why japan went to war with the usa in dec 1941 if japan was to be the main power in east asia, it...

why japan went to war with the usa in dec 1941

• If Japan was to be the main power in East Asia, it would have to challenge the USA sooner or later

• Jun 1941 : Germany attacked USSR in Europe• Left USA as the only remaining obstacle to the

growth of the Japanese empire• USA : Controlled the Philippines• Had a large navy and many bases throughout

the Pacific• US also supported China in its war against Japan

• If Japan was to be the main power in East Asia, it would have to challenge the USA sooner or later

• Jun 1941 : Germany attacked USSR in Europe• Left USA as the only remaining obstacle to the

growth of the Japanese empire• USA : Controlled the Philippines• Had a large navy and many bases throughout

the Pacific• US also supported China in its war against Japan


• Relations between Japan and US worsened as the Jap empire had expanded

• After the Japanese invasion of Indochina, the US banned any further sale of oil to Japan which depended heavily on imported oil

• Talks were initiated to try to resolve the differences

• Little chance of success• US demanded that Japan withdraw from China

and Indochina, something Japan was was unlikely to agree to

• Relations between Japan and US worsened as the Jap empire had expanded

• After the Japanese invasion of Indochina, the US banned any further sale of oil to Japan which depended heavily on imported oil

• Talks were initiated to try to resolve the differences

• Little chance of success• US demanded that Japan withdraw from China

and Indochina, something Japan was was unlikely to agree to


• A military government headed by Gen Hideki Tojo took over in Oct 1941

• Tojo – a strong nationalist whose policy was to take whatever his country needed

• A military government headed by Gen Hideki Tojo took over in Oct 1941

• Tojo – a strong nationalist whose policy was to take whatever his country needed


Pearl Harbor Dec 7 1941

• Nearly 200 US aeroplanes destroyed

• 4 battleships destroyed

• Over 2,300 people killed

Pearl Harbor Dec 7 1941

USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL

http://www.nps.gov/usar/home.htm

• Simultaneous attacks began on US airfields in the Philippines and British bases in Hong Kong, Malaya and Singapore

• Japanese forces landed on Singora, Pattani and Kota Bahru

• Japan was now at war with USA and Britain• Japan also attacked the Dutch East Indies

(Indonesia)• Within months, all territories in East Asia

that were once ruled by US or European countries had fallen to the Japanese armies

Japan’s ‘New Order’ in Japan’s ‘New Order’ in AsiaAsia

• Territories gained by end 1941/early 1942– Britain : Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore,

Burma– USA : The Philippines, US Pacific Islands– France : Indochina– Netherlands : Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

• One of the biggest empires the world has ever known

• Japan now controlled many of the raw materials it needed to keep its economy going

• Included oil of Indonesia and rubber and tin from Malaya


Japanese Empire 1942

• The vast Japanese empire existed solely for the benefit of Japan

• Jap government pretended that the empire was for the benefit of all the peoples now under its rule

• They talked of a ‘New Order’ in Asia – the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ – where all Asians cooperate for the benefit of each other

• Reality was very different, with Japan taking what it wanted from other countries


• In the first half of In the first half of 1942, defeat seemed 1942, defeat seemed impossible for Japanimpossible for Japan

• The speed with which The speed with which it swept through it swept through Southeast Asia was Southeast Asia was unimaginableunimaginable

• Nothing stood in its Nothing stood in its wayway

• Yet Japan lost World Yet Japan lost World War IIWar II

• What happened?What happened?

the defeat of japanthe defeat of japan

Was this the

main cause?

1.1. The US fleet had not been completely The US fleet had not been completely destroyeddestroyed

2.2. The size and power of the USAThe size and power of the USA

3.3. Resistance by other Asian peoplesResistance by other Asian peoples

4.4. Japan had taken on a larger empire Japan had taken on a larger empire than it could managethan it could manage

5.5. ‘‘Island hopping’Island hopping’

6.6. US control of the airUS control of the air

7.7. Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Dropping of Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Dropping of the atomic bombthe atomic bomb


1.1. The US fleet had not been The US fleet had not been completely destroyedcompletely destroyed

1.1. The US fleet had not been The US fleet had not been completely destroyedcompletely destroyed


1.1. The US fleet had not been The US fleet had not been completely destroyedcompletely destroyed• The attack on Pearl Harbor was not as

successful as Gen Tojo would have liked• Some battleships were at sea and were

thus spared• Oil storage tanks and naval repair shops

were not destroyed• US Fleet still existed despite the damage

and still had a base to operate from

1.1. The US fleet had not been The US fleet had not been completely destroyedcompletely destroyed• The attack on Pearl Harbor was not as

successful as Gen Tojo would have liked• Some battleships were at sea and were

thus spared• Oil storage tanks and naval repair shops

were not destroyed• US Fleet still existed despite the damage

and still had a base to operate from


2.2. The size and power of the USAThe size and power of the USA• Japan had taken on a power greater

than itself• USA – a large, rich and powerful country• Huge population, vast resources• When it set itself the task to defeat

