This was mainly just the imports they were getting from other countries. This is very bad for Japan because the oil and other things the US was sending to Japan were very beneficial to them in many ways. They used the fuel for ships, planes, aircraft carriers, and tanks that they were using for war. Event #2 December 1937: The USS Panay was in Chinese waters and the Japanese attacked the Panay via aircraft.
Japan believed that they were the rightful controllers, this created many conflicts with the other countries. Emperor Hirohito was the leader of Japan during World War One and Two which shows that he had a lasting effect on the wars. Hirohito disliked the Treaty of Versailles and did not agree with the racial approach in America. Japan also needed raw material because there was an increase in population. All of these events could have led to the start of World War Two.
One reason was the fact that the United States began an embargo on Japan, ending the trade of Japanese weapons. This limited Japan from obtaining more resources in their expansion. Another reason was that Japan needed oil to help keep expanding and raise their economy. The U.S. Navy was in their way, by controlling the Philippines, which is why they thought they needed to get rid of them. Lastly, both Japan and the U.S. did not agree on each other’s ways of running government.
They wanted more land and they took what they wanted.apan needed natural resources like oil, steel and iron. As shown in document (D) the U.S had cut Japan off of 80% of their oil. Oil that they needed to fuel their boats to move other resources in and out of Japan.
In 1938, Japan announced its plan to constitute a new order in East Asia (Doc C). In this new order, the rule of the Japanese emperor would be drawn-out over Earth. This was a driving force for Japan’s invasion because of their ambitious desires. By damaging an American naval base, it gave Japan the ability to also occupy China and Manchuria leading to a rise in their military power (Doc C). Japan’s presence in more of East Asia brought them one step closer to expanding their authority.
embargo was a huge motivating factor for Japan to attack, as it happened so soon after. In addition, Document D’s chart illustrates how dependent Japan was on U.S. imports of petroleum. The country has few oil reserves and could produce very little of its own oil. Therefore, without the oil imports from America, Japan would be deprived of vital resources necessary for its imperialistic conquests. In short, in order for Japan to continue growing as a world power and establish its dominance over other territories, the country felt it had to weaken the United States so that we would become unable to interfere.
Japan had been humiliated by its allies at the Treaty of Versailles as The United States had vetoed any discussion about racial equality. The United States had also forced Japan to sign an unfair treaty in 1853, controlling their trade and resources. When Japan suffered economic depression in the 1930’s, Japan attacked China for resources. The United States and Britain were against the expansion of Japan, angering the once-reclusive country (Sczcepanski, 2017, online). Japan turned to new countries for resources including countries in the Pacific and Australia.
During the time of 1941 the Japanese economy began to bloom exponentially in the industrial and militarily fields. Japan’s growth occurred due to the trade provided to the country due to its low resources. Acquiring Oil and Metals it allowed the Country to become a contender in their cause against the Allies. However, during this period Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) had his own interests and goals of the war time.
In a letter from the U.S. Ambassador in Japan to the Secretary of State, the U.S Ambassador mentions notably the poor internal economic and financial situation of Japan along with the unsuccessful attempts to obtain loans from England, France, and Holland. The Ambassador also mentions the steady increase of stress in the Government and the mention of a hot-headed military that doesn't want to face the horrible facts (Doc H). Due to the fact that the U.S. Ambassador is in Japan his point of view on Japan’s situation is first hand and can see the effects of the deprivement of resources Japan is going through. In past history many countries had taken an imperialist mindset and when in the need for resources they would take over other countries for their resources. So keeping in mind the United States power, Japan’s want for the same power, and Japan’s “hotheaded military”, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor could have been to take resources from the U.S. as well as weaken them for possibly taking their power.
At the time, Japan did not have the necessary natural resources an industrial nation required; therefore, the United States and the western parts of Europe were supplying Japan with these resources: coal, iron, steel, copper, rubber, and petroleum (Higgs). Without these resources, Japan would collapse in a matter of months. In order to sustain their military, they would need coal, iron, steel, and petroleum to supply their military. Japan had to act fast, or else their whole economy would crumble. On the islands that American took away from Japan during the imperialist stages in the late 19th century, such as Hawaii and the Philippians, had these resources.
But what were the reasons Japan attacked Pearl Harbor? Japan attacked Pearl Harbor for the following reasons; they had planned a “new world order’ to rule the world, the U.S began an oil embargo against them, and US Navy was about to expand. Japan is an island in East Asia, near the Pacific Ocean. It was known for it’s world wide invasion and it’s powerful army.
Japan’s desperation was clear because America was already supplying them 80% of their oil (DOC D). With next to none natural resources in Japan the American supply was vital. The oil embargo pushed Japan to the state of needing to attack American soil at Pearl
but they had little natural resources causing a famine increasing the tension between the plentiful us and the lacking in resources japan. The shift of fdr to Truman was a big shock to the way the US handles threats and war, going from
As the war waged on in Europe, Japan aimed to dominate Asia. The United States disagreed with this and demanded that Japan leave China. After the United States cut off the war supplies from Japan, the Japanese interpreted it as
Japan was in fact a nation that had it Empire. In the early stages of the Meiji period Japan wished to improve national relations with China, Korea and other Asian countries. However Korea rejected the trade proposal (1830-1870). In 1876 the Japanese navy used the exact same strategy as the Americans to open trade.
