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To what extent was Japan forced to wage World War II in the pacific?

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To what extent was Japan forced to wage World War II in the pacific?

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The Japanese Kamikaze ("divine wind") tactic was suggested on October 19, 1944, by Vice-Admiral Onishi in an attempt to balance the technological advantage of invading American forces. Though the numbers are disputed, approximately 2,800 kamikaze pilots died. They sunk 34 U.S ships , damaged 368, killed 4,900 sailors and wounded 4,800.

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During WWII, the Japanese launched 9,00 "wind ship weapons" of paper and rubberized-silk balloons that carried incendiary and anti-personnel bombs to the U.S. More that 1,000 balloons hit their targets and they reached as far as Michigan. The only deaths resulting from a balloon bomb were six Americans (including 5 children and a pregnant woman) on a picnic in Oregon

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As many as 250,000 people died in field tests of germ agents and biological weapons produced at Unit 731 and other laboratories in at least a dozen cities, including Beijing, Dalien and Nanjing. More than 300 people died when cholera germs were sprayed on Beijing. People also died from ingesting food purposely infected with cholera.

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The Kuomintang and Communists formed an alliance against the Japanese. Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and Mao Zedong's Red Army occupied the interior of China. The area under Mao's control was home to around 100 million people. Chiang reluctantly agreed to form a United Front with the Communists against the Japanese after being pressured to do so by the United States.

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In August 1945, 200 Japanese fleeing the advancing Russian army killed themselves in a mass suicide in Heolongjiang, A woman who managed to survive told the Asahi Shimbun that children were lined up in groups of 10 and shot, with each child making a thud when he or she fell over. The woman said that when her turn arrived the ammunition ran out and she watched as her mother and baby brother were skewered with a sword. A sword was brought down on her neck but she managed to survive.

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Various experiments were conducted with fleas, rats and the plague. In one experiment plague-carrying fleas were raised in a bathtub and then mixed with wheat to attract disease-carrying rats. These rats were air dropped over China's eastern province of Zhejiang and central Hunan province from 1940 to 1942. People who lived in these areas described how people dropped like flies in hours or days, their bodies swollen and black. Those who came for the funerals spread the disease when they returned home. The Chinese government claims that 270,000 were killed but there is little evidence to support the claim that so many were killed.

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The most infamous of the secret laboratories was Unit 731, also known as Division 731, a laboratory located in the village of Pingfan, 16 miles south of Harbin in Manchuria. Established in 1939 by a decree signed by Emperor Hirohito and run by General Shiro Ishii, it was a Japanese version of Belsen or Auschwitz. Unit 731 was a massive complex. It had a staff of 3,000 people and its own airport and railway station. Many of the doctors were from Japan's top medical schools. The Japanese killed an estimated 10,000 people at Unit 731. Most of the victims were Chinese, Mongolians and Koreans. They included children who wandered to close to the facility and a teenage girl found carrying a gun. Experiments were also performed on captured Soviets and British. Human guinea pigs at Unit 731 were referred to as "logs." They were brought to the laboratory in black vans known as voronki, or ravens. Residents of Harbin remember the vans racing through streets as the prisoners inside pounded and shouted for help. Once in the prison they were often fattened up to ensure "good results."

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Japanese scientists used human guinea pigs to perform grotesque experiments at 26 secret laboratories in China, Japan and other occupied countries. Between 3,000 and 12,000 prisoners are believed to have died from these experiments. No survivors have been located. Another 250,000 were killed with biological weapons throughout China, most from the plague.

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The reason why the Japanese was forced to wage war in the pacific was largely due to the fact that Japanese had a great ambition to establish itself and the prevalence of militarism in Japan. This is clearly evident in the Attack of Pearl Harbour when the Japanese refused to accept the demands that they stop the war in China and limit its expansion in this region due to the fact that the emperor was afraid of anger and the power of Military factions, causing them to attack the Pearl Harbour in hope that American would initiate negotiation of peace settlement. This shows that the Military had a great influence in the decision that the Japanese made and due to their aggressive attitude towards other countries, they could not resist the humiliation that would bring them if they were to accept the demands. Furthermore, it was inevitable that the Japanese had to wage a war against America which was a major power at that point of time in order to establish themselves further to fulfill the Military's ambitions and their deep seated need for recognition .Their pride might also have been a factor in waging a war against America, due to the fact that the Americans underestimated them and racially discriminated against them which caused them to feel insulted.

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Additional Information related to the Outbreak of WWII in Asia Pacific that is not found in the textbook

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Additional Information related to the Outbreak of WWII in Asia Pacific that is not found in the textbook

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Japanese propaganda poster from Russo-Japanese War

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Photograph of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, 7 December 1941

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Japanese propaganda poster showing Japan’s view of the region

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A photograph showing women being trained to “defend their homeland”

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Painting of Japanese beheading Chinese functionaries, Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905

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Painting of Chinese Generals surrendering to Let Gen. Nozu(L) and Gen. Oshima after the Battle of Pyongyang

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Japan’s response to the world developments in the 1930s

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Japan’s response to the world developments in the 1930s

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The Japanese decision to attack Pearl Harbour was a calculated risk. Japan aimed to destroy the American Pacific Fleet in order to implement its plan to establish Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in Southeast Asia.

One of the reasons that led to the Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour is the change of American foreign policy. The USA initially adopted an isolationist policy. However, American popular opinion sided with China, and USA followed accordingly by changing the foreign policy. The USA cancelled the commercial treaty with Japan and also imposed a trade embargo on them after Japan's aggression. These encouraged Japan to turn to resource-rich countries in Southeast Asia.