Japan, it proved hard to resist


3.3. Resistance by other Asian peoplesResistance by other Asian peoples• Initially the Japanese were seen as liberating

East Asia from the West• Hoped that Japanese rule would be better• They were to be sorely and bitterly

disappointed• Japanese rule was harsher and more severe• People became hostile and fought against

the Japanese• Keeping them at bay meant that the

Japanese army was kept very busy• Fewer soldiers to fight the US


4.4. Japan had taken on a larger empire Japan had taken on a larger empire than it could managethan it could manage

• Japan had a vast area to control• We have seen how they were tied down

with Chinese resistance (US$4m a day?)• To administer these huge regions require

massive numbers of soldiers and resources

• Japan had taken more than it could manage

• Obvious when her enemies began to fight back – British in Burma, USA in the Pacific and Chinese in mainland China


5.5. ‘‘Island hopping’Island hopping’• US : Planned its tactics to regain territories

carefully• Japanese resisted all attacks vigorously• Difficult to fight them in every territory that

they controlled• Concentrate on capturing vital territories

useful in war eg airfields and good harbours

• “Island Hopping” – concentrating on islands worth re-taking and giving the rest a miss


5.5. ‘‘Island hopping’Island hopping’• By 1944, Japan lost some of its gains• US Pacific Fleet drove back the Japs in a

number of battles• Britain recovering lands in Burma• Japan still controlled most of SEA and

large parts of China


6.6. US control of the airUS control of the air• USAF a larger and stronger air force• Made it possible in the later stages of

the war to engage in heavy bombing of cities in mainland Japan

• Much of Tokyo was destroyed using incendiary bombs – killed many Japanese


7.7. Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Dropping of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Dropping of the atomic bombatomic bomb

• Japan showed every sign of fighting to the bitter end, to the very last man

• Harry Truman thought that if the US did not drop the atomic bomb on Japan to force her to surrender, a large number of US soldiers and other peoples would be killed

• The US decided on this course of action as there was no other way of forcing Japan to surrender

• Was the US justified in making this decision?


7.7. Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Dropping of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki : Dropping of the atomic bombatomic bomb

• The events at HiroshimaHiroshima and NagasakiNagasaki so shocked the Japanese that the government had no choice but to surrender

• It was obvious to them that the enemy now had the means to completely obliterate them

• Japan surrendered unconditionally which meant that it was prepared to accept whatever peace terms imposed on them

• Within a short time, US troops landed and occupied the country



Mushroom Cloud


Hiroshima, 1945

• US troops remained in Japan until 1952• Gen MacArthur had been the Supreme

Commander for Allied Powers (SCAP); ruled Japan from 1945 to 1951

• Peace settlement terms :– Japan gave up all its territories in mainland

China and Taiwan– Lost the Pacific islands it gained from

Germany at the end of WWI– Armed forces were disbanded– Forced to agree never to go to war again or

to threaten force to get its own way in a dispute with another country

Japan after 1945Japan after 1945

• Terms of the peace treaty were not finally agreed upon until 1951 when Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco

• Only then was it possible for US occupying forces to be removed

• Japanese leaders responsible for the war were tried by an International Military Tribune

• Those found guilty were sentenced to death or put in prison

• There were many trials of ‘war criminals’ – those accused of cruelty to POWs or peoples of occupied countries

• Officials thought to have helped bring about the war were dismissed from their jobs


Tojo on trialTojo on trial

• MacArthur keen to make Japan into a democracy• He thought one of the reasons why Japan had

brought about the war was that the govt and military had been able to do what they liked without being responsible to the Japanese people

• A new constitution – a set of rules on how the country is to be governed – was issued in 1946

• Japan kept its emperor but he was no longer to be treated as god

• The govt was responsible not to him but to a parliament elected by the people

• In many ways, the new system seemed to work• But not all Japs were happy with the form of govt

imposed on them by a foreign power


• MacArthur was keen to help Japan recover from the devastation of the war

• He had no wish for Japan to turn communist like China

• This, he thought, would be more likely if Japan continued to be poor

• US financial help was thus given to Japan• By 1951, Japan was well on its way to

recover and to the amazing growth that has made it one of the world’s wealthiest countries


THE VICTOR AND THE VANQUISHED


When Japan surrendered, Hirohito spoke briefly to the Japanese people over the radio to announce the surrender. This was the first time his astonished subjects had heard the voice of their Emperor. (National Archives, USA)


After the defeat, Hirohito had claimed that he was not a god but a mere mortal man. He changed out of his military clothing and replaced his stern, unsmiling god-like image with that of a humble, smiling grandfather.

why japan went to war with the usa in dec 1941 if japan was to be the main power in east asia, it...

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