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Japan's actions from 1852 to 1945 were motivated by a deep desire to avoid the fate of 19th-century China and become a great Asian superpower. They were fueled by the notion of superiority in Asia. The Japanese government justified its actions by claiming that it was seeking to unite East Asia under Japanese leadership in the name of Greater East Asian Prosperity. The Japanese wanted to free East Asians from the rule of Western powers (particularly the United States).

Despite this, the Japanese maintained trade links with America until their invasion of China in July 1937. They also maintained communications with the United States until the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941.

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February to March 1933 - Truce of Tangku

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February to March 1933 - Truce of Tangku

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Japan extended hostilities with China when they invaded Jehol Province, next to Manchuria. China was in no position to resist so they signed this truce which ended the fighting. Japan now controlled Jehol as well as Manchuria.

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1935 to 1939 - The US Congress Passed Four Neutrality Acts

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1935 to 1939 - The US Congress Passed Four Neutrality Acts

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These laws were passed in response to the growing international turmoil in Europe (the rise of German and Italian fascism, Spanish Civil War etc.) and Asia (Japan's aggression in China). The general mood in America was one of isolationism - don't get involved, don't take sides. These laws made it difficult for the US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, to provide any help to the Chinese.

These laws even prevented Roosevelt from directly helping Great Britain when it went to war with Nazi Germany in 1939. Although Roosevelt saw the danger of doing nothing, he had to abide by these laws which gave him little scope for action.

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July 1937 - The Marco Polo Bridge Incident

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July 1937 - The Marco Polo Bridge Incident

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Following the death of a Japanese soldier, Japanese troops attempted to enter and search the Peking (Beijing) suburb of Wanping. This was a clear violation of Chinese territory. A fire fight between the Chinese and Japanese troops erupted at the Marco Polo Bridge in suburban Peking. This incident triggered a full scale Japanese invasion of China.

This conflict is usually referred to as the Sino-Japanese War and it continued with great ferocity until Japan surrendered to the Americans in August 1945. Many argue that this is the starting point of World War II, and not the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.

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November 1937 - Alliance Between Japan and Nazi Germany

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November 1937 - Alliance Between Japan and Nazi Germany

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The Axis Powers was an alliance that can trace its roots way back to 1936. In October of that year, Germany and Italy signed a friendship treaty that formed the Rome-German Axis. It was after this treaty that Italian dictator Benito Mussolini used the term “Axis” to refer to their alliance. Shortly after this, on November 25, 1936, Japan and Germany both signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was a treaty against communism. An even stronger alliance was signed between Germany and Italy on May 22, 1939 called the Pact of Steel. This treaty would later be called the Tripartite Pact when Japan signed it on September 27, 1940. Now the three main Axis Powers were allies in the war.

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July to December 1937 - Japanese Success

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July to December 1937 - Japanese Success

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Japanese aircraft bombed Chinese cities and the Japanese navy blockaded the Chinese coast. By December the major Chinese cities of Peking, Tientsin and Shanghai had been captured.

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December 1937 to January 1938 - The Rape of Nanking

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December 1937 to January 1938 - The Rape of Nanking

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As the Japanese had rapidly advanced through northern China, the Chinese has transferred their capital city from Peking (which was in Japanese control now) to Nanking. Nanking now became the primary Japanese objective. After capturing the city on 13th December 1937, Japanese generals allowed their troops to sack the city over the course of the following weeks.

By the time this orgy of atrocities, rape, pillage and destruction was over in January 1938, over 300,000 civilians had been brutally killed and much of the city was a smouldering ruin. The world was shocked by the Japanese barbarism and violence.

In the course of the attack on Nanking, an American gunboat, the USS Panay, was sunk in an unprovoked attack by Japanese aircrafts. This ship was attempting to evacuate US citizens trapped in Nanking. The Japanese claimed they had failed to see the large American flags painted on the decks. Despite this openly hostile action by the Japanese, the Americans stuck to their policy of isolationism and accepted a Japanese apology and cash payout without further action.

Below is a picture of a Nanking man about to be executed by the Japanese...

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The Japanese launched a major offensive against the Chinese by moving up the Yangtze River and capturing the city of Hankow. The Japanese army also seized south-eastern China and captured Canton in October. The Chinese government stayed out of reach by moving their capital to the inland city of Chungking.

Despite all these conquests, by the end of 1938 the Japanese were now caught in a drawn out war of attrition. They had expected a rapid and total victory but her armies had become bogged down in China's vastness and were constantly harassed by Chinese forces and a hostile population. Japan didn't have the military manpower or material to deliver a knockout blow. The China War continued to be a drain on Japanese resources until 1945 and they could never fully focus their attention on the Americans between 1941 and 1945.

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Britain was becoming increasingly concerned by the growing Japanese threat to her territory in the Asian region - Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma, Malaya etc - and was interested in cutting off vital supplies to Japan such as nickel, oil and iron ore. However, isolationist America wouldn't cooperate and the plan came to nothing.

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September 1940 - Japan Occupies Northern Indochina (Vietnam)

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September 1940 - Japan Occupies Northern Indochina (Vietnam)

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France was defeated by Nazi Germany in June so, some months later, Germany's ally, Japan demanded the right to station 25,000 troops in this French colony. The French were in no position to resist.

This development finally motivated the USA to shed at least some of its isolationist outlook. The US owned Philippines weren't too far off the Indochinese coast and the Americans sensed the growing threat. As a result the USA drastically cut its iron and steel exports to Japan, leaving them short of these vital resources.

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July 1941 - Japan Occupies the Rest of Indochina

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July 1941 - Japan Occupies the Rest of Indochina

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Japan completed its occupation of this French colony by moving troops into the south of the country. It was a step too far for the Americans to tolerate. The USA, along with the British and the Dutch (who owned the East Indies - Indonesia) froze all of Japanese assets and put a ban on all exports to Japan. This trade embargo meant that Japan was cut off from 75% of its resource supplies and 90% of its oil. America, Britain and the Netherlands (the Dutch) intended to enforce this embargo until the Japanese withdrew from Indochina.

Japan now had only three options open to her:
1. Suffer a humiliating backdown by withdrawing from Indochina. The USA soon upped the stakes by insisting they withdraw from China and Manchuria as well.
2. Stay in Indochina and risk economic ruin
3. Go to war with the USA and its friends.

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Japan chose the third option. They decided that their best chance of victory was to smash the US Pacific fleet at its base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. With the US Navy out of action, the Japanese believed that they could conquer South East Asia virtually unopposed and capture all the resources and oil they needed. They also believed that when the Americans realised the powerful Japanese position, they would be willing to negotiate a peace settlement favourable to the Japanese...

They were wrong.