THE CAUSES OF WW II IN THE PACIFIC

THE CAUSES OF WW II IN THE PACIFIC The Historical Debate - On December, 7 th / 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (an American naval base in Hawaii) - WW II ended up being two wars: the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific. - Some historians have said that the Emperor Showa (Hirohito) was much involved. - Japan’s clear aim was to conquer Asia. - Some historian have also suggested that Japan’s aim was to liberate Asia from western domination.

- Historians argue that Japan had been continually provoked and mistreated by the West. - The lack of a clear leader/leadership makes it more difficult for historians to decide on whether or not Japan had intended to cause the Pacific War. - Although the head of state was Emperor Showa, he was not held guilty by the Allies in 1945. - As with Germany in Europe in the 1930 s, Japanese aggression has been seen by many historians as the main cause of war in the Pacific.

Background: Japanese realtions with the West - For 200 years, the Japanese remained separate. Politically, economically and socially, Japan functioned as a feudal state until the arrival of Commodore Perry, in 1853. - Commodore Perry was determined to negotiate with the Japanese to open up to American requests for trading and refuelling stops. - The Japanese were impressed by Perry’s American gunboats, the government tried to buy time, and Perry agreed to return in one year with more gunboats.

- The Treaty of Kanagawa gave USA what it had wanted, but more significantly it “opened up” Japan to the outside world. - The treaty opened the Japanese ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to United States trade and guaranteed the safety of shipwrecked U. S. sailors. The treaty established a foundation for the Americans to maintain a permanent consul in Shimoda. The arrival of the fleet would trigger the end of Japan's 200 year policy of seclusion (Sakoku).

- Perry initially refused to deal with Japanese officials and demanded to speak with the Japanese Head of State. At that time, Shogun Tokugawa Leyoshi was the de-facto ruler of Japan; for the Emperor to interact in any way with foreigners was out of the question. Perry concluded the treaty with representatives of the Shogun. - The Treaty was ratified on February, 21 st /1855. - The Japanese followed the British in their construction of a new navy. - Japan proved its modernization program during the first Sino-Japanese war (1894 -95)

- Japan became the first non-European nation to be considered by the west as a world power. - Japan’s second victory was over Russia, which competed with Japanese interest in Manchuria (Manchukuo). - Admiral Togo Heichachiro destroyed the Russian fleet. - The Russians were forced by the Treaty of Portsmouth to recognize Japan’s paramount political, military and economic interests in Korea.