The Battle of Midway was the direct turning point of this battle. Midway is a small island that is possessed by the US. Before this battle, the US was able to solve Japan's Naval code and get prepared for their attacks. With the US’s effective plans, Japan lost all four of its fleet carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, and Hiryū, and also lost a heavy cruiser called Mikuma. Around 3,000 men were killed, including skilled pilots. Aircraft and overseas battles were the strengths of Japan’s Navy, but they lost most of their facilities. After this battle, Japan’s naval force was sufficiently weakened, and effectively ended Japan’s offensive momentum in the Pacific Ocean. With this event, the US was able to start the attack on Japan. 

Military Dismantled

A notable change is that the military was dismantled. According to Article 9, Japan is prohibited from maintaining a military and engaging in war. Despite Article 9, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) exist and are allowed for national defense. It is allowed to only engage in self-defense, but not in war. This continues to this day, so the international conflict with Japan didn’t happen.

Country Reform

The country also reconstructed damaged infrastructure and agricultural parts. It is estimated that the bombings destroyed 267,000 buildings and homes. Also, agriculture changed a lot because of a major land reform that transferred land ownership from landlords to those who tilled the soil. Japan took approximately 10 years to regain its pre-war level of economic output after World War II.

Chance in Political Ideas

The US also changed Japan’s political ideas. For example, the US reformed Japan’s women's rights. The new constitution written for Japan granted women political, social, and economic rights for the first time in Japanese history. The US also changed the political system of Japan. In WW2, Japan’s political system was a monarchy, and they had an emperor. However, the constitution also changed Japan’s system into a more democratic system, changing Japan into a Democratic country.

British Malaya- Actually, even before Japan invaded Malaya, it was a place where Japan got the most iron from. Japan's steel industry was very dependent on the iron ore Malaya had. However, before Japan went to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, they needed to supply their war materials, plus wanted industrial development. Since Malaya was a place where there were many natural resources, just like Manchuria had a lot too, Japan went on and attacked them. They made an effort on integrating Malaya into a bigger economic zone, mostly for the reason of Japan able to supply and access to raw materials. It is known that the two major places Japan got iron from was Malaya and Manchuria.

Land - Land is such an important part which enable all these other resources to be existing. It is essential for humans live on, for us to build shelters, eat, and just simply live. For example, if we don't have land, it means that we can't farm and produce food. All the agricultural activities based on our life will be impossible to achieve. If we don't have enough crops because of the loss of lands, humans obviously will need to struggle due to the shortage of foods. In these days, it is sometimes defined as a source of wealth too. Land is such a valuable resource that also contain other resources like oil and gas, which is necessary in our daily life. Other than food, to focus more on the perspective and events happening in the past, land was also a type of symbol for power and strength. A country with more lands was considered as a 'stronger' country, maybe because of how 'more land they conquer as an individual country' can refer to how much capability they have with winning wars, plus the strong power they have in wars. Moving away from the aspect that 'more land' may portray the image of a country that it's more likely to be 'powerful', land is where farming happens, also battles (military related). In the past, farming was really important, just like right now, for people to get food. However, individually farming was important, but also to maintain a stable economy, mass farming was important. In conclusion, as people are able to access more food, they were able get in cheaper prices, food related jobs would be created, etc. For military purposes, there could be some strategic opportunities which made the other country more harsher to come in. For example, a geography of a place with mountains would give more burden for a country to invade.

Sugar- Sugar is a primary fuel source for our cells and our brain too because it contains glucose. (well it's not good if we eat it too much) For our body, sugar actually is a crucial part in providing energy for our body to function well, impacts the organ activity, and even the components of cells. Not only does sugar give energy to our body, but also plays a role in the tastes of foods. During the period when Japan imperialized many areas of the world, their government thought importantly of sugar. It gave a symbolism of civilized as I mentioned before, and was considered a huge part of Japan's identity. Sugar is used as a primary ingredient when we cook, and it's for the production of good tasting dishes.

Rubber (minerals)- Rubber is important due to its unique characteristics it has. The elasticity of rubber and how it is strong but also flexible are considered as specialities in their property. Rubber can be used in diverse ways, like for medical uses, job uses, for military uses, etc.

Medical uses- Rubber can be used for surgical gloves and tubing. Rubber gloves are used for health care purposes to keep the hygiene. It prevents contamination and infection when there is a surgery, which is based on very sensible parts, but also important parts of our body.

