Reasons for increasing tension between Japan and USA before September 1941

The story ended in august 1941 in fireballs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki had its beginning in centuries of Japanese history and tradition

In the early decades of the 20th century Japan was no longer able to rely solely on itself for food and raw materials. For Japan to survive ad prosper, it would have to modernize and adopt western technology. However, for many Japanese nationalists, the way to achieve economic and political stature was to establish an empire in East Asia. Nationalists and the nations traditional warriors (the samurai) felt that Japan had been relegated to second-class status by the USA and Great Britain. This increased tensions and Japan felt the time was ripe to assert Japan its superior/superpower class.

When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Japan soon joined her ally Britain, in declaring war on Germany. On the 7th September 1914, Japan took over Germany’s interest in Shaunting province in china, including the important seaport of Tsingtao. When China asked Japan to leave, the Japanese presented the Chinese leaders, with an impossible list of 21 demands. The list demanded that the privileges Japan already had in southern Manchuria and Inner Mongolia be enlarged. Also the Japanese demanded the right to send financial, military and political experts as advisers to the Chinese governments. The implication was clear. Japan intended to make china part of the Japanese Empire. China had no allies she could turn to for help. The allies protested to Japan but did not press the argument too hard since Japan was a valuable ally. In May 1915 the Japanese modified their demands but threatened military action if they weren’t accepted. Yuan Shih-Kai had to agree but leaked the secret demands. The Chinese people were furious. They held protest meetings throughout China and boycotted Japanese goods. At the end of the war, Germany’s interests in Shaunting were officially granted to Japan under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. News of the concession provoked a massive protest in China. Japan’s desire to be an empire also greatly increased tensions. Japan was still ranked by the outcome of world war. in this war Japan fought for the western allies primarily by providing weapons and ammunition.

By 1919 the Royal Navy was no longer the undisputed mistress of the seas. The U.S Navy was nearly as big. That of Japan ranked third in the Worlds. United states called a conference of interested nations in Washington in November 1921 because United states wanted to ensure that an Open Door policy, giving equal trading rights to all countries in China and Far East would now prevail instead of the pre war system. These agreements especially favoured the Japanese because:

Her navy was developed exclusively in the pacific, whilst those of the United States and Britain operated ...

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Her navy was developed exclusively in the pacific, whilst those of the United States and Britain operated throughout the World.
The Fact that naval bases had already been built in Japan that she would continue to dominate the Far East.

Militarism dominated Japanese foreign policy when Emperor Hirohito was in reign. Militarism emphasised war as a way of solving problems. It gained in strength in Japan in the late 1920’s and 1930’s. Corruption among officials and politicians were commonplace. Ordinary Japanese had little reason to respect to respect their elected assembly. In any case many of the older Japanese disliked the idea of democracy. They preferred direct action rather than protracted debate. The Army grew in power throughout the government. The army demanded that the Japanese empire should grow, as the military believed that Japan was in great need of living space so the military put the government under pressure to take over the rest of China. These pressures also resulted in political assassinations. In 1930 the prime minister was gunned down because he signed the Naval Treaty. Another Japanese prime minister was also assassinated two years later.

Japan was badly hit by the great depression after 1929, since her industrial strength depended on exports. Declining trade hit most workers in Japan, such as the peasant farmers who cultivated silk and the mill workers who turned into yarn or cloth. Without exports Japan could not buy the imports she needed, such as Coal, Oil, Iron Ore and other raw materials. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Workers tried strikes, riots and demonstrations. Militant army officers had other plans to resolve the crisis. Many came from peasant homes and resented the circumstances, which made their families poor. Japan was too small and had too few raw materials to support its rapidly growing population. The Japanese needed more living space but they were not allowed to emigrate to the United States or Australia, while the Washington agreement stopped them expanding in Far East Asia, an area they regarded as being part of Japan’s sphere of influence. These pressures resulted in war when Japanese militarists invaded Manchuria in 1931. This worried the United States.

Ever since the 1990’s, Japanese business interests had worked hard to develop the resources of Manchuria after special rights and concessions had been granted to Japan under the terms of various treaties. The Japanese hoped eventually to make Manchuria part of their empire. These plans were endangered when the local ruler of Manchuria seemed close to reaching an agreement with the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist) leader, who wanted to unite China. The Chinese complained to the league of nations of Japanese aggression. Japan was condemned and ordered to leave Manchuria forthwith, but none of the member nations were prepared to back words with force. Their failure to do so paved the way for the later full scale Japanese invasion of china in 1937 and the development of military regime in Tokyo and Japan left the League of Nations in 1933.

In the pacific, relations between the USA and Japan deteriorated when America aid to china led to a crisis which came to a head when Japanese forced Vichy France to let them use airfields and naval bays in French indo-china (now Vietnam). Japan was anxious that her supply of vital raw materials should not dry up and told France these bases were needed to protect her trade. The U.S Government suspected rightly that Japan were interested in the oilfields of the Dutch East Indies and rubber and tin producing areas of Malaya. Roosevelt retaliated by banning oil and petrol sales to Japan. While Japanese and US delegations talked the Japanese navy had secret preparations for an attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour. The new Prime minister General Hideki Tojo approved the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Reasons for increasing tension between Japan and USA before September 1941

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