Jorge Jimenez

Given the manifest economic superiority of the United States, how did Japanese

leaders think they might prevail in the war they proposed to initiate with the United

States?

In the 1930s the United States was facing an economic failure. Herbert

Hoover could not control the great depression; as a result the New York governor

Frankly Delano Roosevelt won the election. Roosevelt came into office and reformed

many aspect of the United States that reflects to this date like the social security.

Franklyn Roosevelt did not wanted to get involved with war and tried every

step to secure world peace without leaving the United States interest outside. After

the depression hit the United States, Japans economy was affected. The Japanese

farmers were having problems, they had low cost prices and the government did not

protect them because they were more interested in the modern industry. However,

the half of the population of Japan depended of agriculture and the depression

affected them even more.

The Japanese government drew most of its army personnel from the rural

areas, something that lead in advantage for the government because they were more

prepared and trained to move along roads, tracks and jungles. The United States

government had an Embargo on export to Japan in June 1938. The State

Department requested exporters not to send equipment that could be used for
bombs and military purposes. That made the Japanese angry and was one of the

consequences to go to war with the Americans.

The military and the navy agreed to prepare against the United States, Soviet

Union and Great Britain and China. On the other hand Japan was trying to make

secure economic resources for this reason they imported the 15% of industrial

material from Manchuria and other controlled overseas territories. Later on the

Japanese signed a pact with Germany and Italy to counter-balance the Soviet Union.

The United States froze the Japanese assets and imposed an embargo on the

export of oil to Japan. Consequently the Japanese knew without oil they must either

withdraw from China or go to war. After all the Japanese knew that the military of

the United States was growing faster and had to start the war in early December of

1941. They had to take action or the next year the United States would surpass their

naval forces and military.

In conclusion, the Japanese had two year of self-sufficient and thought they could

prevail for that time in a war with the United States. The American army was

growing faster and they did not wanted to waste more time. Later on, they decided

the surprise with an attack to Pearl Harbor.

‘America may be enraged for a while, but later she will come to understand’