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Unlock This CourseBy 1933 Japan had left the League of Nations (see the lesson on Manchukuo and the League of Nations) and held Manchuria. On 7 July 1937 Japanese and Chinese soldiers clashed near the Marco Polo Bridge, close to Beijing. The fighting did not stop. It grew into a full-scale war, and Japan's army captured Beijing, Shanghai and the Chinese capital, Nanjing, by the end of 1937. The capture of Nanjing in December 1937 was followed by the killing of large numbers of civilians and prisoners, which shocked the world.
Japan could not force China to surrender. The war dragged on, and it drained Japan of money, men and fuel. It also put Japan on a collision course with the Western powers, which had trade, land and interests in China. The USA, which had no wish to see China swallowed up, began to send help to the Chinese government.
Key terms:
As its relations with Britain and the USA grew worse, Japan moved closer to Germany and Italy. In November 1936 it signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, and Italy joined in 1937. The pact was aimed at the Soviet Union and at communism. In September 1940 the three countries signed the Tripartite Pact, and Japan became part of the Axis. It was a promise to support one another if one of them was attacked by a country not yet at war. It was meant to make the USA think twice about opposing Japan. In practice it made the Americans see Japan as part of a bloc led by Hitler.
In 1940 Germany conquered France. Japan took the chance to send troops into northern French Indochina in September 1940, partly to cut the supply routes that helped China. In July 1941 it moved into southern Indochina as well. This put Japanese forces close to Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, which had oil and rubber.
Japan had to buy most of its oil from abroad, and much of it came from the USA. After the move into southern Indochina, the USA froze Japanese money held in America, and in August 1941 it stopped selling oil to Japan. Britain and the Dutch government in exile did the same.
The embargo was a huge shock. Japan's army and navy needed oil, and its stocks would not last for ever. Talks between Japan and the USA went on through 1941, but the USA demanded that Japan withdraw its forces from China and Indochina. Japan's leaders, now headed by the army general Tojo Hideki, who became prime minister in October 1941, would not give up what they had won. They chose war instead.
On the morning of 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft from carriers attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. They sank or damaged many battleships, and more than 2,400 Americans were killed. Japan attacked Malaya, Hong Kong and the Philippines at around the same time. The plan was to destroy American sea power quickly, so that Japan could take the oil and resources of South-East Asia and then make peace on its own terms. The USA declared war on Japan the next day, and Germany and Italy declared war on the USA a few days later. A war in Asia became part of a world war.
The Sphere was announced in August 1940 by Japan's foreign minister, Matsuoka Yosuke. It was sold to Asia as "Asia for the Asians": Japan would free the peoples of Asia from European rule and build a prosperous partnership. As Japan's armies advanced in 1941-42, it spread over South-East Asia.
An Asia free of Western empires, with countries working together. In 1943 Japan held a Greater East Asia Conference in Tokyo with leaders from some of the territories it controlled, to show unity.
Japan ran the Sphere for its own benefit. Oil from the Dutch East Indies, rubber from Malaya and rice from the region were taken for Japan's war effort, and the local people were expected to obey Japan.
Many Asians at first welcomed the end of European rule, but Japanese control soon showed that the Sphere meant a Japanese empire. (How people lived under it is the next lesson, Konoe's New Order: Life at Home and in Occupied Countries.)
Change: In the 1900s Japan was a partner of Britain and was treated as a rising member of the great powers. By 1941 it was at war with Britain, the USA and the Netherlands, and tied to Germany and Italy. Japan's foreign policy was now controlled by the military.
Continuity: Japan was still doing what it had done since the 1890s: seeking land, resources and influence in Asia, and relying on its armed forces to get them. It was also still short of raw materials, especially oil.
Explain TWO causes of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941. [8 marks]
Remember: one cause alone cannot score more than half marks.
One cause was the American oil embargo of August 1941. Japan bought most of its oil from abroad, and much of it came from the USA. After Japan moved troops into southern Indochina in July 1941, the USA froze Japanese money and stopped selling oil, and Britain and the Dutch did the same. Japan's army and navy could not fight for long without oil, and the USA would only lift the embargo if Japan left China and Indochina. Japan's leaders, led by General Tojo from October 1941, would not do that, so they decided to seize the oil of South-East Asia by force, and Pearl Harbour was attacked to stop the American fleet interfering.
A second cause was Japan's aim to build the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Since the war in China began in 1937, Japan had needed more raw materials, and it wanted to replace European rule in Asia with its own empire. The Dutch East Indies had oil and Malaya had rubber, so Japan's plan was to take them. The US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour was the one force that could stop this, so Japan struck it on 7 December 1941 while attacking Malaya and the Philippines as well.
What lifts this to the top level: each cause is backed by precise facts (dates, names, places) and shows how it led to the attack, rather than just naming a reason.
For "Explain TWO causes", write two paragraphs. In each, name the cause, add precise facts, then use a phrase such as "so Japan decided" or "this led to" to link it to the outcome.