Imperial Enemy To Ally Case Study

Japan first started out as an isolated nation, but soon it would become one of the most powerful countries during WWII. But before Japan was a powerful Nation, it needed to modernize. According to document 1, Japan was isolated from 1635-1853.1853 to 1854.This was when US Commodore Perry visited Japan and forced them to open their ports(document 1, N.d, timeline. As a result of this, the Japanese create the Meiji Restoration. According to document 5, the emperor is given the power to command the Army and the Navy end to rule over Japan, but the citizens too have a house of representatives( Alfred Stead,1904, Doc 5).

On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii right before 8 am. The officers working that day had just woken up, having breakfast, and not expecting a thing. Because of that they were unprepared. The USS Arizona was one of the many ships that got hit. The ship immediately sank, taking 1,177 crew members on that ship. Japan’s aggression was literally being fueled by the United States. Beginning with the late-1940, the United States grew less patient with Japanese atrocities and began to restrict trade with the empire. In Europe busy fighting Hitler, the United States remained the only obstacle to the establishment of a huge Japanese empire spanning East Asia.

Political, social, and economic aspects influenced the rise of the Empire of Japan, and their effects created the ways in which Japan interacted with its people and the world around it. Politically, the Meiji Restoration of the mid-1800s to the early 1900s set the stage for the growth that took place to make Japan an Empire, including the transformation of the views on the emperor. These views on the emperor helped to create a social change: the anger of the Japanese government and people about the lack of representation for Japan in world treaties and in the League of Nations. This caused extreme patriotism. Japan was economically changed by the advancements into China after Japan’s Great Depression. This military advancement opened the door for much more and was based on the Japanese’s intense nationalistic views.

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo

During the Imperial Conference of December 1, 1941, Prime Minister Tojo announced that “The United States not only refused to make even one concession” but that “At the same time, the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and China increased their economic and military pressure against us” (87). This gave Japan no choice but to begin a war with the U.S., Japan, and the Netherlands. Additionally, Foreign Minister Togo emphasized that Japan could not accept the proposal made by the U.S. because the conditions would hinder and put at risk the success of the Japanese Empire. In order for Japan to not only continue working towards establishing a New Order for East Asia, but to also maintain their position on an international level, war was the necessary step to take because if they continued to try to negotiate then they would most definitely have regressed.

In the present, Japan is a military and economic superpower with strong influence. However, it was not always like this. In the early 1700s, Japan isolated itself from the world and greeted foreigners unfortunate enough to shipwreck in Japan with hostility. In the 1850s, the United States attempted to make contact with Japan to establish a treaty. The U.S. knew even though Japan was hostile, it was weak compared to a western power. Although the U.S. was stronger than Japan, it was nowhere close to being as strong as other western powers such as Brittan or France and was struggling to keep up. Japanese hostility, U.S. power struggles, and Japan’s isolation all led to the inevitable Japanese and U.S. conflict.

The more Japan fought with China the more relations were lost (Source B). Japan was undergoing a large set of embargoes as countries such as the U.S, Britain and the Netherlands responded to its grant for Japanese air bases in French Indochina (Source C). Source B states that Japan was already lacking in natural resources and its practical response was to expand into neighboring countries (Source F). Tokyo negotiated with Washington as to the issue regarding Japans expansionism. Japan was in desperate search of oil (Source C), although it also knew that a full scale invasion of South-East Asia would prompt war with America (Source B).

in the region. America’s presence in Guam and the Philippines and its support of China posed

If their people got in their way or tried to slow down their progress, civil war was the first option to get them back in line. Industrialization and militarization were two advances in their country that were quickly grasped. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was famous for saying “Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army”. As the empire began to conquer other lands surrounding them, this quote was law and what they lived everyday by. Enriching their country and making a stronger army is one of the key things that made the Japanese Empire excellent. By increasing the stregnth of their army many other European countries fell to Japan after the Pearl Harbor attack. From the time when Japan attacked the United States, the United States were brought into World War II. Soon they began to ask Japan to surrender, but the Japanese would not give in. “In 1947, the Empire of Japan fell due to the United Sates dropping atomic bombs on them” . Since the Japanese would not give in, the United States decided to bomb them with an atomic bomb. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki collapsed the empire and the Japanese Empire failed to bounce back.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese and Japanese faced much internal conflict, but while China faced a combination of economic setbacks and political weakness, the Japanese were riddled with wars along their countryside. First, the Chinese emperor was too weak in comparison to his bureaucracy, which ended up making most of the decisions for the last Ming dynasty emperor. This was due to the emperor’s realization that having a title as Son

During this time there was a lot going on. A few years before, between the time 1937 and 1941 Japan owned most of the land of East and Southeast Asia. When the attack of the United States in December of 1941 at Pearl Harbor, this caused the United States to enter the war. Japan did not have enough resources to fight against the United States and Britain causing them to be pushed out of the land of East and Southeast Asia (Basic Information of the Bomb). The then president at the time FDR died in February 1945, which leads to Truman becoming the new president soon after.

Just Before entering World War II, Japan had a lot of different issues to try and solve. It had started to depend more for materials like oil for new machines being made to make the creation level of merchandise faster, which makes for a more productive economy. They required oil from outside sources in light of the fact that their property did not have all these things enormously, since the nation was an island its regular assets were made up of rice and fish. Even with these troubles, Japan started to manufacture an effective realm with a strong mechanical establishment and a decent armed force and naval force. The military got to be included in the legislature, and this started to cause them harm. The general public started to see indications of control originating from a rough place this put the individuals in a controlled state, their fundamental rights were gradually being taken away. In the mid 1930 's, the Japanese Army had numerous little, detached fights with their neighboring people groups. The Japanese individuals spread their control to make their country bigger. In 1937, the contentions started again with the Chinese in the territory close. These contentions prompted a full-scale war known as the second Sino-Japanese War. This was viewed as a bleeding war, it proceeded until the last annihilation of Japan in 1945. This demonstrates the inward shortcoming of the Japanese individuals, with high

The nineteenth century was a turbulent time of western imperialism and a major Asian power shift. European powers and the United States had a destabilizing effect on the region and the choices Japan and China made in response their imposing expansion was a major contributor to the trajectory of their respective futures. Social factors, such as the differences in national and religious unity, also played a role in the how the two nations emerged from the Age of Imperialism.

The foundation of Japanese imperialism, which eventually led to World War II was in the Meiji Restoration of the 1870’s. At that time, pro-war sentiment and desire for national strength and growth arose as the national attitude of the Japanese people. Certain groups, which advocated return to the traditional Japanese ways, began to grow in power. Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, was revived with a new emphasis on emperor worship. By the time Emperor Hirohito assumed power in 1926, the nation was ready for a second restoration.1