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The “Black Ships” Open Japan
Japan was considered a closed society from the early 1600s to the mid 1800s. This was because they didn’t allow foreign ships to enter their ports. They didn’t want any dangerous influences such as the European missionaries. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry commanded American Warships to enter the bay of Edo, which is now known as Tokyo. Within five years of their visit, Japan signed a trade treaty with Great Britain, Russia, France, and Holland. -
Japan: a Strong and Independent Nation
In the 1860s, emperor Mutsuhito who chose the name Meiji, went into throne because the ruling shogun was overthrown. At the end of the nineteenth century, Japan had growing industries and a new political system with things such as a parliament, constitution and a modern army and navy. Japan believed that the only way to preserve its independence was to adopt Western culture and technology and to make Japan strong. -
America Becomes a Pacific Power
Imperialists wanted America to obtain overseas bases for the navy and markets. The US won a battle between them and Spain and took over their possessions such as the Philippine Islands. The “open door” policy was announced to support China’s independence and guarantee equal trading rights. Japan did not support this policy and ended up giving up the territory. Also, in the same year, the US saw the islands of Hawaii as an American territory. -
The Great Depression
The Stock Market crashed which resulted in a worldwide economic depression; especially Japan. As the economy grew worse, Japan became more aggressive. They spread their control over Manchuria to achieve their goal of gaining more access to raw materials and markets. They did this by increasing their amount of territory. -
China in Flames
China and Japan began a war over which resulted in the capturing of the city of Nanking (Nanjing), the death of 300,000 Chinese civilians and caused worldwide anger against Japan. The US acted as China’s protectors, but most Americans did not want to get involved with foreign wars. President Roosevelt outlawed certain sales of American goods to Japan. Congress approved a program to build new military ships and planes which was seen as a threat by Japan. This gave the US an advantage. -
The Tripartite Pact
Japan, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy created the Tripartite Pact which approved Japan’s Asian empire goal. They each pledged to support each other if attacked by the US. Roosevelt, along with Great Britain and the Netherlands, forbid exports on oil, steel and iron to Japan.Japan felt that in order to obtain resources they needed to go to war with the Soviet Union. This plan would only succeed if they destroy the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, which was based at Pearl Harbor. -
War Warning
Japanese army general Hideki Tojo challenged Britain and the US for power in East Asia. He supported Japan’s surprise attacks across the Pacific.The attack on Pearl Harbor was planned out and was one of the riskiest operations recorded. The US and Japan negotiated for a peaceful solution but, made little progress. It became obvious that Japan was going to attack somewhere in the Pacific but wasn’t clear when. A warning was sent to Hawaii, the Philippines and the Panama Canal Zone. -
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor
Japanese diplomats prepared for a final meeting with the Secretary of State Hull, breaking off all negotiation ties with the US. The US was now aware of Japan’s obvious strike but a warning didn’t reach Pearl Harbor until 8:00 AM. By then, the bombs were already dropped.
