Japan+1930-1940

=Japan 1930-1940=

Elise Fabbri Zach Duval Hannah Gaudet Story American History II 9 January 2013

__Japan 1930-1940 Timeline__

 * 1930Japan  signed London Naval Treaty and expressed cooperation with Britain and the U.S
 * 1932 Japanese navy invaded and bombed Shanghai
 * 1936 Yamamoto appointed vice minister of the navy,
 * 1937 Panay
 * 1938 Tojo is appointed vice minister of army
 * 1939 Attack on Pearl Harbor
 * 1940 Tripartite Pact signed

Emperor Hirohito was the main figurehead in Japan and orchestrated most of the large operations in World War II. In 1930, Hirohito expressed support and cooperation with Britain and the U.S in which he threw behind the Prime Minister (Fumitaka).The Imperial Family and Emperor Hirohito were always the head of the country and imperial power throughout most of the 1930s and 40s (Fumitaka). Another high power in Japan was Isoroku Yamamato, who was appointed the the lieutenant commander throughout the early 1900s ("Yamamoto Isoroku"). Isoroku was the head of command of navy operations in Japan in 1936, when he was made the vice minister of the navy, which led him to greater effects in government rule (“Yamamoto Isoroku”). Hideki Tojo was also an influential power in Japan in the 1930’s being a leader in the Control Faction (Browne) .Tojo’s rankings led to his appointment as vice minister of the army in 1938 and support Nazi Germany and invasion of China (Browne). Japan, like Germany with Europe, was concerned with gaining more territory and receiving the resources of South East Asia ( Sugihara). The nation needed to take control of the Pacific waters which inevitably got the U.S. involved. U.S. foreign policy was always to try and not get into wars and alliances, but when Japan thought it necessary to take down America’s air forces at Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, the United States had to protect themselves (Coakley).

At the turn of the century and up to WWII, US relations “were marked by increasing tension”(Randolph). Both countries were very interested in Asia, and afraid that the other country may interfere with their final goals. Also, Japan and the US had many disputes over each countries’ territories in the Pacific because both wanted to protect their military and economic interests. Unfortunately, Japan was being taken control of by the military and many of their important government leaders were being assassinated. By 1930 there was “ a steadily increasing campaign of Japanese aggression” that began when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 (Kallelis). People called for the US to step in, but FDR made it clear that the US would not interfere. Therefore, the US refused to recognize Japanese conquests and also limited economic sanctions against Japan. Then in 1937, Japan invaded mainland China, launching the second Sino-Japanese war. The Japanese Army was incredibly brutal, and well armed and organized and the chinese did not stand a chance. At this time, Japan developed a hate toward westerners and Americans because of past problems and US involvement in China, which included having naval vessels off the coast of China. Also, the US recognized the brutality of Japanese forces in China. In December 1937 Japan attacked the USS Panay, a US naval ship. This attack led the US to completely turn their opinion against Japan. These issues escalated up until finally Japan attacked the US naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and forced the US into World War II.

 During this same time period, the United States and Britain were great allies. In the past, Britain and Japan had the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in place that bound Britain and China to assist one another in safeguarding their respective interests in China  and Korea . With this alliance terminated in 1923, Britain no longer had to help Japan in times of war, so if America needed help controlling Japan in the 1930’s, Britain could gladly give it. But because of Britain and Japan’s great past, neither country wanted to go to war with one another at the time until the 1940’s.

__ Works Cited __

Browne, Courtney. Tojo: The Last Banzai. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967; Butow, Robert. Tojo and the Coming of the War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1961; Hoyt, Edwin P. Warlord: Tojo against the World. Lanham, MD: Scarborough House, 1993.

Coakley, Robert W. “World War II: The War Against Japan.” American Military History. Washington D.C. Apr. 2001. 499-501. 9 Jan. 2014. Web.

Fumitaka, Kurosawa. "Emperor Hirohito." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Jing-hui, Fu. An Introduction of Chinese and Foreign History of War (2003), histclo.com, 9 January 2014. (Web)

Kallelis, Michael. "The Road to Pearl Harbor." The Road to Pearl Harbor: The United States and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> East Asia, 1915–1941 | EDSITEment. National Endowment for the Humanities, n.d. Web.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Randolph, Stephen, Dr. "Japanese-American Relations." Japanese-American Relations at the Turn of the Century, 1900–1922 - 1899–1913 - Milestones - Office of <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> the Historian. U.S <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;">Department of State: Office of the Historian, n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sugihara, Kaoru. "Japan." History of World Trade Since 1450. Ed. John J. McCusker. Vol. 1.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 425-430. World History in Context. Web. 9 Jan. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2014.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Yamamoto Isoroku." Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994. World History in Context. Web. 8 Jan. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2014.