Tojo Hideki lived from 1884-1948 and he was a Japanese political and military leader. The premier who ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he personified Japanese militarism. Tojo Eiku (his name before he became premier) was born in Tokyo on Dec. 30 1884. The son of an army general, he graduated from the Japanese Military Academy in 1905, and 10 years later completed with honors his studies at the army war college. After World War I, he became an exponent of the theory of total war. As head of the mobilization section of the war ministry, he played an important role in drafting the first general mobilization plans of the imperial army. Committed to the principle that Japan's …show more content…
He advocated an aggressive foreign policy and strongly opposed plans by Shigenori to remove Japanese troops from China and Korea. Tojo became prime minister on 16th October 1941. He initially backed the foreign office's efforts to reach agreement with the United States. However, when convinced that a negotiated deal was possible, ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December, 1941. As well as prime minister Tojo also held the posts of minister of war, home minister and foreign minister. From February 1944 he was also Commander in Chief of the General Staff.(Hoyte) This is a letter to President Roosevelt on how they felt about the war and Hideki’s actions. “It has now been eleven days since the mandate of Prime Minister Tojo: either meet his demands for hegemony in Asia or prepare for war. Keep in mind the Japanese empire’s complete disregard for Secretary of State Hull’s note, calling for a peaceful agreement to leave Indochina and China within two years and to guarantee China’s sovereignty. Prime Minister Tojo decided it was he who should have the upper hand in making the decisions. In light of this and several other facts, I think it should be clear that Japan is not interested in making peace – they are interested only in controlling all of Asia and the …show more content…
In light of this and the recent threats of warfare, I feel it is Important to consider any and all possible courses of action that Japan may take. Seeing as it has been almost two weeks since warfare was promised, I feel this is rather urgent. It is clear that Prime Minister Tojo is no longer interested in negotiations. He is only interested in bloodshed.”(Letter to President Roosevelt) World War II resulted in more deaths, cost more money, damaged more property, effected more people, and globally had the most far-reaching effects of any war in history. The three main causes of the war were the problems left unsolved by World War I, the rise of dictators in Europe, and the desire of Italy, Germany, and Japan for territory. The policy of isolationism was broken in the United States when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, dragging America into the war. The war was fought on two fronts, Europe and the Pacific. The allies, which included the United States, England, France, and Russia were successful in defeating the axis powers which included Italy, Germany, and Japan. World War II played a major role in United States' history. From an economic perspective, it brought the United States out of the depression of the 1930's. The government converted industries from civilian to war production to produce strategic war materials and instituted rationing and price cont s
Through early 1930's Japan was facing difficult economic times and conflict pertaining to the rights that they believed were rightfully theirs. On The night of September 18, 1931 the Manchurian crisis (Mukden Incident) took place. An explosion destroyed part of the Southern Manchurian railway which was owned by the Japanese. After this incident Japan started to began to lean into militarism. This event was a huge turning point for the country of japan as a whole. To what extent did the Manchurian Crisis affect militarism in Japan. This will be investigated through the analysis of the The Manchurian Crisis and Japanese Society, 1931-33 by Sandra Wilson, Conspiracy at Mukden: The Rise of the Japanese Military By Takehiko Yoshihashi , and South Manchurian Railway The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
December 7, 1941 was a day of great tragedy. At 07:48 in the morning the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. This attacked caused the destruction of seventeen ships and one hundred and eighty eight aircraft as well as killing two thousand four hundred and three Americans. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt took to the microphone to address congress and the American people. This speech by President Roosevelt was effective in convincing congress to declare war on Japan by using ethos, pathos, and also logos.
General George C. Marshall was Army Chief of Staff during World War II. General Marshall planned some important strategies against the Japanese. He was born on December 31, 1880, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and was educated at Virginia Military Institute. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1901 and served in the Philippine Islands from 1902 to 1903. During World War I he served as chief of operations with the U.S. First Army in France. He became a colonel in 1918 and received wide military recognition for his handling of troops and equipment during the Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne operations. From 1919 to 1924 he was aide to the U.S. commander in chief, General John Pershing, and during the next three years he saw service in China. Marshall taught in various army schools and organizations from 1927 to 1936, when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
General Hideki Tojo was the Premiere of Japan. He and other Japanese leaders did not like the fact that Americans were sending war supplies to China and other countries in Asia. A surprise attack was ordered by Japan on December 7, 1941. The target was the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 360 planes bombed the naval base killing about 3,000 people and destroying many warships, aircraft carriers, and submarines. This was a catalyst that brought the United States into World War II.
