 History
Package:
› SEQ Section on War in the Pacific:
 Bukit Merah MYE 2008 Questions
(a) and (b)
 Due Date:
 Question (a) – Term 1 Week 10 (Last EH
Lesson)
 Question (b) – Term 2 Week 2 (First EH
Lesson)
 This
is a purely SEQ Topic
 Students will be able to:
› Investigate the extent to which
peace was challenged in the
Asia Pacific in the 1930s
› Analyse the reasons for the
onset of World War II in the Asia
Pacific

Content Structure from Crisis and Conflict
with additional details from As it was
Lived

Use of these slides and attached notes to
prepare for this topic

Why was peace in the Asia-Pacific
region threatened?
› This deals with the reasons that made war
likely:
 Japan’s foreign policy aims between 1931 and
1941





To build an empire in the Asia-Pacific region
To free Asians from Western control
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Find room for Japan’s growing population
To control resources
Japanese
Propaganda Poster
What can you infer
about the purpose
of the poster?

Why was peace in the Asia-Pacific
region threatened?
› This deals with the reasons that made war
likely:
 Japan’s military aggression:
 Growing influence in Manchuria and Mainland China
 The military acting without government permission
 The Marco Polo Bridge Incident
Marco Polo (Lu Gou) Bridge Incident

Why was peace in the Asia-Pacific
region threatened?
› This deals with the reasons that made war
likely:
 The League of Nations
 Too weak to stop Japan’s invasion of Manchuria
 Poor relations between Japan and the West
 Western bias and Japanese hostility

Why did World War 2 break out in the
Asia-Pacific region?
› This deals with the reasons that made Japan
start the war:
 Japan’s war against China
 International situation
 Japan’s neutrality agreement with the USSR
 War in Europe left European colonies in Asia
neglected

Why did World War 2 break out in the
Asia-Pacific region?
› This deals with the reasons that made Japan
start the war:
 Worsening relations between the USA and
Japan
 Japan saw the USA as a threat to its plans to build an
empire
 US embargo on steel, scrap iron and oil
 Breakdown of US-Japan talks in 1941

Why did World War 2 break out in the
Asia-Pacific region?
› This deals with the reasons that made Japan
start the war:
 Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister
 Japan orders the attack of Pearl Harbour
40th Japanese
Prime Minister
 Born into a
military family
and pursued a
military career
 Sentenced to
death for war
crimes
