 Remind us of the first event in our timeline, what event emboldened the Japanese prior to WWII?

 During the 1930s, the military kept expanding into China  Japan considered it necessary to protect Manchuria against the Chinese (wanted to regain control of the region)  Why was China so important to the Japanese?  1937  Japan launched a major drive into China and forced their armies to retreat

 Pacific:  Japan is conquering China  Europe:  Germany and Italy begin WWII in Europe  1940 – Japan, Germany, and Italy formed the Axis Alliance  Germany conquered France  Japan conquered the French territory of Indochina

 Because of Japan’s expansion into China, the United States stopped trading oil and other resources  Significance: hurts Japan’s economy and military-industrial complex  What is the military industrial complex? ▪ Comprises the policy and monetary relationships between politicians, the military, and the arms industry

 DECEMBER 7, 1941  Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii ▪ Most important US naval base in the Pacific  Surprise attack ▪ Destroyed / damaged 8 battleships ▪ Killed more than 2,500 Americans

 Japan follows Pearl Harbor by conquering Hong Kong and most of Southeast Asia  Dutch East Indies  Burma  Philippines  Significance: gives Japan vital sources of raw materials (rubber, oil, tin)  Japan now rules a vast empire stretching from Southeast Asia across the Western Pacific

 After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US joins the Allies  Who are the Allies? (review)  The United States started to turn the tide of the war – Japanese started retreating from one Pacific island to another  US began bombing Japanese cities from island bases in the Pacific  US subs destroy Japanese ships carrying supplies – destroys Japanese economy

 After Germany and Italy are defeated in Europe, the Allies call for Japanese surrender  Japanese military leaders refused – WHY?  US leaders decide to use a deadly new weapon – the Atomic Bomb

 AUGUST 6, 1945  American bombers drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima  Kill 80,000 people and destroy 4 square miles of the city  BUT military leaders refused to surrender still

“In one quick second, my world was destroyed… Suddenly, from nowhere, came a blinding flash. It was as if someone had taken a flashbulb picture a few inches from my eyes. There was no pain then. Only a stinging sensation, as if I had been slapped hard in the face. I tried to open my eyes. But I could not… I saw dead bodies all about me. The buildings were in ruins, and from the ruins I could hear people crying for help. But I could not help them. Some people were trying, as I was, to walk, to get away, to find their homes. I passed a streetcar that was stalled. It was filled with dead people.”

 AUGUST 9, 1945  American planes drop a bomb on Nagasaki  Kill 40,000 people

 Japanese people suffer from horrible health effects for generations  Japan surrenders on AUGUST 14, 1945  Called V-J Day in the US  For the FIRST time in their history, Japan is occupied by a foreign power