Throughout Hirohito’s years of leadership, he made several decisions for the country. One of his best moves being his announcement of Japan’s unconditional surrender on August 15th, 1945 during World War II. If Hirohito had not administered this military surrender, Japan would not have been able to develop and flourish in such a way that it has in order to reach such a point of success and progress – such as becoming the world’s 14th richest country. If Hirohito hadn’t surrendered Japan, his place in Japan’s government would’ve been abolished. Because of this admitted defeat, he thus showed his affection for his people by ending their suffering by ending their side of the war and in return, Japan’s economy and the country’s income thrived, the people remained loyal to their Emperor.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” These words were spoken the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bombing of Pearl Harbor cost more than 2,000 lives and nearly destroyed 20 naval vessels. Eight of these ships happened to be battleships, but luckily no aircraft carriers were in the area. On December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt gave his address to the nation. He ended this address with, “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire,” thus beginning the United States role in WWII.
At almost eight o’clock in the morning in the island of Oahu, Hawaii the day of Infamy began. December 7th, 1941 was one of the most devastating attacks on American soil. The day of Infamy, or more commonly known as Pearl Harbor, was an attack on American soil from the Imperial Army. This attack was the final burst of the tension that had been built up between the United States and Japan. To understand the tragic attack it is important to understand the events leading up to it. The United States unrest with Japan started in 1937 through the invasion of Manchuria which began the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan launched a full scale invasion of the Republic of China. The tension between Franklin D Roosevelt and Japan was initiated with
The U.S. tried to negotiate with the Japanese to try to avoid war, trying to convince them that if war broke out between Japan and the United States, Japan, in the long run, would be devastated. So, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Japanese ambassador Namura and Kiruzo talked on how to solve this crisis. These negotiations proceeded into the summer of 1941.By this time, the Japanese had realized that if they wanted to expand their empire, they would have to fight America and, possibly, her allies. So, they decided to fight. But, in order for Japan to fight America on even terms, they would have to move south, into the East Indies (where there was a lot of raw materials for the Japanese War Machine), which, at that time, were controlled by the western powers: Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States. But, there was another thorn in Japan's side, the United States Pacific Fleet was moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This was a knife at Japan's throat. If they decided to move south, then the Americans would attack. So, the Japanese had to come up with a plan to get rid of this threat. They called upon their new Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. He saw that the British, in 1940, torpedoed the Italian fleet at Toranto using old Fairy Swordfish torpedo bombers. So, Yamamoto thought if the British could use old biplanes to sink three battleships at Toranto, then he could use his modern Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and Aichi D3A dive bombers to destroy more.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese lashed out against America and bombed Pearl Harbor. This act of hostility towards America, p...
Pearl Harbor once was a beautiful, serene naval base located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. This harbor protected the mainland. Most of the navy’s ships, commanders, and supplies were stationed at Pearl Harbor, making it a huge target to foreign countries. Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamatoto claimed Pearl Harbor was an irresistible target. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack meant to cripple the United States Navy. While all of America remained in mourning over the devastation at Pearl Harbor, Washington D.C. was planning a war. The United States was forced into war, but war was not what the general public wanted. The Japanese general, Yamatoto, held the blame for starting World War II.
...Pacific. In particular, he wanted to thank troops recovering from their ordeal on Guadalcanal. At age 59, he was tired, weary of war, and of life itself: "I have killed quite a few of the enemy, and many of my own men have been killed. So I believe the time has come for me to die too." During the Guadalcanal conflict, his hair had turned snowy-white. In April 1943, U.S. intelligence detected advance reports of general Yamamoto's fleet, Eighteen American Lightning planes were waiting for the first attempt in history to ambush an enemy commander-in-chief in the air. On the 18th, his aircraft, under the escort of nine zeroes, was shot down by a P-38 near Kahili in southern Bougainville. On June 5, the admiral's ashes were honored in Tokyo at the nation wide ceremony, this was the largest tribute in Japan since Admiral Togo and both were in 1934.(Gordon Prange) (343-356)
This paper will compare Gordon W. Prange's book "At Dawn We Slept - The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor" with the film "Tora! Tora! Tora!" directed by Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, and Toshio Masuda. While the film provides little background to the attack, its focal point is on the Pearl Harbor assault and the inquiry of why it was not prevented, or at least foreseen in adequate time to decrease damage. Prange's book examines the assault on Pearl Harbor from both the Japanese and American viewpoints to gain a global view of the situation and the vast provision undertaken by Japanese intelligence.
"Was the Atomic Bombing of Japan Justifiable?" The Pacific War 1941-43. Web. 10 June 2010.
The debate over Japan’s potential instigation of World War II raged on as intensely as the aggressive policies of Japan in question. Both teams engaged in total warfare, utilizing statistics, harsh interrogations through cross-examinations, and all other weapons available to them, in order to defend their grounds from attack. But while some arguments had proven to be successfully devastating, several others had been misused, misinterpreted, or simply unstated; specifically, the contentions regarding Japan’s excluded state from global international politics, the trigger of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the rationale behind the attack on Pearl Harbor could have been substantially augmented on both sides.
Marston, Daniel. The Pacific War Companion From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Oxford: Osprey, 2007. .