Japan during World War II

World War II was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945 which involved most of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilized. In a state of total war, the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant action against civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in human history, with over seventy million casualties. Japan lacked many of the natural resources needed to feed its industries. Instead of expanding trade, the Japanese expanded their empire. The Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931, and began a war against China in 1937. President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull shut off American trade in an effort to force the Japanese to end their hostilities against China. This made the Japanese even more aggressive. They had long coveted the resource-rich British and Dutch colonies of Southeast Asia, and as the U.S. trade embargo tightened, the Japanese increasingly looked southward for raw materials and strategic resources. Japan was struggling a lot during this time and the people had many things to deal with. The people of Japan did not live very well. Police would go in their home to get gold, sliver, and metal to make bullets. They would also rob them and steal their stuff if you were not home. A lot of Japanese people were killed and many of them had to suffered during the war. One of the biggest wars of all time was Pearl Harbor. In December 1941, Japan attacked the Allied powers at Pearl Harbor and several other points throughout the Pacific. Japan was able to expand their control over a large territory that expanded to the border of India in the West and New Guinea in the South within the following six months. The atomic bomb was also used during this time in the city of Hiroshima and it was used against civil population in history. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb over the city of Nagasaki. In total, about a quarter of a million people were killed by the two bombs. Hirohito was the leader of Japan or also known as Emperor Shōwa. During World War II, ostensibly under Emperor Shōwa's leadership, Japan formed alliances with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, forming the Axis Powers. They teamed up and all of them killed millions of soldiers and it was a very bloody war. The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought hostilities in World War II to a close. Allied civilians and servicemen alike celebrated V-J Day, the end of the war. However, some isolated commands and personnel from Japan's far-flung forces throughout Asia and the Pacific islands refused to surrender for months and years after, into the 1970s. Since Japan's surrender, historians have debated the ethics of using the atomic bombs.