Japan during WWII

In 1926 Hirohito became Emperor of Japan. Hirohito creates a "Peace Preservation Department" in 1926-1928. This presevation department limted peoples rights and freedoms and made the whole Japanese commuinty huge. Everyone is at the same level. This system prosecuted the local communitsts. After this new way of living and thinking Japan grew and expanded. This made them more powerful and larger.

Soon Japan gets into the expantion process and wants to take over China. The only problem was that Japan had no reason to attack China, so they plan a bombing of one of the Japanese railroad tracks that runs through China. They blame the Chinese for the explosion and attack. The area that Japan attcks is called Machuria which they declare their own and take over. Soon the Japanese enter Nanking, China in 1937. In Nanking they rape, mutilate and murder 200,000 to 300,000 people. This is around half of the city. This marks the beinging of the Sino- Japanese War.

The United States soon steps in and stops all of Japan's oil and military supplies and grants support to China. In 1941 Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister of Japan. Tojo says to the United States that if there is no agreement between them that they will attack. The Unites States does not agree, so the bombing of Perl Harbor happens on Decmeber 7, 1941.

This brings the United States officially into the war. Many soldiers are killed, and many battles fought. Through all of the fights and battles the Japanese were losing a lot of people and soliders but they were not giving up. The United States was obviously wining with three battles won out of five. The Japanese did not seem themselves as losing so they kept fighting. President Truman finally had to drop a bomb in Hirosima on August 6, 1945, and a second bomb on August 8, 1945 in Nagaski. Even with the bombing Japan does not surrender.

With everything falling apart the Emperor finally surrenders on August 13, 1945! August 15, 1945 was called V-J day- victory of Japan.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2129.html - this is a good website that I found if you would like to learn more about Japan during WWII.