Key developments leading to the outbreak of World War II in the Asia-Pacific

G2 Full History - syllabus K227, 2027

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbour? The war in China, the search for Southeast Asian resources and the oil embargo led to Japan's choice of wider war in 1941.

• Why the League failed to stop Japan

  The League of Nations criticised Japan for taking Manchuria but did nothing to make it leave, so Japan kept its gains.

• How the war in China widened the crisis

  Japan captured Chinese cities from 1937 but could not end Chinese resistance, so the war drained resources and angered the USA.

• What Japan wanted in Southeast Asia

  Japan called its plan Asian cooperation, but it really wanted to lead the region and control its oil, rubber and tin.

• Why the oil embargo pushed Japan to act

  After the USA cut off oil in 1941, Japan had to either leave China or seize new oil, and its leaders chose war.

• Why Japan attacked Pearl Harbour

  Japan attacked Pearl Harbour to stop the US fleet interfering with its conquests, but it brought the USA fully into the war.

• Put it together: Build the explanation for December 1941

  Japanese expansion created a dispute; oil pressure made waiting costly; the fleet attack was a decision about how to pursue further conquests. Examine what each factor explains.