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Military Needs

Japan's war with China (the Second Sino-Japanese War) needed a major supply of iron and steel for the production of firearms, blades, vehicles, ammunition, etc. But because Japan's geological setting didn't have a large enough supply of iron, they imported/took majorly from their colonies, including Taiwan, Korea, and Micronesia. Japan imposed a tax upon its colonies, supplying their military needs throughout the war(s). In 1939, a majority of Japan's scrap iron was imported, with the United States being the largest importer before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US imported approximately 2,000,000 tonnes of metals to Japan in 1939 alone.

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Energy Source

Coal was Japan's leading fuel until after the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1935 and 1944, coal accounted for 62.2% and 58.8%, respectively, of the total energy supply. Coal was used to power vehicles, provide electricity, and provide heat in general.

Industrialization

Coal was used heavily in Japan's industrialization, powering rudimentary steam engines at first to full-on hydraulics - the first commercially produced hydraulic system was released by General Motors the very same year in 1939. The steam engines were used everywhere, in steamboats, steam engine trains, steam engines, and steam automobiles, which surprisingly enough, came to Japan way back in 1904.

Exported Good

In 1939, Japan's coal exports were somewhat minimal, at only around 2,626 tonnes being exported, yet that number compares nowhere near the total production of coal in Japan - more than 48,000,000 tonnes of coal, indicating Japan's efforts were primarily focused on themselves/consumption, rather than exporting goods to other countries for profit.

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The United States was aware that the Japanese were planning an attack in the Pacific (on a location the Japanese code-named “AF”) because Navy cryptanalysts had begun breaking Japanese communication codes in early 1942. The attack location and time were confirmed when the American base at Midway sent out a false message that it was short of fresh water. Japan then sent a message that “AF” was short of fresh water, confirming that the location for the attack was the base at Midway. The Japanese forces thought that the USS Yorkshire was destroyed completely after it was heavily damaged at the coral islands battle, however before the battle, American workers repaired and made the battleship sea-worthy in only 48 hours.

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Japan will likely in the near future never take part in any such war again, as the last time they were involved in 2 major conflicts, 2 of their largest cities got evaporated using only one bomb each, plus, any large scale war currently will probably result in a much more major consequence for both sides due to not just the availability of nuclear weapons but also the development of non-nuclear weapons. Also, a war between Japan and another country will likely affect the world's economy, as with the Ukraine-Russia war, where most of Europe had to switch to their independent energy sources, rather than relying on Russia's exports. The US-China trade war is also a good example, where many countries lost a big portion of the US market. The US economy itself has lost billions of dollars due to the limitation of China's exports to the US. However, Japan is currently going through a rice shortage - one of the most crucial parts of a japanese meal - prices have been soring while governments have started importing more and more rice rather than using the readily available grown rice in japan. But this is still a trivial detail that will probably not lead to a future conflict as throughout history, there have bene no independent countries that have declared war on another one for food, because as I said earlier, wars are expensive, they basically collapse the economy and all for food? Any rational government wouldn't justify this. Furthermore, when japan surrendered to the us they signed a peace treaty that prevented them from solving international conflicts using violence.

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The Sino-Japanese War was a conflict between China and Japan. Korea had been China’s most important client state, however, Korea's natural resources(coal and iron) had attracted the interest of Japan, which at the time needed those resources. Korea provided access to important trade routes and markets, making itself important for both areas. Japan wanted control over Korea in order to secure economic and strategic benefits(getting natural resources, trade routes), while China sought to maintain its own influence in the area, as gaining control of Korea meant gaining dominance in the area for strategic purposes. In the end, japan beat China in the war, gaining control in the area of korea.b

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Steel production

Iron is used as the main component in steel production, alloying with carbon derived from coal to make a metal alloy with steel's strength while maintaining relative lightness. Steel is used in a variety of different applications, including as concrete reinforcing rods, in bridges, infrastructure, tools, ships, trains, cars, bicycles, machines, electrical appliances, furniture, and weapons; in short, essential for infrastructure, machinery, and tools.

Cast Iron

Iron can be cast into molds to create durable and long-lasting objects that can withstand being exposed to the elements for a prolonged period, but it is susceptible to corrosion and rust. Cast Iron has its uses in plumbing, cookware, and other heat-sustaining, element-exposed applications.

Catalyst

Iron can also be used as a catalyst in industrial processes of purifying or converting, such as the Haber process for ammonia production, the Fischer-Tropsch process for converting syngas into liquid fuels, and as an anode and cathode for electroplating.

Commercial use

Iron has many commercial uses, such as in bearings, cutlery, surgical instruments, and jewelry, as well as in a wide range of fabricated metal products and machinery. Iron is essential for most printed circuit boards (PCBs) as an inductor, transformer, and metal-core PCBs. Iron also makes an appearance as steel in heatsinks in many modern computers, from the smallest Raspberry Pi to the largest server racks.

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Coal has many uses, including as a fuel source in coal plants and as a heat source. It is essential for most modern commercial processes, such as in power plants, which power roughly a third of all electricity in the world, steel manufacturing, cement making, etc. In short, building blocks of modern civilization. Coal can also be broken down into its elements, such as carbon, which can be used for activated carbon, carbon fiber, and synthetic carbon products. In steel manufacturing, coal is used as a coke (a substance used to remove impurities in the form of slag), and in cement making as a fuel source in kilns to fire the cement.

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Lumber can be used to make several types of materials derived from wood:

Plywood

Plywood is made from thin layers of compacted wood veneer, with each layer's grain rotated 90 degrees from the last layer. It can be used for construction framing, furniture, floors, wall panels, and window frames. Making plywood involves shaving timber into thin veneers, then drying them, and then gluing them together in a cross-hatch wood grain.

Construction

Lumber is the most commonly used material in construction in America, being the foundation for framing, flooring, roofing, walls, and outdoor decks. Lumber is cheap and inexpensive, making it paired with drywall a cheap alternative to fully concrete walls, more commonly used in Asia.

Paper

The paper industry worldwide is valued at over $357,000,000,000, making it one of the most diverse and widely available industries in the world. Making paper involves flattening and drying lumber pulp into sheets of paper. Paper is inexpensive and easy to mass produce, taking only 12 - 24 trees to make a tonne of paper.

Fuel

Lumber is still one of the most common sources of energy, whether in power plants or in trains, lumber is one of the most versatile sources of energy.

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Housing

In 1939, the percentage of houses built using lumber in Japan must have exceeded 90%. Lumber is a primary building material due to its abundance, good cost-profit ratio, and adaptability to the Japanese climate and seismic activity—many trees could withstand high winds or minor earthquakes, with both being quite common in Japan since it lies above a fault line. Speaking of earthquakes, lumber/wood was also chosen primarily in housing due to their strength yet flexibility, giving them the aforementioned earthquake resistance.

Fuel Source

Other than coal, wood was one of the most abundant and easily obtainable fuel sources used in Japan. In 1939 alone, Japan produced the equivalent of 75,000,000 JPY in the lumber industry, including 50,000,000 in cut wood, 3,000,000 in bamboo, and other secondary wood products.

Military Importance

Lumber was also a primary resource/material in military operations, such as in trench building, bunker building, ship building, and pretty much any kind of building during wartime. It's abundance and cost made it an easy and reliable material in not just military but also civilian construction as mentioned before.

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Before-beginning of Midway Battle/pearl harbor

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Before-beginning of Midway Battle/pearl harbor