The Rising Threat Of Japan

The world has become a scary place where evil runs rampant and bombings and shooting are becoming more common. The act of terrorism puts fear into the average person, and American essayist and social critic H.L. Mencken observes this by writing, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” That concession is certainly true, because in a contemporary society where terrorism reigns American citizens are willing to give up their freedom and rights for the feeling of security.

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

For my history assignment, I chose the document “Theodore Roosevelt’s The Threat of Japan”. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, modernization took place, bringing Japan to the height of power equivalent to a western power after defeating both China and Russia. United States was maintaining its policy of isolationism but was slowly transitioning to self interest imperialism, keeping control over countries with economic benefit such as open door policy with China. A summary of this article would be Roosevelt’s changing ideas of how US should change their foreign policy with regard to the dynamic change in the balance of world powers in 1909. My

By the nineteenth century Western nations had developed superior military technology than other countries. Western countries were able to control other nations by coercing them into unfair trading treaties which would leave the country economically dependent on them. The countries rarely resisted successfully due to their insufficient military power. This occured often Asia with only Japan and Thailand remaining independent. Only Japan thrived however and became an imperial power. Japan was an isolated country until the United States forcibly opened it to trade. Japan experienced a regime change following a tumultuous time in which western nations coerced Japan into trade treaties. The new government favored capitalism and industry which lead to Japan industrializing impressively fast through “top down” government mandated modernization. Western imperialism forced Japan to modernize in order to remain a sovereign and successful state. Modernization in this case was synonymous with becoming more like the West. Imperialism drastically changed Japanese economic interaction as well as Japanese culture and class system because modernization included becoming more like the West in most aspects but their treatment of women remained the same because the West did not treat women very differently.

the practice by which powerful nations or social orders hope to create and keep up control or effect over weaker nations or society. By the 1800 's, the Western powers had central focuses in this technique. They drove the world in creative advances, giving them a quality while vanquishing distinctive countries. The European Imperialists made tries to vanquish China and Japan. In this methodology, they succeeded by affecting Japan immensely. In any case, they were not as productive with China.

On December 7th, 1941, Japan used the paralysis of peace of the U.S to make them successfully attack Pearl Harbor; after that it was a turning point of World War II. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor symbolized and marked the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor, while implementation of the "south", to launch a comprehensive attack on the South-East Asia, defeated the United States, Britain, the Netherlands East Indies in the Far East more than 300,000 troops, have occupied Thailand, Malaya, Burma, the Philippines, the Netherlands East India, some islands of Hong Kong and the Western Pacific, seized 3.86 million square kilometers of land, control of the 150 million population and wealth of strategic resources in the region, Asia-Pacific battlefield in full swing.

The entry of Japan into World War was accompanied by a shifting relationship between England and Australia. Up until the fall of Singapore on the 15th of February 1942, England enjoyed the unconditional support of Australia in fighting the war in Europe. The fall of Singapore and Britain’s subsequent surrender in the region brought the war closer than ever to Australia. This new perspective on the war resulted in a reconsideration of Australia’s position in the commonwealth and forged a new relationship with America. In order to understand these changing perspectives, it is essential to look at Australia’s relationship with England pre-World War 2, why Australia looked to America, how America responded to Australia’s appeal for support and subsequent changes to Australia’s foreign policy.

On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is located near Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack on Pearl Harbor is also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor. The Japanese unleashed this as a surprise. They were trying to convince the US to stand down from the war, but that just made the US angry. This battle was the historical event that brought the United States into World War II.

The Japanese didn't understand how the allies could so easily surrender with no shame or dishonour as they believed that you were either to be killed in the war or commit suicide if captured. This is why they were overwhelmed by the amount of prisoners they had to put in camps. In February 1942 there was 15,000 ‘Australian’ POW, and by mid-1943 only 2,500 remained. In May 1444 Changi had a total of 5,000 Australian POWs of the 11,100 prisoners; who were all crammed into less than a quarter of a square kilometre. In Selarang Barracks, the POW’s camps, unlike others, resorted to commanding officers of the allies (who were also prisoners) to taking care and controlling what happens in the camp.The POWs were given supplies and food and left till

This investigation is important in its historical context because Japan was facing the oil embargo from the US in 1941, which gave the huge domestic damages. Japan was also afraid of the strength of the US that it took a long time to determine to attack on Pearl Harbor. Therefore the leaders might have been considering the Allies at the first time, not its ally Germany.

Japan’s emperor had his mind set on expanding his country through the South Pacific. He was halted and stopped by America’s vast amount of ships, which blocked their progress and way. By this, mayhem started. On December 7, 1941, the first aerial attack on America occurred. Japan flew across the Pacific Ocean, over Pearl Harbor, in the early morning. Bombs began to fall from the sky and started to cause havoc of the Americans located there. The battle lasted several hours, and many citizens died. Around two-thousand and four hundred people were killed, leaving another thousand wounded. Along with the deaths, about seventeen ships and 5 battleships were destroyed. Following the surprise attack from the Japanese, President Roosevelt called for a state of emergency. The next day, December 8, 1941, America declared war on Japan. America was seeking for a way of revenge on Japan. Before the

“We were about to form lines facing the front, we saw a B-29 approaching and about fly over us...That was the moment when the blast came. And then the tremendous noise came and we were left in the dark...” This is how 14 year old Akihiro Takahashi begins his account of the bombing on Hiroshima. Standing just 1.4km away from the epicenter, Akihiro couldn’t do anything but watch as the United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on his hometown. Three days later, while terror was still raging in Hiroshima, the US dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. While it may seem inhumane for the US to have used such powerful weapons on Japan, the US had many reasons to use such drastic measures. The United States and Japan 's involvement in WW2 led to the eventual use of atomic weapons causing a series of devastating effects that changed Japan and the world forever.

Pearl Harbor was a naval base located in Hawaii. It was considered by most a wonderful “home away from home” for the men who preserved America’s interests abroad. Even though Europe was involved in a bitter world war, in the Pacific, there were no signs of trouble. During this time, Great Britain was at war with Germany and Italy, Japan’s allies. The United States attempted to aid Great Britain in every way possible which in turn caused Japan to grow vociferous towards the United States. Japanese anger also focused on the embargos which the United States had placed on American exports to Japan. Above all, Pearl Harbor stood athwart Japan’s path-a navy which Japanese admirals thought capable of menacing their nation’s existence. Because of

The United States (US) is constantly looking for ways to improve relations with other countries and to follow their National Security Strategy (NSS). To aid the US in analyzing different countries, the PMESII-PT is used as a formula to keep everyone on the same page. The PMESII-PT contains eight different variables which help the United States analyze how different countries can affect their National Security Strategy. These variables include: political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical terrain, and time. These variables can be used to help better understand the situation and most important aspects of any country. Japan is a major country that can have a large impact on US relations and build on the current NSS. Throughout this paper, the PMESII-PT variables are examined to help educate and show how Japan can affect the United States’ NSS. After reading this paper, one can gain knowledge on how Japan can have a large influence on US interests in the Pacific/ Asian Command (PACOM) region.

In the end, at Potsdam, the Allies (right) went with both a "carrot and a stick," trying to encourage those in Tokyo who advocated peace with assurances that Japan eventually would be allowed to form its own government, while combining these assurances with vague warnings of "prompt and utter destruction" if Japan did not surrender immediately. No explicit mention was made of the emperor possibly remaining as ceremonial head of state.