What was Japans role in World War 2?
The Japanese spent the 20’s and 30’s carving out and expanding an Empire in Asia. When they began encroaching on British and French (as well as American) interests in the area we began sanctions against them, robbing them of vital natural resources. When WWII began in Europe the British and French had their hands full and the Japanese realized their only remaining obstacle to a free hand in Asia was the US Navy. They thought a surprise attack would prove a fatal blow crippling the Navy for several years. Ironically, the admiral who led the attack was also the one who realized just what they had done by attacking Pearl Harbor. He had traveled the US and knew its industrial might and said all the Japanese had done was to “awaken the sleeping dragon”. He was right and six months later at the Battle of Midway it was the Imperial Japanese Navy that was crippled and put Japan on the defensive for the rest of the war. So to shorten a very long answer to a simple question: Japan’s role in WWII
