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The Black Ships
In 1853, a small fleet of American ships that was commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived at the bay of Edo which is now Tokyo. The Japanese called the American ship "The Black Ships". The Black ships were there to open trade with other nations. The Japanese were threatened by the big ships so they signed a trade treaty with the United States within 5 years of Perry's visit. Japan also signed trade treaties with Great Britain, Russia, France, and Holland. Japan's isolation came to an end. -
Japan a strong nation
The ruling shogun was overthrown, and a 15-year-old emperor named Mutsuhito took the throne. He chose the name Meiji, meaning enlightened reign, for his rule. Meiji's supporters' slogan was "rich country, strong military." In the 45 years of Emperor Mutsuhito's reign, Japan went a long way toward achieving both goals. By the end of the nineteenth century the nation had a new political system with a parliament and a constitution, a modern army and navy, and growing industries. -
America becomes a pacific power
It wasn't until the late 1800's that influential Americans began to argue that the U.S. should follow the example of Britain, France, and other European nations in gaining colonies overseas.The greatest impact of the U.S. victory over Spain, however, was felt thousands of miles away in the Pacific. The U.S. took over Spain's Pacific possessions, including the Philippine Islands. Also, the U.S. took the islands of Hawaii and made a navy base on Oahu. Its name was Pearl Harbor. -
The Great Depression
New York Stock Exchange crash and the failure of important European banks plunged the entire world into an economic depression. Japan was hit especially hard. With practically no natural resources, the nation had to import oil, iron, steel, and other commodities to keep its industry and military forces alive. But to buy these things, it had to export goods for sale abroad. Including the U.S., raised taxes on imports to protect their own struggling industries. -
China in flames
China and Japan went to war. Although Chinese forces resisted, Japan advanced farther and farther into China. The conflict brought great suffering to the Chinese people. In December, Japanese troops captured the city of Nanking (Nanjing). In the month that followed, they massacred as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians. Photographs of the death and destruction in Nanking caused worldwide anger against Japan.In September 1939. World War II had begun -
The Tripartite Pact
Japan responded to America's actions by joining Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in the Tripartite (three-part) Pact. In this agreement, the two European dictators approved Japan's goal for an Asian empire. The three countries pledged to support one another if any one of them was attacked by the U.S. President Roosevelt answered this challenge by seizing Japanese money and property in the U.S. and placing an embargo on exports of oil, steel, and iron to Japan. -
War Warning
Japanese army general Hideki Tojo became the nation's prime minister. Hideki was a fearless leader and was not afraid to challenge Britain and the U.S. for power. Japan began planning for surprise attacks all across the Pacific from Hong Kong to Hawaii. Attacking Pearl Harbor was one of the riskiest operations in military history. The brilliant Admiral Isoroku Yamamato made a plan. North Japanese island and then cross thousands of miles of ocean to Hawaii--in secret. -
The Day of Infamy
Japanese government began sending a long message to its diplomats in Washington. The last part of that message arrived in the early-morning hours of December 7. Japanese diplomats Nomura and Kurusu prepared for a final meeting with Secretary of State Hull, knowing that they were being ordered to break off all negotiations with the U.S. What they didn't realize was that the same message had been decoded and rushed to President Roosevelt and to the high commanders of the U.S. Army and Navy. -
The Marshal Law
In Hawai'i, martial law was declared within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and it lasted, with some modifications, for nearly three years, until October 24, 1944. The army's commanding general of the Hawaiian Department became the military governor of Hawai'i, assuming comprehensive executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The martial law regime affected every resident of the Territory of Hawaii, citizen and alien alike.
