How did Japan get involved in World War 2?

Answer 1

Japan wanted control of southeast asia to exploit asian resources.
Japan continued past conflicts with China and expansion into the Pacific. Eventually they clashed with the US - Pearl Harbour - and had to align with the Axis for some help.
The military began to influence national policy in Japan during the 1930s. Not only did military leaders begin to hold political office, but they began to have a profound influence on the Emperor of Japan. The Japanese began a policy of expansion in Asia. They wanted to take over areas that would provide needed raw materials for the economy of Japan. The United States was concerned with Japanese expansion in the Pacific. It threatened the security of the United States. Japan saw the outbreak of war as an opportunity to continue their expansion and eventually control all of eastern Asia. Only the United States was in a position to prevent the expansion of Japan into East and Southeast Asia. The decision to attack Pearl Harbor was risky. But the Japanese military convinced the Emperor that the Japanese forces could control the Pacific before the US could recover from the attack at Pearl Harbor. For more information about the causes of World War II, see: http://hometown.AOL.com/we4amhis/WW2.htmlhttp://www.teacheroz.com/index.htm

MrV

AnswerJapan did not exactly enter World War 2. If the question is why did Japan attack the US and Great Britain, that is fairly easy. Relations between the US and Japan had been strained for several years as a result of Japan's war of expansion in China. As a result of the breakdown in negotiations between the two countries, the US declared an embargo on exports to Japan including vital raw materials such as metals and oil. Japan had less than a six month supply of fuel oil left and saw the embargo as a direct threat to her economy, the war effort and her survival as a nation, which, in fact it was. Japan realized her only hope was to seize the oil fields to the south. Japan knew this meant war with Britain and the US. The Japanese Navy felt the only hope of success in such a war was to deliver a knockout blow to the US Navy. Japan launched the attack on Pearl Harbor to destroy the US fleet, particularly the US Carriers to allow her time to advance in the South Pacific and protect her source of raw materials. Keep in mind, Japan never intended the attack to be a surprise attack.
This question assumes Japan joined WW2. Japan was already warring with China and other Asian and Pacific Island places long before September of 1939. The USA had placed an oil embargo on Japan because the Japanese military had been invading places which had the Natural Resources they desperately needed. In Manchuria they killed over 100,000 innocent civilians in an area that had some vital natural resources they wanted.

The USA sold Japan millions of barrels of oil before this happened. Since the Japanese officials refused to stop their brutality and murdering the US refused to sell to them anymore until they quit their imperialistic actions.

Japan came up with the idea to destroy the entire US Pacific Naval fleet so they could continue to expand to other nations and islands without the US Navy coming after them. So they chose to bomb the naval fleet as it sat in Pearl Harbor. They declared war on the US 55 minutes AFTER they bombed Pearl Harbor. Thus the US responded with military action and declaration of war.

That is the way Japan became ONE of the nations to start the world to battle worldwide.

Answer 2

They had been planning for months and months, the Japanese were allied with Italy and Germany - and taking over the US with its land and resources sounded like a good idea. December 7, 1941 they attacked by sea and air at Pearl Harbor killing over 2,400 soldiers and civilians. The USA declared war on Japan December 8 and on December 11 Germany declared war on the USA putting us at war on two fronts. The previous response is technically correct, at least from the viewpoint of the USA. The bigger picture however, needs to be reviewed for a more complete understanding.

Comment: the above is completely wrong and largely made up. Example: other than a couple of midget submarines, there was no 'Sea' attack on Pearl. The following is very accurate. A kudos to whomever posted it:

Japan was opened to the modern world only late in the 1800's. Previously Japan had been a middle ages styled feudal society. They quickly modernized and were successful in two major campaigns in the early 1900's. First they handily beat the Russians in the Manchurian arena, giving them a more or less free hand for thirty years in China. During WWI, 1914-1918, the Japanese took over the German Pacific island colonies. Using these two events as a springboard the Japanese became more and more aggressive. Korea, Formosa and north China were occupied next. The militaristic Japanese leadership desired an ultimate goal of a great eastern Asia empire stretching from Java to Siberia with Tokyo as its capital.

When the fantastic and unexpected German victories in Europe occurred in 1939, 1940 and 1941 (against Britain, the Netherlands, France and Russia - all colonial powers in the east Asia area) the Japanese leadership could count only one obstacle to further expansion - the USA. The reason the USA was in the way was due to the USA colonial empire in the far east (Philippines - These islands were an American colony since 1900 when they were forcibly taken from Spain. Afterwards a long and brutal war was fought against the Phillipinos who desired independence. By 1940 the islands had been 'pacified' more or less and were docile towards American occupation). The American colony was situated in the middle of the Japanese sphere and posed a threat to all movements by the Japanese navy. As such they had to be eliminated.

What immediately precipitated the Japanese to attack the USA at Hawaii and the Philippines was the USA led embargo of oil and other supplies to Japan. This declaration of 'economic' war by the USA triggered the Japanese to immediately advance their war plans.

The point of all this is that Pearl Harbor may be the 'start' of WWII in the Pacific from the USA standpoint, but truth is it had been going on for forty years as far as Japan was concerned. The war with the USA only meant one more beligerent for the Japanese who were essentially at war with all their neighboring countries and territories since 1900. I should add that neither the Japanese or Germans ever had any intention of 'taking over' the USA land or resources, despite what the top poster has stated.

The German war in Europe was fought mainly to secure Germany against Russian aggression and expansion. Ultimately the Germans hoped to be powerful enough to act as a balancing factor against looming American power. Of course, Germany lost and Russian aggression and expansion ensued unabated, leading to decades of war (hot and cold) between them and the USA (Berlin, Korea, Vietnam, Angola, Cuba, Afganistan - just to name a few).

The Japanese war aims were as I outlined above, to secure a great eastern Asia empire at the expense of the western nations empires in the same area. Japan never had war aims of taking over California or any other American territory.

Anything you've heard to the contrary is propaganda, much of it put out by Churchill's people who desperately desired to draw the USA into the war in order to help secure Britains place in the world. As for Britain, it's a classic situation of 'better be careful what you wish for'. Britain did get the USA into the war but the war cost the British their empire, much of their wealth and almost all their leadership in world events. Great job! As I see it, they didn't "get involved." They initiated hostilities themselves by occupying real estate that was not their own. They began invasions of other countries years before it was called a "World War."

Japan Declared war on China in WWII, taking over half the country. Japan also had an Alliance with Germany. After declaring war on the US (Pearl Harbor), Germany Declared war on the US, hoping Japan would invade the USSR (Russia). But Japan had secretly signed a non-agression treaty with the Soviet Union. -Feewet they got involved with the united states when they dropped a bomb on pearl harbor with fighter planes.

Answer 3

You could list lots of reasons, but the primary one was resources. Japan was becoming an industrial giant, but was located on resource poor land. They needed to gain control of territory that was rich in resources to continue their economic growth.

Answer 4

Japan, honoring a preexisting military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914. Japan seized Germany's Micronesian colonies and, after the Battle of Tsingtao, the German coaling port of Qingdao in the Chinese Shandong peninsula.

Answer 5

It was trying to buy time to secure China and Incochina. Then it could hope for a negotiated stettlement with the US.