The Great Powers Of The Japanese War

Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo

The retaliation of the Japanese had the world concerned by the oppression of military actions and to reveal power during the modern era (1900’s). The strategy of the Japanese

During the Imperial Conference of December 1, 1941, Prime Minister Tojo announced that “The United States not only refused to make even one concession” but that “At the same time, the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and China increased their economic and military pressure against us” (87). This gave Japan no choice but to begin a war with the U.S., Japan, and the Netherlands. Additionally, Foreign Minister Togo emphasized that Japan could not accept the proposal made by the U.S. because the conditions would hinder and put at risk the success of the Japanese Empire. In order for Japan to not only continue working towards establishing a New Order for East Asia, but to also maintain their position on an international level, war was the necessary step to take because if they continued to try to negotiate then they would most definitely have regressed.

Years ahead of the war, the Japanese leadership identified that they could not militarily defeat the Russian Empire, but believed a series of quick victories would help force the Russian Empire to negotiate a favorable end to the conflict. This belief helped craft a plan to win key military

The first reason Japan attacked Pearl Harbor was because of the New Order. When Japan thinks of a new order to the world they think of themselves leading everyone, and when thinking of the old order they think of the old leaders: Great

World War II brought great tension between two of the strongest countries during the 1940s: the United States and Japan. Conflict started with Japan’s push past Chinese borders into Manchuria in search of the natural resources that Japan needed. The United States avoided military action with Japan and instead decided to stop economic trade. One of these measures was the Neutrality Act, which prohibited the sale of weapons to nations at war (Nash 513). The United States tried several maneuvers on Japan; they placed oil embargos to force Japan to shut down military operations in China. The US was focused on economically destroying Japan while Japan was planning a surprise attack on the US. Japan. Completely unaware of what the Japanese were

PEARL HARBOUR INTRODUCTION: As World War 1 came to an end and the war was nearly over, Germany suffered greatly and lost major industries and land. This humiliation gave rise to a great rising power led by it's dictators. The invasion of European lands by Hitler who was opposing the treaty invaded Poland in 1939. The Allies issued an ultimatum that Hitler remove his troops under the threat of war.

Japan emerged from WWI feeling that Europe and the United States created the Treaty of Versailles to promote their own goals and leave Japan as a struggling power. In turn, Japan decided to pursue their own agenda to become stronger country. On September 1st, 1939 Germany when violated the Munich Conference by invading Poland and declaring the second world war, Japan saw potential in Hitler's views and joined Germany’s efforts in order to become a dominating world power. As Japan tried to expand they noticed that the United States would prevent the country's goal; so, on December 7th, 1941 the Japanese sent 408 airplanes to bomb the United States’ Navy in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because Japan wanted to gain control of

The belief, subtly reinforced by racist stereotypes, that the behaviour of Japanese forces, from attacks on Chinese cities in 1937 through Pearl Harbour to the Bataan death march...nullified any humanitarian consideration for the Japanese people (Kyoko + Mark Selden, 1989, book)

Russo-Japanese War. To understand why, this paper considers the elements of the Fabian strategy and compares how those elements were satisfied, or not, by General Washington and the Russian

The book effectively builds context for the Pacific War, discussing the political and military background from both American and Japanese perspectives. Nonetheless, Spector does not reveal any new information. Corroborating evidence in this piece serves the purpose of summation rather than radically modifying current academic perceptions of World War II, but Spector makes choices in his writing that certainly challenge cultural mindsets surrounding the war. Rather than categorically highlighting successes of the Americans while neglecting the strengths of the Japanese, Spector unambiguously discusses strengths and weaknesses for all actors throughout the conflict. In fact, he criticizes American exceptionalism in his description of the two-pronged advance by General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz, contending “…the adoption of this course of action was less due to strategic wisdom than to the army and navy’s reluctance to entrust their forces to the command of an officer of the rival service” (p. xiii). The facts that Spector cites throughout Eagle Against the Sun do not divert from other historical texts analyzing the war. Rather, Spector’s ideological interpretation of these facts reflects his distinct purpose to convey the truths of the Pacific War while filtering

We had to fight the Japanese to get back the islands they had seized during the early part of the war. Based on the reading in Module 5 pt.2, “FDR approved a limited offensive. They chose to target the island of Guadalcanal, an island in the southern Solomons where Japan was building an airbase. The first United States Marines division had invaded.” According to “For the Common Dense”, “the Navy Marine Corp had landed at Guadalcanal in August 1942 during WWII to open the south pacific offensive and set out for months of bitter land, sea and air fighting that ended in critical Japan defeat (Millett, p.397).” Both opponents had lost warships in the combats around the island. But more ships had joined the U.S. fleet. This caused the Japanese navy to gradually reduce for the remainder of the war.

Due to the troubles in China, and the economic sanctions form the United States and Europe; Japan had to find more resources to support the war. After rejected the requirements of Western World, Japan started to target Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, to defeat America in the Pacific Ocean became the most important strategy.

When Philips, known as Phil, and Zamperini reached the Marshall Islands, the Japanese immediately captured them. A new journey had begun for them, and it was not going to be any easier. Before they knew it, they were becoming prisoners of war. They were beaten, interrogated, forced to take unknown medication for experimental purposes, enslaved, and most importantly mentally tortured. It was the job of the Japanese guards to make them feel weak and useless individuals to the point where dignity was completely lost. Bouncing from one P.O.W. camp to the next, the food and berthing conditions were unfathomable. Updates of the war were next to impossible to receive. As Phil and Zamperini were eventually separated to different camps, it took everything Zamperini had to maintain his mental strength. Surviving on a raft was one thing, but surviving while being tormented by the enemy was an entirely different ballgame for them. All humanity was lost in this part of the war, and there was no international law that could save them from this torture. Since the suspense was clearly already as high as it gets, Hillenbrand made it even more thorough by interviewing several men from various P.O.W. camps throughout Japan. Hearing the different stories and perspectives added more reality to my wild imagination of what a P.O.W. camp would look like. It also served as a reminder of everyone else who was going through this hell, rather than remaining focused only on Zamperini’s journey. This

Emperor Hirohito or Michinomiya Hirohito was born on April 26th, 1901 and served as the Japanese Emperor from 1926-1989 (his death). During World War 2, Japan was registered as an Axis Power, an alliance with Germany and Italy. Japan’s major and most noted role in the war was that Japan ended by Hirohito’s decision. Japan was very successful during WWII including the occupation and controlling these modern day countries/regions: Manchuria (China), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, East Timor, New Guinea, Guam, and other Pacific Island nations. Also a major Japanese success in World War 2 was the surprise attack on the American military base of Pearl Harbor. Although Japan had these major successes,