Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

What You might not have known about US-Japanese Relations leading up to Pearl Harbor

Instructions

Quiz Answers: 1.b 2.a 3.a 4.b 5.b 6.a 7.b 8.b

-Japan's government between 1939 and the end of WWII can be described as totalitarian, with the emperor playing the role of a symbolic figurehead, when the nation was truly controlled by the army, who forced a militaristic policy that put every Japanese institution under government control.

-In the period of 1939-1941, Japan was a rising nation that aspired to be a world power. Its major limitation was that it lacked natural resources, and it therefore depended largely on either other Asian nations or on western nations such as Britain and the U.S. for resources to fuel its industries. Some key resources provided by the U.S. were oil and scrap iron exports.

- In order to gain more power, Japan, who since the 17th century had been promoting ideas of its manifest destiny and its cultural superiority over other Asian peoples, decided to pursue its manifest destiny into Southeast Asia.

- The U.S. had trade relationships with the rest of Asia, especially China, and felt threatened by Japan's policies. The U.S. tried to restrain Japan by implementing embargoes on badly needed resources beginning on July 26, 1940. Roosevelt issued an embargo on the shipment of premium grades of scrap iron, steel, and high-octane aviation gasoline.

-Japan continued moving into Indochina, and the U.S. responded by announcing an extended embargo on iron and steel scrap exports. Japan retaliated by joining the Axis powers, which it hoped would scare the U.S. into negotiations that would allow it to continue moving into Southeast Asia. The U.S. responded by extending the list of embargoed items to iron ore and pig iron. The list would grow in the coming months, and the alliance would not have its intended effect.

-Japan became fearful that the U.S. would embargo much needed oil, so in 1941, Japanese ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura to Washington to try to negotiate with U.S. Secretary of State Hull. The two met 50 times, where Nomura tried to convince Hull that Japan might back off in South East Asia if America would stop aiding China and would lift her trade sanctions. But Hull demanded as a prerequisite to negotiations that Japan pull out of China, which it couldnt agree to without betraying its manifest destiny.

-On July 2nd, 1941, Japan officially established the policies for its manifest destiny called The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere; these would establish an Asian bloc of nations controlled by Japan, allowing Japan access to their resources and limiting western influence in Asia. Japan decided to extend its Southeast Asia occupation into Indochina.

-U.S. code-breakers discovered Japan's plans to move into Indochina, and the nation retaliated on July 26th it froze Japan's funds and cut off its supply of petroleum. The British and the Dutch imitated the U.S.' embargo. These actions convinced Japan that it should prepare for war.

-On September 6, 1941, Japan decided that if the U.S. didn't change their July 26th policy, Japan would launch a Southern Operation to get oil from the Dutch East Indies, so it could continue its China War. For this operation to be successful, it was necessary to cripple the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.

-Japan was reluctant to attack the U.S., but because oil had been embargoed, and its resources were limited, time was running out. Japan did not want to go to war with the U.S., because it knew it could not win, but it felt like if it could attack the U.S. while it still had resources and was at the height of its military strength, it might have a chance to shock the U.S. into negotiating in its favor. It did not seem that the U.S. would negotiate otherwise, and Japan did not have time or enough resources to wait to see if peaceful negotiations could be reached.

Therefore, because of the U.S.' unrelenting embargoes, Japan felt forced to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Next Page

Comprehension Quiz

Email: xtineblue24@yahoo.com