Chapter 5:

Outbreak of WWII in the

Asia-Pacific
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
 One Sunday morning on 7 Dec 1941

Questions:
- What
happened?
- Based on
your
observations,
who were
involved?
BIG QUESTION

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor in

1941, causing the Outbreak of the War
in the Asia-Pacific?
 Overview
Weakness of the
LON
(Manchurian Crisis)

Japan’s Jap Aggression

Trigger: Outbreak
Expansionist Foreign towards China
Attack on of War!!
Policy (1933-1940)
Pearl Harbor

Worsening Relations
with the USA
Background
Asia and the
Western Powers
 Western European powers,
embarked on a phase of
colonisation in Asia.

 By the mid-1800s:
 The British controlled India.
 The Netherlands and France
had trading posts, military
bases and colonies in Asia.
 The colonial powers and the
United States had their eyes
on China, a land of
untapped economic
potential.
The French political cartoon below is from 1898, titled “China
– The Cake of Kings and of Emperors”.

 Who’s represented in this

cartoon?
 What can you infer about the
attitudes of Britain, Germany,
Russia, France and Japan towards
China based on the expressions
on their faces?
 What does the presence of
Japan at the table among the
Europeans tell you about Japan?
Compare the
two photos…
 Who’s depicted in the
photo?
 What are the differences?
Modernisation of Japan

 Japan embarked on a
modernisation programme in
1868
 Known as the ‘Meiji Restoration’
 Limited form of democracy –
Emperor still dominant

 Expansion of industries

 Japan became important Asian

power!
There Stands No Enemy Where We Go: Surrender of
Pyongyang, a scene from the First Sino-Japanese
War (1894–95)

 Who is
depicted in
the painting?
 Who is
winning?
 What
differences
can you
observe?
In the Battle of Nanshan, Lieutenant Shibakawa Matasaburÿ
Led His Men Holding up
a Rising Sun War Fan” by Getsuzo, 1904

 Who is
depicted in
the painting?
 Who is
winning?
 Does this
surprise you?
 Modernisation of Japan

 Newly-acquired PRESTIGE
 Won wars against
China (1894-5)
Russia (1904-5)
 Annexed Korea!
 Full member of LON
 Washington Naval
Conference
Seen as unfair as Japanese
had to keep smaller navy
than US & Britain
Japanese Ambitions: Reading Activity
 Read pages 152 and 153
 Task 1: Answer the following questions
 Why did many Japanese support expansion? – 3 main reasons

 Task 2: Complete the table below

Japan’s Expansionist Policy
Rise of Japanese
Militarism
 Many Japanese military commanders were
ultranationalists
 believed in an extreme form of
nationalism, sometimes involving hostility
to other countries.
 believed that military service was an
honour and a noble calling.
 felt that it was Japan’s destiny to remove
the Western powers from Asia and
expand its rule over Asia.

 civilian politicians increasingly lost the trust of

the people who saw them to be weak.
 From the 1930s, the military became
increasingly dominant, and by 1936 it was
effectively running Japan.
Japan and the Western Powers

 Read pages 154-155 under ‘Japan and the Western Powers’

 How did Japan view Britain, Russia and the US?
 What were the reasons for their views?
 How did Japan’s relations with foreign powers encourage expansionism?
Impact of The Great Depression

 Remember what the ‘Great Depression’ was?

 How did it affect the US and the world?
 Depression damaged Japan’s economy due to its reliance on foreign
trade
 Unemployment and impact of Depression made people lose confidence in the
civilian government
 Who would become more popular now?
Impact of The Great Depression

 Tariffs imposed by the USA in the 1930s also hurt Japan’s export
trade badly
 Made Japanese goods more expensive (e.g. 50% tariff on canned fish!)
 Convinced ultranationalists that other countries could not be relied
upon and Japan had to be SELF-SUFFICIENT!
The Manchurian Crisis
Next Up…
The Manchurian Crisis
Aggression towards China
 Background

Instability in China due to

Success in Manchuria conflict between
GMD and CCP

Japanese wanted to
exploit instability

Encouraged warlords to stir

up trouble and invite
Japanese to ‘restore order’
 Background

I in China due
Success in M to conflict between
GMD and CCP

Japanese wanted to
exploit instability

Encouraged w
to stir up trouble and invite
Japanese to ‘restore order’
Key Battles
‘the rape of nanking’
Iris Chang
In Europe…

 WWII broke out …

Britain, France, Could not defend

Netherlands at their vast colonies
war with Germany in Southeast Asia!

