Japans path to war

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Japans path to war
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With the circumnavigation of the globe by
Ferdinand Magellans crew, the far east began to
open up to trade with Europe. Japan was in a
medieval state which was ruled by a military
dictator known as a Shogun. These Shoguns
allowed trade and the introduction of the
Christian religions to Japan.
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After about a century of trade with Spain,
Portugal, the Netherlands, and England, the
Shogun Tokugawa closed Japan to the Europeans.
This was due to shady dealings and interference
in Japanese politics. Japan would remain closed
or isolated from the West for 250 years.
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Although the Japanese had learned some of the
technology that the Europeans brought to them in
the 1500s, they remained basically a medieval
society.
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In the 1850s, U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry
steamed into Tokyo harbor with 4 warships. The
Japanese had no choice but to begin trading with
the west again. They had missed 200 years of
technological advancements in industry and
armaments.
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Japanese leaders quickly realized that if they
did not quickly learn from the west, then they
would be little more than a colony or minor
trading partner. For the next 50 years Japan
tirelessly worked on learning about the modern
world and improving their industry.
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In addition to building up their military forces,
Japan sent its officers abroad to other Western
Countries to learn about modern warfare. Admiral
Yamamoto who would plan the attack on Pearl
Harbor attended Harvard University and was the
Japanese Naval Attaché to the United States.
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At the turn of the 20th Century, Japan realized
her need for raw materials and turned to the
Korean peninsula and Manchuria for them. In
1904 Japan would fight the Russo-Japanese War and
surprise the world by beating the mighty Russian
Empire. Japan had arrived on the scene of the
world stage.
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In World War I the Japanese agreed to join the
war effort on the side of the allies by attacking
German colonies in the Pacific and South East
Asia. Japans price for this collaboration was
that the allies not interfere with its goals in
China and South East Asia. Into the 1920s-30s.
While conquering huge areas in China, Japan
committed numerous atrocities on civilian
populations, such as the Chinese city of Nanking.
Estimates put civilian deaths (executions) in
Nanking at between 150,000-300,000.
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As Japan expanded, they continued to look for
sources of fuel and turned to the islands of the
Pacific. Additionally, they continued to
purchase petroleum and coal from the United
States. In the late 30s and early 40s the
United States began an oil steel embargo to
Japan in response to their violent expansion.
As a result, Japan decided to alter its fate and
course in history. Securing a defensive alliance
with the fascist powers of Italy and Nazi
Germany, Japan
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Brought the US into the Second World War by using
a surprise attack on the US Naval base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. Within 24 hours, Americas
entrance into the war was official.