, to 1879 when President Grant visited the Meiji emperor, Japan, not one of the strongest countries economically and militarily at the time, had interactions with multiple countries that included Russia, England and Portugal. However, Japan’s Confucianism belief and the development of the Tokaido Road served as roots for their quick rise to modernization. Even though multiple countries were cooperating with Japan, the relations with the United States proved to be the most

In 1945, World War Two was coming to an end. Following Adolf Hitler’s suicide, and Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945, the war in Europe was finally over. The allies began began postwar planning for future, as well as establishment of post-war order and peace treaties issues. America’s war wasn’t done yet as they were still fighting Japan, eventually pushing them back to their main island. The Japanese’ plans of defending themselves was a group of final decisive battles on the Japanese mainland utilizing all people in Japan to fight to death against the Americans. Fearing costly land battles,

By the end of the war, the U.S. forces had pushed the Japanese far back into their country, leaving them no access to any resources from the Indies. Japanese cities and

The B-29 firebombings on Tokyo and the effective blockade of supplies for Japan by the American submarines weakened the Japanese empire. Meanwhile, the Americans troops and back home were fed the idea that the Japanese would never surrender and the war would go on forever. "But in fact, the Japanese had sent peace feelers to the West as early as 1942, only six months after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. More would come in a flood long before the fateful use of the atomic bombs."(McManus 1)

One of Japan’s main goals during WW2 was to remove the U.S. as a Pacific power in order to gain territory in East Asia. Japan hoped to defeat the U.S. Pacific Fleet and use Midway as a base to attack Pearl Harbor, securing dominance in the region.

According to Okinawa survivor and native Kinya Taira, the Japanese, who controlled the island of Okinawa during World War II “lied to us about the fate that would be facing us if we surrendered to the Allies, so we were confused, utterly paranoid, and just wanted to survive and see our families. We were, essentially, being used by the Imperial Army as body shields, as puppets, forced to go into the most dangerous areas knowing we wouldn’t make it back alive.” (“Okinawans Remember”) Despite the effects of the Battle of Okinawa on the natives of the land and the Allied soldiers who fought in it, this battle was the most crucial in ending World War II efficiently, thus the claim that the Battle of Okinawa was the most important battle in the war against the Japanese during World War II.

In August 1945, the devastating wars in Pacific came to an end after an American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay loaded with deadly and newly discovered weapon dropped on a city in southern Japan called Hiroshima. Unfortunatel\, for the Japaneese poeple, the government refused to surrrender after the first American attack. Therefore, few days later, a second bomb had tobe dropped on a nother Japaneese city called Nagasaki. Japaneese society was hit extremely hard with over 100,000 people being killed in the consequences of the two destructive bombs. The demage could have been visibly smalled if the Japaneese government surrended after the first attack.

In 1945, Japan was devastated and lost a quarter of the national wealth after suffering a defect in the second world war. A majority of the commercial buildings and accommodation had been demolished, and massive machinery and equipment formerly used in production for the civil market were out of service to provide metal for military supplies (Miyazaki 1967). Despite the trash and ruins had left over in Japan, Japan was able to rebuilding its infrastructure and reconstruct their economy. It is revealed that the Japanese economy was on its way to recovery, which received a rapid development since the war, and the reconstruction of Japan had spent less than forty years to become the world’s second largest economy in the 1980s. This essay will explore the three factors account for the economic growth of post-war Japan: the financial assistance from the United States, the external environment, and the effective policy of Japanese government.