The war in Europe also contributed towards Japanese decision to wage war in Asia Pacific. British and French defences in Asia Pacific were weakened and depleted in order to defend their own countries, causing Southeast Asia to be left defenceless. This created an opportunity for Japan to take the place of the declining powers in the region.

The attack on Pearl Harbour was the first concrete step towards waging war in the Asia Pacific. The US hoped that Japan's reliance on American oil would force it to accept American demands to end the war in China and limit its expansion in the region. However, Japan chose to retaliate by attacking the USA as the Emperor feared the anger and power of military factions, and did not want to embarrass himself or endanger Japanese imperial interests in China. On 7 December 1941, Japan struck Pearl Harbor where the American Pacific Fleet was located, with a surprise attack. The USA, in response, declared war on Japan.

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Japan's ambition to establish itself in Asia and Europe

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Japan's ambition to establish itself in Asia and Europe

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As Japan modernized and developed, it wanted to establish itself and gain equality with Western major powers. Japan relations with external powers were important in influencing Japanese opinions and attitudes towards war.

The rise of Japanese Empire had posed a threat to Russian interests in the Far East. The Russian Empire established a sphere of influence as well as attempted to establish permanent military and naval base in Manchuria. This caused the unhappiness of Japan, who felt threatened in security as well as its interests and influence in Korea. With the Russia's lack of interest in reaching diplomatic agreement and underestimation of Japan, Russo-Japanese War occurred, which ended with Russia's defeat.

Britain, on the other hand, had a more 'friendly' relation with Japan. Both countries signed an alliance known as Anglo-Japanese Alliance which represented mutual recognition of British and Japanese interests in Asia.

Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War with China and gained control of Korea and Taiwan. Taiwan was the first overseas colony of Japan while Korea was under Japanese rule directly, after failing to rule it indirectly through the Korean royal family. Japan then delivered the Twenty-One Demands as an ultimatum to China.
The USA was also a rising power in Asia Pacific and underestimated Japan as well, which worsened the relations. American practiced racism against the Japanese in order to protect American interest. Japan then proposed a racial equality among countries in the League, which was disapproved by British and Australian. This caused the Japanese to be unhappy as they were not given due respect by the Western powers.

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As population of the Japanese people grew rapidly from 1900 - 1930, Japanese farmers lacked space to farm due to competition for land as a result of increased population. This led to decreased profits of farmers and many were unable to support themselves. There was also an increase demand for housing and goods. As a result, many people were unhappy and started losing trust in the government.

Secondly, the Great depression had a huge impact on Japanese economy as heavy taxes were placed on Japanese goods as USA and UK practiced protectionism as to protect their own economy. This decreased Demand for Japanese goods and in turn affected their economy negatively.

Thirdly, there was a growth in Military influence in Japan. The Military invaded Manchuria which granted Japan access to more space and resources which reduced the negative effect of overpopulation. Furthermore, people started to have faith in the government. In addition, 1932 “League of Blood incident” assassinate members of Japanese government and economic elites intimidated civilian government into granting military more power.

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The League of Nations (LON) was not able to prevent Japan from invasion of Manchuria or the Second Sino-Japanese War, which caused the Japan to ignore the the League of Nations. Japan wanted Manchuria as it had many resources that the Japanese needed.Manchuria was also located in such a way that Japan could defend Korea.

A bomb exploded near a Japanese-owned railway station near Mukden and the Japanese blamed the Chinese nationalists for it, so the Chinese asked the LON for help against Japan. The LON sent a group of officials to investigate the problem and on February 1933, they asked Japan to leave Manchuria however Japan refused to leave Manchuria and left the LON instead.
The Second-Sino Japanese war is another example of the LON’s failure. The war started after the Marco Polo Bridge incident. A few Japanese troops were training in Marco Polo Bridge near the town of Wanping when a few shots were fired.Misunderstanding between the chinese and the japanese led to the Chinese and the Japanese increasing military strength, in turn increasing tension. Eventually, it led to a full-scale invasion of China. The Chinese asKed the LON for help however the Western Powers did not want to get involved as they were pre-occupied in their own problems in Europe. They only started to help when the Nanking Massacre was made known to the world.

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The first reason why Japan embarked on the expansionist foreign policy was to get resources for its growing population. It faces the problem of overpopulation and its demand for housing, goods and products increase drastically. As more territories Japan conquer, there will be more space for the citizen to live and access to more resources. For example, the control of Taiwan allowed Japan access to an important source of sugar. Control of Korea allow access to cotton and wool and defend Japanese Isles. Conquering Manchuria defends Korea from getting invaded and also provide land, minerals and wheat to the Japanese. The second reason is the rise of militarism. Japan wanted to be recognised globally by major powers. Their success and involvement with major world powers gave them confidence to expand further. Their confidence boosted again after conquering Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria, encouraging further conquer.

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Japan wants to dominate the whole East Asia and Southeast Asia so as to expel the European colonial powers and to replace them with Satellite states loyal to Japan. Malaya and Indonesia were key targets for Japan because of its rubber and oil. The resources were crucial to its military machine that were lacking in Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria. Many Southeast Asian countries wanted independence from European Rule -> Optimism from south-east asians. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was really a plan to

extend the Japanese Empire into Southeast Asia for economic gains and to further support Japan's expansionist efforts.

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Reasons for the Outbreak of World War II in the Asia Pacific

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Reasons for the Outbreak of World War II in the Asia Pacific

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Haney, Sanjana, Yong Keng, Kwang Joo