Vehicles- Rubber is used for tires in vehicles which is an essential part needed for a vehicles to move and work. As tire is known as the major use of rubber in a vehicle, there are also other roles it plays to diverse parts of the car. Rubber is used to cover the electrical wires to prevent safety problems that can possibly occur without rubber. Plus, rubber can be used for preventing leaks of fluids and gas because it creates an airtight and watertight connection.

Military uses- For military uses, it is a material included in making the protecting gears for soldiers. Rubber has good resilience which can absorb the sudden shock which protects soldiers from getting serious injuries. Also, as I have mentioned about the unique property of flexibility and elasticity, wearing rubber-made protection gears are suitable for the comfortability of soldiers, plus is resistant to wear. Last but not least, rubber does not transfer electricity

Various job uses- Rubber has heat resistance that slows the energy transfer between our body to the heat outside. The gear is not only used for military uses, but also for firefighters, or other that needs heat insulation.

Oil- Oil is a tremendously significant natural resource which brings majority of advantages to industries and productions. It is a primary fuel source which is used mainly for supplying energy to power industries, provide fuels for vehicles for our transportation, heats up our home when it is winter, etc. Without oil--as I think that industries and the use of transportation is extremely vital for our human's life--it would be so challenging to do all the things we are able to right now in our life. Back when we go to the past, to explain the importance of oil in that historical background, the missing of oil meant that they couldn't fight well. Connecting to the event of Japan fighting for oil in Pearl Harbor--the US Embargo really was an embarrassment + shocking news for them--it is actually known that without the imports of oil and steel, the Japanese military couldn't fight for long. Lack of oil led to the navies not being able to move in World War 2. In conclusion, oil plays a critical role in fueling war machines, like ships, planes, and tanks.

Iron ore, steel- Iron ore is such an important source in our society because it contributes to the production of steel, which is another very vital natural resource in our life. To talk about iron ore and steel, it is a key material in infrastructure, housing, and manufacturing. Iron ore's biggest advantage is that it is the origin of how steel comes out to the world. Steel is considered as the most important material used for engineering and constructions. The benefits steel directly give by products include daily items such as refrigerators, washing machines, vehicles, buildings, etc. Plus, steel is recyclable, which is another huge aspect we need to consider: nature and the environment.

the Japanese invaded the Manchuko state in China and establish the puppet policies in there. After the invasion of the Japanese in Manchuko have triggered and cause the Second Sino-Japanese war.

-1937:

the Japan army decides to be invading into Manchuria - which is in the northeastern of China - as a result of the Chinese leader that time Zhang Xueliang not listening to Japan’s warnings. Zhang Xueliang that time still casted most of his armies to the Nationalist government in Namjing. This have forced Japan to be invading the city of Shenyang first and have fully take over the city in 2 days. The Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang) government in Nanjing chose not to resist the Japanese even though they’re are low on food resources and low on people.

-1940:

Japan in 1940 was able to take over the puppet ruler of French over Indochina. Also being able to control over most of the countries in southeast Asia. When Japan was taking over Vietnam with the ally help of the French have nearly take over but when the conflict with French increase, Japan decided to be the only one ruling over the puppet country (Empire of Vietnam). In 1940, Japan was also successful on signing the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany, establishing the Axis allies.

=> The Tripartite Pact was signed by 3 main countries, Germany, Italy and Japan in Berlin, September 27, 1940. It was a military alliance that was formed mainly to be having a defense military aiming towards attacking and weakening the USA military as the world enters WWII (World War 2).

-1941:

On December 7, 1941, Japan have invaded the Pearl Harbor secretly and have surprised the US force. Japan have decided to invade the Pearl Harbor in the island of Oahu, Hawaii to stop and limit the US pacific fleet to be interrupting the imperialism of the Japanese Emperor in the Indochina. The Japanese have secretly invaded in without the US knowing as the US is not in the WW2 yet. The action of the Japan military have triggered the US and the US have decided to finally joining the war. Also in 1941, after being able to sign the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany, Japan was able to invade countries that their allies were controlling like Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

=> The Pearl Harbor is one of the largest Naval base of US and is where ships that are broken or is ‘stored to use’ is there. Being attacked secretly have caused 2,600 people to die and have created a huge loss for the US pacific fleet.

