THE CAUSES OF WW II IN THE PACIFIC The Historical Debate On December, 7th / 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 1930s, 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, 21st /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.