Rise of the Japanese Empire

[Music] SP [Music] [Music] throughout history the path of the aggressor has followed the same general course the pattern of quick successes and the eventual downfall of the Conqueror has been repeated Through the Ages in the 20th century this pattern was repeated once again at several points on the globe in the orient the Japanese embarked on a program of aggression which was to follow exactly the time honored [Music] course for centuries the Japanese lived in the conviction that their country was created by the gods as the center of the universe and that they were destined to rule the world this firmly rooted conviction was as old as the Japanese Nation itself soon after Hirohito succeeded to the throne in 1926 as the 124th Emperor allegedly descended directly from the Sun Goddess amatarasu the program for extending Japan's rule began to gain momentum the command of hako ichiu to bring the eight corners of the World Under One Roof was part of hirohito's inheritance Japan extended its control over a considerable area following World War 1 in which it participated on the Allied side the plums of Victory included German Holdings in China and the Mariana Islands except Guam the carollyn islands and the Marshal islands all placed under Japanese mandate in 1931 Japan embarked actively on its program of Conquest clashes between Japanese and Chinese and manua prompted the nipones militarists to take action without waiting for any formal declaration of war Japanese troops [Music] attacked on September 18th 1931 Japanese troops seized mukden manu's most important city and on March 1st 1932 the new nation of manchuko was proclaimed the new country was supposedly independent but actually it was purely a Japanese puppet state the opportunistic weakling Bui was made the new ruler and was later installed on the ancient Throne of the men choose by the Japanese who kept a discreet but firm control over the Affairs of the new nation to all outward appearances the new Manchurian leaders were merely friendly neighbors of the nipones actually Imperial Japan dictated the policy in [Music] manchuko in Geneva Switzerland in February 1933 foreign minister mataka of Japan piously disavowed any aggressive intentions it is a matter of commonality that Japan's policy is fundamentally inspired by a genuine desire to guarantee peace in the Far East and to contribute to the maintenance of peace throughout the world Japan however find it impossible to accept the report adopted by the assembly with Japan's subsequent withdrawal from the League of Nations its diplomatic position in relation to the otherw world powers deteriorated rapidly Japan set out quickly to consolidate its gains in manua which is plan to transform into a large Continental war base a program of planned Economic Development was initiated and it was indicated that foreign capitalists would not be allowed a free hand on the exploitation of Manchurian resources the new country was rich in mineral deposits and the Japanese Army the real ruler of manchuko quickly stepped up operations at Key mines like the fushun cures in the hurried development of manchuria's resources thousands of Chinese were pressed into service to work in labor gangs the Chinese in manua who comprised some 90% of the population had the choice of working for the Japanese for a meager living or starving to death opium was easily obtainable through a Japanese Monopoly even though laws had been passed forbidding its use except in the case of addicts but unauthorized persons were able to purchase the drug illegally and were then often fined for breaking the law thereby enriching their new rulers on both counts a government system of checks on opium addiction was announced and supposedly put into operation but no effective measures were ever taken to curb the practice in strengthening its strategic position on the Mainland Japan moved quickly to consolidate its control of as many Railways as possible after seizing the Chinese owned lines the Japanese Army directed that New Roads be built several important lines which link key cities with Port facilities and a number of Branch lines this ambitious program of Railway construction was designed to produce a network of rout over which Japanese troops could be moved quickly to meet emergencies at any point on the Japanese perimeter control of the South mansurian Railway Japan realized would be a vital assistance in any movement Southward if nepon were to extend its area of influence on the Asiatic Mainland by March 1935 scarcely 3 years after the new nation of Manuka was established the Japanese succeeded in gaining complete control of all Manchurian railways [Music] [Laughter] way but manua was only a short stop on Japan's road to domination in Asia to the South lay the rich Countryside of China proper a territory which had never been out of the thoughts of Japanese leaders since the beginning of nippon's program of expansion in in July 1937 Japan accelerated its timetable of aggression following a skirmish at the Marco Polo Bridge near baying the war between Japan and China anticipated for some time passed from the period of small local actions to more concentrated Warfare after unsuccessful attempts at a truce Japanese forces poured into North China from manua and an offensive was launched in the northern Chinese provinces the Japanese Advance against a somewhat disorganized enemy was [Music] rapid within a few months the nipones had gained strategic control of North China in Tokyo in June 1937 a new cab headed by Prince fumimaro kooi assumed control of the Japanese government as Premier Koo dominated the regime which threw Japan into war with China and brought it to the brink of war with the West committed to a sizable war on the mainland of Asia Japan's militarist geared the whole nation to allout production for the winning of that war and any other Wars that might develop as Japanese forces moved farther and farther from the home Island while the other major powers of the world were still at peace Japan was busy testing the most modern weapons of war and learning from firsthand experience which were the most effective in battle in the air arm of the Japanese forces Pilots found that the new Japanese fighter plane the zero was the fast most maneuverable combat plane they had yet seen in the air but in China older models still proved more than [Music] adequate in China the Japanese established their blueprint for victory nepon planes bombed the largest Chinese