Japan suffered a population explosion from 1920 so was in need of more land.
The Japanese people had a very low opinion of the Chinese - a Japanese form of "untermenschen" and, would have given no thought to the Manchurian people whatsoever. It was also believed in Japan that Manchuria was rich in minerals, forestry and rich agricultural land. With the problems that Japan was experiencing at home, Manchuria seemed an obvious solution to these problems.
The civilian government found that it had no solutions to the problems presented by the worldwide depression and to the army the civilian government looked weak. Many people admired the more robust response of the army. The unemployed of Japan looked to the strength of the army to assist their plight rather than to what weak politicians were doing. The voices of senior army generals were heard and they argued for a campaign to win new colonies abroad so that the industries there could be exploited for Japan. The most obvious target was a full-scale invasion of Manchuria.
C) The most reason for Japan to attack Pearl Harbour was its frustration caused by the effect of the great depression. How far do you agree?
In December 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese. It was the consequence of a series of events which brought tension between Japan and America to boiling point. Japan was a country growing in power and stature and America soon came to realise that this growth could prove a threat to them. America aimed to stop Japan's growth in its tracks as they realised that if the situation was left to evolve much longer then the situation may be out of their control. However, it can be argued that by not seriously dealing with this threat until the 1940's, America had left things too late and faced an opponent who would not back down.
Japan relied greatly on America for immigration, due to the fast growth of the Japanese population. She still wanted to expand further, and at the time, the best option was to increase her trade links overseas.
Still supplying raw materials, America became gradually more aware of Japan's increase in size and military strength. They became more and more worried by it because they realised that if they grew anymore, then Japan may prove a threat to America and her trade. At the Washington Conferences in 1921, America reasoned with the Japanese government and decided that Japan's naval bases and naval arms would be limited. For every 5 ships that America had, Japan would be allowed a maximum of 3. Although Japan agreed, they still aimed to expand more so that they could become one of the major world powers.
When the Great Depression hit America this affected Japan very badly. Japans trade was reduced from a prospering industry to almost nothing. There was practically no demand for Japans goods as they were seen as luxuries and at the time most of America could not afford goods such as silk.
By July 1940, America's President Roosevelt had decided he must take action against Japan's expansion. He banned the export of strategic materials to Japan. By doing this he hoped to halt their expansion. He also decided that a massive American Naval Expansion was in order. By doing this he hoped that Japan would fear America because the American Navy was a major strength in the Pacific Region. He hoped to threaten Japan into ending her aggression.
By doing this Roosevelt thought that he would stop the threat of war from Japan for a while but this backfired on him in December 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour.
I believe that Japan had three main reasons to attack Pearl harbour; the first is a long-term effect, because of their lack of raw materials. The second is a medium term effect and this is the Wall Street Crash and the great depression. The final reason for Japan to attack Pearl Harbour is that In the end Japan was driven to war by the fact that the military had control of the country. The army thought that an attack on Pearl Harbour would prove vital if they were to become equally as powerful as America and have a fighting chance in the war which had seemed inevitable for a long time.