Origins of the Pacific War
The Pacific War was a war within World War II that was between the Japanese empire and the Allied Powers of mainly the United States and the United Kingdom. It is widely recognized that it began on December 7, 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. However, Japanese conquest in the Pacific War can be dated back further to 1931. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria of Northeast China and began to expand its empire. This is shown in the diagram above.
Later on in 1937, Japan lead attacks on major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai. and Nanking. They invaded east China. By 1941, Japan had a stronghold on China. But why did Japan want to take over China? Well, it all started at the signing of the Nine-Power treaty. This treaty allowed nations like the US, the UK, France, Japan, and five more nations certain trading rights in China. This treaty also linked their currencies by the gold standard. Basically, all of the countries' economies were linked. So when the United States went into Great Depression, all of the countries went into a depression. It formed a "World Depression." As a result, the Japanese economy went down the tubes. Many poor people began to join the military. Japan realized that the reason its economy was going down was because of foreign influence in Japan. Japan's only way to solve its problems would be to establish hegemony in East Asia under a Japanese rule. That way, it could dictate China and sustain its economy by eliminating foreign influence. The only problem was that other countries like the US would suffer if Japan occupied China. They wouldn't get their trading rights entitled to them by the Nine-Power Treaty. Japanese attacks on China sparked conflicts between the US and Japan. Japan began a conquest to capture all of Southeast Asia and expand. The US didn't want to have to go to war , so instead they cut off metal exports of aluminum, magnesium, and molybdenum in 1939. Japanese soldiers didn't refrain from their conquest, so in 1940, the US cut exports of iron and aviation fuel. That was a problem in Japan. Japan desperately needed these resources to build their planes. Their economy desperately needed these materials. In the eyes of Japan, the US had crossed the line. This lead up to the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, forcing the United States to enter World War II. The United States was a patron in the Pacific War. Japan wanted to weaken the US so much at Pearl Harbor that the US wouldn't have had a chance in the war. However, the attack awoke an inner beast within America that was displayed in the war. The Pacific War had officially begun.