After the USA cut off oil in 1941, Japan had to either leave China or seize new oil, and its leaders chose war.
In July 1941, Japan moved into southern Indochina. The USA froze Japanese assets, so Japan could not use its money in the USA to pay for trade. US controls stopped oil exports to Japan. Britain and the Dutch added their own limits. An embargo is a ban on trade.
Japan relied heavily on imported oil. It still had stored oil, but the war used it up fast. Leaders feared that waiting would leave the forces too weak to seize new supplies.
The embargo was meant to stop Japan expanding further. Talks with the USA went on. But the USA wanted Japan to leave China. Japan's military leaders would not give up their conquests. They chose the risk of a wider war instead. The embargo explains why time was short. Their refusal to leave China explains why they chose war.
- July 1941
- Japan enters southern Indochina; USA freezes Japanese assets.
- Embargo
- A ban on trade; here, oil to Japan.
- Japan's choice
- Keep its conquests and risk wider war.
Worked example: Link the fuel problem to a choice
Japan is using its stored oil, and new US supplies have stopped.
- Every month of fighting uses fuel that cannot be replaced.
- Seizing oil in the south would mean war with the Western powers.
- Leaders reject leaving China and choose war. The fuel problem created urgency; their priorities made the choice.
Watch out for this
Because of the embargo, war was Japan's only option.
Japan could have accepted a deal to leave China. Its leaders chose war to keep their conquests.
Check your understanding
Why did the oil embargo make Japan's leaders feel time was short?
- Japan had huge oil fields of its own.
- Stored oil was running down, so waiting would weaken their forces.
- The USA had promised to lift the embargo soon.