-1942:

In the start of 1942, Japan have invaded/expanded it's control towards the area of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, which includes the Dutch East Indies and Burma. The most significant event in 1942, is the Midway battle. This is when Japan lost in a battle with the USA and have a major turn in events of the Pacific area. Early into the 1942, Navy cryptanalysis from the USA have started to break communication codes, and the USA was able to know all of the plans and locations of where Japan is going to attack into the Pacific. Japan plan that time was going to attack into what they called is 'AF'. The USA was able to know and break the code that AF stands for the Midway, Station Hypo in Hawaii. Breaking codes further in allows them to know the specific date and also their military set up. The battle lasted 5 days and with the advantage of the information the USA got, they won.

=> the midway battle is one of the significant events that have a turn on how the USA have defeated Japan and prevented on Japan being able to continue the plan of taking over the USA and also the Pacific. The midway battle is how the USA have responded to Japan on the Pearl Harbor attack. The USA have to wait for almost one year to be able to restore their ships and storage.

-1945:

To force Japan and their alliances to surrender, the USA have dropped two atomic bombs down in Nagasaki and Hiroshima (little boy and fat man). Due to the atomic bomb being too much damage, Japan have decided to surrender and WW2 ended. On August 14, 1945, have marked the end of the WW2, due to the surrender of Japan and the victory of the USA.

The battle was much longer because of Guadalcanal’s harsh jungle environment. Their jungle terrain, dangerous weather, and lack of infrastructure made the war a challenge. Even if Guadalcanal was a jungle, it was unsuitable for hiding. Because of the battle going on, unfamiliar terrain, air forces, and environmental factors like animals were a danger to the islands. Overall, Guadalcanal was not a suitable environment for attack and defense.

The main tactic that the US used was to block and disrupt their supply chain. The US Navy actively targeted Japanese carriers and supply ships to disrupt their resupply efforts. This was a key part of the overall strategy to make the Japanese Navy much weaker. With this strategy, Japanese soldiers faced a lack of supplies from January to February. With a lack of food and health supplies, Japanese soldiers suffered from tropical diseases like Malaria. The Japanese military lost over 19,000 soldiers in the Guadalcanal campaign. 8,500 soldiers were killed in the war, 9,000 died from diseases, and 1,000 were captured by the US Navy. Eventually, the Japanese evacuated from Guadalcanal because of starvation and infection.

The US’s strengths in this battle were aircraft, sufficient supplies, and strategic planning. Japan was also strong in air forces, but their lack of supplies and less strategic planning led them to defeat. The main effect of this battle was the stoppage of Japan’s dominance. The Guadalcanal Campaign ended all Japanese expansion attempts and placed the Allies in a position of clear supremacy. 

This battle is famous for being the biggest Naval battle in history. The scale of this battle was vast. It took more than 100,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean. The war involved about 200,000 men from both sides. In the US, about 16,043 soldiers and 7,270 sailors were killed, while the Japanese had 419,912 deaths and injuries. Additionally, around 10,000 Japanese pilots and sailors were killed. For ships, 282 ships participated in the conflict, and the battle involved a total of 2,014,890 tons of shipping tonnage. For aircraft, both sides had around 1,600 aircraft. Japan had a strategy called Sho-go, which is also called the Victory Operation. Sho-Go was a plan for the Japanese to decoy the US to the North and destroy them, while saving their provinces and attacking the landing. However, the Japanese tactic was very unsuccessful because of their weaker aircraft. In the US Naval Institute, it said that, “There was a clear disconnect between objectives to be accomplished and forces and assets available at the strategic and operational levels.”

The main objective of the Battle of Leyte was to retake the Philippines from Japan. Japan conquered the Philippines in 1942, which was when the Philippines was an American territory. The battle ended with the victory of the US, and they conquered the Philippines again. The main impact was the crippling of the Japanese Combined Fleet, ending its ability to act as a major offensive force in the Pacific. With this, the Allies got their power over the Pacific Ocean back.

Before the battle started, the US military had planned an invasion. They were bombing the Japanese mainland in preparation for it. So, the Japanese were not sure of the exact time, but they were aware of an attack from the US. The battle started with the US Marines invading Iwo Jima, an air base located between the Mariana Islands and Japan. The battle ended with the victory of the US. The US won because of its strategies and more advanced weapons than Japan. For example, the US had more advanced tanks, anti-tank weapons (bazookas, rifles, etc.), and flamethrowers. In this battle, about 9,600 Americans died and 21,00 Japanese died. Also, most of the Japanese people died from suicide.

With the battle of Iwo Jima, the US was able to get a base in Japan, so they could more easily invade other parts of Japan, like Okinawa, and plan for the bombing.

