World War II

World War II, was a global conflict that was fought over six years. The first conflict began in Asia between China and Japan, then in Europe when Germany invaded Poland. The war in Asia, or otherwise called the Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest asian war in the twentieth century. Japan's long desire to invade China and dominate it politcally and militarily led the Japanese to invade Manchuria, attack Pearl Harbor, and then eventually surrender after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan's lust for domination over China and their raw materials led not only to the involvement of the United States into World War II but also the creation of the atomic bomb and the destruction of Japan's two major cities. Japan's decisions and actions led to many lost lives and their eventual surrender in World War II, but through the fire and smoke, Japan rose and matured to be one the most prosperous nations in the world.

During the 1920's, Japan had started an expansion plan into Manchuria, and then into China soon after. So in order to deter these plans, America set up embargoes and sanctions. In 1940, Japan felt the sting of America's Export Control Act, and so in order to preserve their goals for expansion, Japan felt it had no choice but to make a preemptive strike against the United States. Under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japan gathered information, drew up battle plans, and trained pilots over several months. Japan believed that by attacking first, they would be able to stop America's forces in the Pacific from interfering with Japan's plans to invade United Kingdom's colonies. They had no idea that such a move would start an all out war between the two countries.

Japan's approximate two hours of bombing left ...

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...took effect in 1952. After the war and after seeing all the destruction, Japan adopted the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which state that "Japan shall neither possess nor manufacture nuclear weapons, nor shall it permit their introduction into Japanese territory." After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese grew strongly opposed to any sort of nuclear weapons on Japanese soil or waters. They have witnessed the destructive and volatile properties of nuclear weapons and have become one of the front-runners against acts of using or creating such weapons. Now as you look at Japan, you see the second largest economy in the world and the world leader of technology and machinery. Not only did Japan have to endure one of the most destructive catastrophes in world history, but they were also able grow from that experience and become a great a prosperous nation.