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 …show more content…
The growing tension between Japan and the west stemmed from a conflict of autonomy and responsibility. Japan saw its actions as part of a national quest for autonomy, self-sufficiency, and European rivalry. The United States and Europe, however, saw Japanese expansion as irresponsible. From their perspective Japanese imperialism violated treaties, which set down the acceptable code of conduct of nations. The United States in particular saw Japanese occupation of East Asian countries as a violation of those countries’ own rights to autonomous leadership and self rule. 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 In the 1930’s rightwing nationalists and conservative soldiers of the military were eager to start that restoration. Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi started to extend Japan’s power by sending troops into China. At the same time, members
Starting in the early 1930’s, the Japanese began to display their great imperialistic dreams with ambition and aggression. Their goal was to create a "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" where they controlled a vast empire in the western Pacific.1 In September of 1939, Japan signed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Treaty, allying themselves with Germany and Italy in an effort to safeguard their interests in China from the Soviet Union. Japan’s only major obstacle left lay in the significant size of the United States Pacific Fleet. To rid themselves of this, Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet in hopes of crippling it enough to prevent any further hindrance from the
Consistent with Japanese propaganda the nationalist leaders held belief that Japan was “the leader, protector and light of Asia”. However, this perception of liberation from colonial rule was a façade as the civilians of occupied nations experienced harsher treatment under the Japanese than they did under the colonial authorities.
Prior to the First World War, Europe was the world center of industry and capital. Massive death, destruction, and resentment after World War I left most countries unable to recover to a normal existence and damaged the world economy. The economic collapse and the political instability caused by World War I eventually led to the rise of fascism in Europe. Forceful dictators in Italy, Germany, and Japan took advantage of these problems to seize power by territorial expansion. These events caused a major repositioning of world power and influence. This paper traces a variety of significant factors and forces that contributed to the outbreak of World War II.
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
The retaliation of the Japanese had the world concerned by the oppression of military actions and to reveal power during the modern era (1900’s). The strategy of the Japanese
In the 1940’s, tension between Japan and America was dramatically increasing.Japan had recently declared that there was to be a new order, and that they were the new world power. The United States did not like Japan’s motives and cut Japan off from their main source of trade and supplies. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because America put restrictions on trade, America was becoming too strong, and Japan wanted to be the at the top of the world power.
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 events leading up to the Japanese’s entry in WWII occurred prior the start of the twentieth century. For over two hundred years Japan had been an isolationist country, the only contact with the Western world they had was through the Dutch in Nagasaki.
Using these four passages and your own knowledge, asses the view that Japan was driven into war with the western powers in 1941 by American policies.
American troops invaded many countries and remain with them for a very long time, but nothing quite like the history between America and Japan. America’s presence in Japan has shown to have had grave effects on the country from past to present. The intent of this paper is to discuss how America has altered the Japanese way of life through the incorporation of its military, politics, and culture.
In 1926 Emperor Hirohito took control of the throne and changed the dynamics of the countries’ policy (History, Imperial). The power within the country started and ended with the emperor. There were previously feuds for loyalty to a faction of ones’ choice but that ended with the Peace Preservation Law in 1925 which officially ended political freedom in Japan (History, Imperial). All loyalties in Japan now lied with the state. The state was ran by the emperor so his word and will became reality within his borders. This change brought on more conflict. Between 1932 and 1936 Japan spawned the idea of the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere” which called for the unification of Asian nations but under Japanese control (History, Imperial). The bottom line of this plan was for Japan to have absolute imperial control throughout the Far East. This propelled Japan into campaigns on many fronts spreading their military over vast areas. Though they were successful in these campaigns with China and Russia, their resources were running thin, forcing them to look for alternate
Throughout the work, Fujitani draws evidence from, and references, a plethora of different sources that add validity to his statements and accounts of not only what the Japanese and United States did, but also why they acted the way they did. In a time of war, both countries took different actions that were not readily understood. Japan
This academic journal by Martha Chaiklin, analyzes the efforts taken by various countries that eventually lead to the ending of Japanese isolationism. She first invalidates the notion that Commodore Perry with his gunboats were solely responsible for the opening of Japan. In contrast, the Dutch and liberal policies were greatly attributed if not solely responsible for the opening of Japan. Even the American led event that is attributed to the opening of Japan was in fact not a unique policy “ The United States was not the first to attempt to open Japan since all Westerners except the Dutch had been expelled in 1639. Both the British and the Russians had made several attempts in the preceding two centuries that had all ended in failure” (Chaiklin
From 1868 to 1912, Japan experienced a period of vigorous reform and modernization called the Meiji Restoration. When the Meiji period began Japan was a militarily weak, mostly agricultural country that could not compete against the industrialized western nations. At the end of the restoration, Japan had achieved a working, highly centralized government supported by the people, a constitution implementing an elected parliament, a western-like transport and communication system, a highly educated population, a rapidly growing industrial economy, and a powerful army and navy on par with many of the western nations’. Japan’s story is one of great success, unity, and pride, one that is virtually unrivaled throughout modern human history. The Meiji
Some of you might remember when the years following the Chinese Revolution of 1911 the tensions between the United States and Japan were not as serious since a new republic was declared and both Japan and the United States had some problems. The Chinese had lost control over most of their country due to the fact that the local warlords had most of the power in China. So our great