Japan
By: JJ,John,Jakob,Hannah,Sam, & Sarandia
Intro
Hirohito was the emperor of Japan from 1926-1989 (during WWII). Even though he
was supposed to be “in charge,” he acted more as a figure head. The main leader in
this war was Japan’s Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo. Japan was very imperialistic,
militaristic, and nationalistic during this time. They believed that the more they took
over other lands, the more power they would then have. Japan attacked almost all of
its surrounding asian countries before attacking the US at Pearl Harbor on
12/7/1941. Japan became allies with the strong, military-based Germany. Japan
later surrendered in 1945.
What two things did Japan and Germany have in common?
Japan and Germany were both resentful going into WW2. Both Japan and
Germany were resentful of the western powers because Germany had lost WW1,
and Japan was resentful because even though they had been a winner in WW1,
they hadn’t been treated as a equal of the white powers that they had won the war
with them.
Both countries also wanted to expand through military aggression.
Although Japan had an emperor, who controlled the government?
Even though Japan had an emperor it was mostly controlled by its military
because during the of World War 2 and a little afterward. They became ultramilitarism and nationalism during the time thus causing chaos for the government
and for the public because it was more of the military and nationalist. Hirohito was
more of the countries puppet and he was powerless for most of WWII. The
militarism and nationalism was named as a pro democratic movement.
How did Japan obtain the raw materials needed for
industrialization?
Japan is a island nation so their raw materials are limited due to the size of
the island. Japan in WW2 was heavily dependent on imports of raw materials to
fuel their industrialization. Japan wanted to become more self dependent and
because of that they must expand out of their island.
Why was Japan’s invasion of Manchuria significant?
In September 1931, they claimed that the Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the
railway, and attacked the Chinese army. They didn’t fight back because they knew
the Japanese were just wanting an excuse to invade Manchuria.
How did the League of Nations respond to Japan’s invasion of Manchuria? Why?
The League of Nations responded to the invasion by sending a delegation to
Manchuria to see what was happening. The delegation ruled that Japan was in the
wrong and that Manchuria should be returned to China. The League assembled
and voted that Japan withdrew. Instead of doing so, Japan left the league of
nations and attacked another Chinese province. The League was powerless
because economic sanctions and arms sales would not stop.
Conulcion
In conclusion, Japan was important to WW2 because of their alliance with
Germany and Italy. Also, the took control over many Chinese territories and forced
war prisoners to work in harsh and inhumane conditions.