Sixpence: I remember how I felt after 9/11 , that sinking feeling and pit in my stomache. I wouldn't say I was desparate, but I felt pretty low. I could only imagine the feeling if it was an empire conquering the pacific heading for my backyard.
I guess it's hard to imagine being as ignorant of those things as people were at that time - not a scorn, mind you, so that may interfere with my picture of how they should have reacted.
The Japanese empire intitated the conquest out of desperation, rather than face a total economic ruin.
You see - invading and annexing underdeveloped countries and colinising them was considered acceptable in those times. All countries did it, inclooding the US (Philippines).
It was also considered admissible that if an empire got too week to hold it's overseas posessions, another one could attack it under some pretect and take them away (again US-Spanish war 1898).
Japain was pretty muct the only country that did not colonise but conducted isolationist policy - having successfully eliminated modern araments and firearms - untill forced to open it's ports by US warships (Perry 1854?).
So Japan found that all the countries right next to it were already colonised by Brits, French, etc. from half a world away. They did take a piece from Russia in 1904. Anyway, that was not a problem because Japan - poor in natural resources - rapidly developed industry and traded for what resources it needed.
Unfortunately, after the WWI the Brits did not lower taxes and free the trade back to the pre-war conditions. British empire abandoned it's free-trade policy and reverted towards mercantilism.
One of the results was promotion of exports and inhibition of imports with high tariffs. What's more - brits forbade free trade with their colonies, only allowing it among the colonies and with the mainland.
Other countries followed the suit - Smoot-Hawley act, etc.
As a result Japan was prevented from selling it's goods to the neighbouring countries like India, Malaysia, etc.
It was encouraged to buy stuff that it needed but without exports it had no money to pay for those imports! It's industry was facing death and ruin from lack of oil, ore, rubber and other stuff that was produced right next to them by the local oriental people who seemed willing to trade with Japan rather than buy expensive stuff delivered all the way from Britain.
As I said, grabbing colonies was considered acceptable bacause all civilised countries did it, so Japan decided to take them away from Brits and French. In return, US embargoed the sales of resources to Japan - especially the oil, well knowing that the war or disasterous ruination were the only options left to it.
I mean, sure - they were evil invaders and colonisers, but by the standards of the time no worse than europeans/americans - untill they started racking up the body count. At least they were as willing to die as to kill.
I can see how americans could have misapprehension of Japan as some kind of a powerhouse, rather than a dying country. Of course if they were given 10-15 years to get their colonies running in the co-prosperity sphere, we might have had a different kind of Japan. At the same time if brits and US kept the free trade and better yet, gave freedom to colonies, there would never have been any problem with Japan. After all Japanese are great imitators of the western ways.
miko
