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Before Japan attacked the USA, Japan wasn’t a research rich country.  With not enough oil and food to secure them, they needed to find a way to expand. In order to expand Japan had to create the (Greater East Co-Prosperity sphere).

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By 1937 Japan had already achieved some of it’s expansion.  Japan was in control of Manchuria, and was at war with China for more territory in the northeast. Japan had already secured Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. The Japanese had two options, The northern plan, or the southern plan. The northern plan was to take over the USSR and the southern plan was to take over Southeast Asia.

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As the Japanese invaded Indochina, the US responded by cutting off trade with Japan, imposing an embargo. When the US imposed an embargo Japan lost vital materials like petroleum, scrap metal, and other raw materials that they provided.

At heart of this embargo was oil, which japan needed for its war machine. The Japanese’s navy then informs the government that oil reserves will be exhausted within 2 years.

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In July 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt made a withdrawal with Japanese funds from American banks.

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When General Hideki Tojo became prime minister of japan in October 1941, Hideki Tojo said that to prevent overseas territories like the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and the United States, Japan needed to take out their biggest threat, the United States. Japan thought if they were able to take down the US navy, the US navy would be crippled and would allow Japan to conquer Southeast Asia.

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On December 7 1941, the Japanese did a surprise attack upon the US pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The two waves of of Japanese warplanes sunk the USS Arizona, USS West Virginia, USS Nevada, and the USS California. There we’re 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers, and 79 fighters, including 35 underwater submarines.