Hitler invaded USSR less of a

USSR (Russia) in threat to Japan’s
1941 interests in East
Asia!
In Europe…

 WWII broke out …

B , France, Could not d

Netherlands at their vast colonies in
war with Germany Southeast Asia!

Hitler invaded USSR less of a

USSR (Russia) in threat to Japan’s
1941 interests in East
Asia!
Japan’s Chance!

 By 1941 it had taken control of French Indochina (present-day Vietnam,

Laos and Cambodia).
Japan-US Relations
Japan’s invasion of China
 Tensions with USA rose
 USA condemned Japan’s actions and
supported China with financial and military aid
 Series of financial and economic measures
designed to halt Japan’s aggressive foreign
policy.
 First, embargo on steel and iron (Oct 1940)
 Then, oil embargo (Aug 1941) and seizing of
Japanese Assets in the USA
 How did this impact Japan?
Think: Japan’s Dilemma

 Conform OR Conflict?
 Which was more likely? Why?
 Japan’s Response
 Greater East Asia Co-
Prosperity Sphere (1940)
 aimed primarily at the people in
the various Asian territories
which Japan controlled.
 Message: people of Asia should
unite behind Japan, which
would lead this campaign to
drive foreigners out of Asia, and
that Japan would protect the
people of Asia and rule them
fairly as a fellow Asian country.
 In reality, was more of a
programme for Japan to use the
massive resources of its empire
in Asia to fuel its war efforts to
build an empire in Asia.
Japan’s
Response
 Attack on Pearl Harbor
 In September 1940, Japan signed the
Tripartite Pact, which made it an ally of
Germany and Italy.
 The pact was meant to be insurance
against US intervention.
Japan’s Response
 Attack on Pearl Harbor
 The Japanese commanders decided that they
needed to deliver a quick knockout blow to the US
from which the latter would take time to recover.
 In that time, Japan would be able to conquer new
territories, build up its economic resources and match
US power.

 devised a preemptive strike against the United

States
 targeted the powerful US Pacific Fleet base at Pearl
Harbor which protected US and other Western
interests in Asia.
 → destroy the US Pacific Fleet so that Japan could
keep control of the Pacific without US interference.

 On the morning of 7 December 1941, some 300

planes took off from Japanese aircraft carriers to
launch their attack on Pearl Harbor.
Remember this?
Japan’s
Response
 Attack on Pearl Harbor
 attack caused widespread
destruction but Japan failed
to destroy American repair
shops, fuel-oil tanks and
other crucial naval
installations.
 All three of the US Pacific
Fleet’s aircraft carriers
escaped unscathed as they
were not present at Pearl
Harbor.
 Furthermore, with this attack,
the United States declared
war on Japan triggering the
outbreak of World War II in
Asia-Pacific.
 Conclusion
 President Roosevelt called 7
December 1941 “a date which
[would] live in infamy”.
 The Pearl Harbor attack severely
crippled US naval and air strength
in the region, allowing Japan to
continue its expansion to the rest of
Southeast Asia.
 By 1942, Japan controlled most of
Southeast Asia, including
Indochina, Indonesia, Malaya,
Singapore and the Philippines.
 Conclusion
 President Roosevelt called 7 December
1941 “a date which [would] live in infamy”.
 The Pearl Harbor attack severely
crippled US naval and air strength in the
region, allowing Japan to continue its
expansion to the rest of Southeast Asia.
 By 1942, Japan controlled most of
Southeast Asia, including Indochina,
Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore and the
Philippines.

 But the fall of Pearl Harbor was not the

knockout punch that Japan had
intended.
 US recovered rapidly from the setback in
1941 → rallied them to war, eventually
leading to the defeat of Japan in 1945.
Movies you can watch to prepare for
next year