Battle of Okinawa

The capture of Iwo Jima directly led to the planning of the Battle of Okinawa, serving as a crucial stepping stone in the Allied campaign to invade Japan. With the US’s planning, the Battle of Okinawa also started with the US attacking Japan first. The invasion of Okinawa started about a week after the invasion of Iwo Jima (the Battle of Iwo Jima ended on March 26, and the Battle of Okinawa started on April 1), so Japan suffered from a lack of supplies in this battle. The US also won with good planning and better supplies, like in the battle of Iwo Jima. The battle of Okinawa had a larger scale than the battle of Iwo Jima. About 90,000 Japanese soldiers died in the fighting, but deaths among people who live in Okinawa are estimated to reach 150,000. However, the US lost 12,000 soldiers, which is a large amount but less compared to the loss of Japanese men.

The main impact was the decision of the US to use atomic bombs on Japan to end the war faster and with fewer casualties. In both of these battles, the US saw many people, especially people who lived there, getting killed and injured. Also, they feared that Japanese soldiers were forcing people to commit mass suicide again. The US decided that using an atomic bomb was the best way to end the war and kill the fewest people.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima was chosen quickly after the battle of Okinawa. Hiroshima was bombed 2 months after the Battle of Okinawa. The US chose to bomb Hiroshima because it is a major port in Japan and a military base. Also, compared to the other parts in Japan, Hiroshima was untouched by wars, and it was large, which would allow a clear demonstration of the bomb's power. It's estimated that between 90,000 and 166,000 people died in Hiroshima due to the atomic bombing. Also, survivors were not safe. They had a much higher chance of cancer because of radioactivity, intellectual disabilities, and decelerated growth in their children.

The impact of this bombing was very large and important. The bombing was the most crucial part that contributed to the end of the war. This showed the strengths of the US Army. However, Japan refused to surrender to the US.

Atomic Bombing on Nagasaki

Because Japan refused to surrender even after the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, the US had to drop another bomb to make Japan surrender. Because of this bomb, 74,000 people died in Nagasaki. At the same time, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan because of a promise made to the US. With multiple attacks happening at the same time in Japan, they were getting weaker.

The Surrender of Japan

Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945. Japan formally surrendered in Tokyo Bay, aboard the USS Missouri. Japan surrendered because of the huge effects of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's attack on Japan. This contract officially ended the Pacific battle of WW2. 

The conference that happened before the surrender of Japan is the Potsdam Conference, which was held from July 17 to August 2, 1945. In this conference, the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union met to discuss the war against Japan.

Strategies Used to Resolve the Conflict

I noticed the three main strategies used to resolve this conflict: Violence, Military intervention, and Arbitration.

Violence was used throughout all of the wars. They built stronger weapons to harm the other side and achieve victory. Ships and aircraft were used and were destroying land and killing people. One of the main ways was the nuclear bombing that happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many people died by this strategy. 

Military intervention was used in the last part of the war. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan because it had promised the US. The attack of the Soviet Union on Japan after the atomic bombing was very impactful, and this was also a big reason why the Japanese surrendered.

Arbitration was also used for the official end of the war. There was a conference called the Potsdam Conference, and the country leaders decided to sign a peace treaty to end the war peacefully. They signed the Treaty of Peace, and the war officially ended. 

-China would be lacking of infrastructure and also loss in industries after the war. China won't be able to invade back Japan as when they would have to take a large amount of time to be recovering the damages that was created. In the future, the resources would not be much of a problem as technology grows so there would be more trading over than fighting over resources

-even though, the imperialism of Japan might impact for Taiwan in a period of time, Taiwan, having the Chinese culture might be able to get their language, food and culture back to normal with efforts of influence towards the citizens. It may be hard for Taiwan to be able to trade (import/export) out resources as they would be lacking and also with the impact and pressure of China.

Support of Japan for Recovery

Surprisingly, the US was a big supporter of Japan's recovery. Under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur, the US supported Japan in its recovery in infrastructure, agriculture, and occupations. It is estimated that the US used about 2.2 billion USD to support Japan's recovery after the war. With their help, Japan was able to recover fast.

Why did they help Japan?

However, the reason the US supported Japan after the war with their recovery is to make them a democratic country. In this situation, the US and the Soviet Union were having the Cold War, and they were supporting countries to support communism or democracy. So, the US was supporting Japan to make it a democratic country.