Japan Enters World War II

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Autonomy and Responsibility: Japan Enters World War II World War II is considered by many to be the single most significant event of the 20’th century. The outcome of that war defines the modern world. World War II led to the tragic death of a huge population of people across the globe. What led to the loss of so many lives? What led the nations of the world to tread down the path of war? This analysis tries to answer those questions in terms of autonomy and responsibility, and focuses on Japan. Japan was a major player in the war. As an aggressor of the war Japan had entered into military action before the European war had started and was not defeated by the Allied powers until VE Day. Several factors came together to Create war between the United States and Japan that led to the fateful bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were: the imperialist foreign policy of Japan, the invasions of Manchuria and of China, the signing of the Tri-Partite Pact. Japan’s foreign policy before World War II was that of imperialism. Japan, seeking to increase its autonomy, was eager to gain control of new territories. Like the Europeans, especially Britain, Japan wanted to extend its borders over seas. Imperial colonies would bring Japan the self-sufficiency that it craved by providing new and extended national resources. A Japanese empire would eliminate the need of importing goods from other countries. To establish this empire Japan decided to expand into Manchuria, China and South East Asia, countries which were close to Japan and could more easily be invaded and taken over from the European powers currently in control there. National pride, another factor of imperialism, was very high in Japan. This pride is what drove the desire for national au... ... middle of paper ... ...Vail-Ballou Press, 1958), 3 5. Paul W. Schroeder, 5 6. Gus V. Griffin . "World War Two Timeline." The Second Word War. http://www.qt.org/worldwar/timeline/. ( 5 March 2000). 7. Paul W. Schroeder, 22 8. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress 9. Herbert Feis, The Road to Pearl Harbor. As quoted in Paul W. Schroeder, 2 10. Paul W. Schroeder, 3 11. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress 12. Tripartite Pact. As quoted in Paul W. Schroeder, 19 13. Paul W. Schroeder, 19-21 14. The Avalon Project. William C. Fray and Lisa A. Spar, Co-Directors. "Pearl Harbor Documents" The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/pmenu.htm. ( 5 March 2000). 15. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress 16. Gus V. Griffin

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