The Role of Japan of World War ll Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Role of Japan of World War ll - Essay Example Japan started a war with China in 1937. In an effort to end the war of Japan against China, President Roosevelt shut off American trade with the Japanese, which made Japan more aggressive than before. The Japanese increasingly continued to look for strategic resources and raw materials southwards. However, the United States stood firmly, in Japan’s path. The United States pacific fleet at the Pearl Harbor was the only threat force with the capacity of challenging the Japan’s navy (Black, 2003). The American bases located at the Philippines also threatened the contact lines linking the East Indies and Japan islands. Every oil tanker heading to Japan had to pass through American-held Luzon. From these constraints, the Japanese war plans emerged. In analyzing this assignment, the assignment will discuss the role played by Japan in World War II. Based on this, background information on Japan that triggered the World War II will be discussed. In addition, the outcome of the war will also be discussed. Japan stood ready to overcome the whole South Asian Peninsula and the Dutch Indies, which was rich in oil. This planned conquer was as a result of Japanese lacking raw materials for its growing industries (Williams, 2005). The desire to conquer the Dutch Indies and the South Asian Peninsula angered the United States and an embargo developed between Japan and the United States. Negotiations targeted at ending the differences between the two countries failed since the countries were at odds with each other. The United States used force to make Japan withdraw from war against China and renounce alliance with Italy and Germany in 1940 (Williams, 2005). The Japanese were against the move by the United States; Japan was secretly planning an attack on the Philippines, Hawaii, and Guam. In 1941, the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor, which was viewed as a desperate action by Japan to escape from an earlier choice imposed by the United States.