The Pacific War & Wartime Japan: What led to this War and what were its effects?

  The Pacific War which is also referred to as the Asia-Pacific War was the arena of WWII which was fought in East Asia and the Pacific at large. The war between the Japanese Empire and the Republic of China began in the July 1937, based on conflicts which can be back dated to September 1931 after the Japanese empire invaded Manchuria (USHMM, 2017). This was however not the official commencement of the Pacific War. It is widely accepted that the Pacific War commenced in December 1941 after Japan attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Thailand, and US military station in Hawaii, Guam, Wake Island and Philippines (USHMM, 2017). Several allied powers were pitted against Japan, which only had little support from Thailand and its other allies such as Italy and Japan. The war continued for some time, culminating in atomic bomb attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, followed by other major bombings by US Army. These events led to Japan’s declaration of its intent to surrender, which was fulfilled in September 1945 (USHMM, 2017). In this essay, I will address the question: What led to this War and what were its effects? The specific questions that will be answered include; why did Japan attack China and other allied nations? How did this war affect Japan as well as other involved countries? This topic has both a historic and political significance. The pacific area is historically the stage for WWII, where several powers all came together to attack the Japanese empire. The attack on Japan was in response to their own attack on China, British territories, and American army base. Japan want to occupy these territories which were rich in natural resources but the occupant powers had to retaliate and protect their territories. When the Japan Empire attacked the US army, the US declared war against Japan. Germany, which was allied to Japan, joined to rescue Japan and hence, the US government declared war on Germany too. All these events led to the greatest war in history, which cost the lives of millions of people. Japan's surrender and the end of the war had political implications on the Japanese Empire, where the Emperor's powers were diluted, and paving the way to major political reforms. I expect this essay will explore academic sources which give an account of the war in terms of its causes and its effects. A scholar Sagan, (1988) wrote an article on “the origins of the Pacific war”. According to this article, the Japan Empire even though was not strong enough to fight the United States and Britain provoked these nations, which in return attacked back in full force, paralyzing Japan. In addition, in a more recent book on “the origin of the second world war in Asia and the Pacific”, the author of the book Akira Iriye looks back at the political and foreign policy issues that led to the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific area. A book by Dower, (1993) discusses the effects the Pacific war had on the Japanese people as well as all the other participating nations. The above-mentioned scholars/authors are among those whose works will be explored to give more insight to the topic.   References Iriye, A. (2014). The origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific. Routledge. Dower, J. W. (1986). War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War. Pantheon Books. Selden, M. (2008). Japanese and American War Atrocities, Historical Memory and Reconciliation: World War II to Today. Japan Focus, 15. Sagan, S. D. (1988). The origins of the pacific war. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 18(4), 893-922. USHMM. (2017). World War II in the Pacific. Retrieved from