cities killing thousands of civilians special Target of Japanese air attacks was Shanghai which with stod a series of bombings before Japanese troops finally captured the city in November 1937 after a Siege of 3 months with the capture of Shanghai the appetite of the Japanese Army for still greater victories was wetted the nepon troops prepared to press on at once toward Nang King and an unforgettable orgy of rape and pillage [Applause] in mid December 1937 the US gunboat panai in the yanki river was picked out by Japanese Naval [Music] planes the sinking of the panai might well have touched off a war between the US and Japan man but the pilots had made a mistake the Japanese claimed among the victims were the first American fighting men to lose their lives at the hands of the Japanese the Chinese became the first refugees of the struggle which was to become World War II this was the beginning of years of being always on the move for many Chinese already peace was only a memory as the Japanese seized new territory they took over the administration of the area at once in some localities the new rulers tried to act the role of sympathetic understanding administrators but the Japanese plans for further Conquest didn't permit this act to continue for long the Japanese badly needed the services of the people they'd conquered Chinese Farmers continued to work their soil but now the Harvest would benefit the Japanese many men were put into labor gangs the Chinese had no alternative to working for the Japanese except death some Chinese labor gangs had the privilege of repairing buildings which had been bummed out by their new rulers in one way or another all able-bodied Chinese were worked unsparingly by the Japanese in their drive to bring more and more of E Asia under the emperor's rule with North China 1 and a continuing war with the Chinese in progress the Japanese militarists looked still further south in their search for other lands to conquer for the Japanese program of aggression called for a coordinated series of attacks on smaller countries with valuable resources vital to the nepan war effort the Philippines would prove a rich prize indeed the Philippines had enough good Timber to help satisfy Japan's wartime needs on the mainland in Southeast Asia Mala was of particular interest to the nepon high Commander for Mala though not especially large in area produced some 56,000 tons of tin each year 30% of the world's output even more important was mala's wealth in rubber that British territory's plantations produced more rubber than the nepon could use if Japan should find itself involved in a large scale War Malayan rubber would help materially in stiffening the backbone of the Japanese war effort at the same time by seizing the Malayan Peninsula Japan would deny Britain and the United States its two most important potential enemies one of their principal sources of rubber Singapore at the southern tip of Malaya had great strategic value to Any Nation Waging War in the lands which lay along the Equator the base at Singapore had a commanding position with relation to the narrow Straits separating the Asian mainland and the Dutch East Indies the invaluable stocks of oil in these exotic Islands made them a high priority area for seizure by any Asiatic aggressor planning to wage allout war these Lush Islands also produced most of the world's in konobar from which quinine is made since quinine was the most effective preventive for malaria the sinona bark was of Paramount military importance to Japan still farther south Australia would prove an important prize for any Waring nation in the Downunder countries wealth consisted largely of wool and livestock both valuable Commodities meanwhile in to the nepon demonstrated their friendliness with another aggressive power fascist Italy the festive atmosphere was heightened by the favorable trend of the year old war in Europe for the AIS [Music] powers in 1940 the timetable called for further expansion on the Asian Contin continent in September of that year Japanese troops put a shore on the coast of French Indochina directly south of China The Landings were made without resistance at Berlin during that eventful September 1940 the three aggressor nations of Europe and Asia joined forces and forged the Berlin Rome Tokyo AES the German fer was well disposed toward making an alliance with any nation which would help further his own greedy aims and which would not cause him any trouble in return the tripartite treaty guaranteeing Mutual assistance was signed eagerly by Germany's foreign minister yakim F rento and with equal Satisfaction by Japan's Ambassador saboru kurusu the alliance was further cemented in April 1941 when Japanese foreign minister y Uka matsua paid a call on Bonito musolini in Rome the Italian people acclaimed the representative of the strong Asiatic power which would lend support to their dictator's own territorial Ambitions Japan's treaty with the European fascists gave it the opportunity it wanted to take over French Indochina now controlled by the French VC government in July 1941 Japanese warships moved into the harbor of indochina's Chief Port Saigon the formal ceremony which made that country a Japanese protectorate was attended by the representatives of the French vichi government which was openly sympathetic to the fascist cause Japan's Army had gained an entire country lying along the vitally important coast of Southeast Asia without a struggle within a few days nepon troops had taken possession of all of Indo China to the borders of fertile Thailand still an independent nation but Freedom across that border was to be shortlived in Tokyo in the Autumn of 1941 relations between Japan and the United States grew steadily more strain US ambassador Joseph Gru informed Washington that Japan might well strike with dangerous and dramatic suddenness attempts to affect conciliation of differences were continued but to no avail in an effort to weaken the Japanese threat to the Pacific World severe economic restrictions had been imposed by the US Japan's exports dropped off sharply and the economy of the country delicately balanced with relation to its War Industries and its foreign trade was violently upset Japan's diplomatic negotiations did not mean much the militarists who controlled neon's Destinies were already convinced that there was only one sure course to be followed as the situation grew more tense they pleaded for a unified National Spirit the Japanese nation is faced with a serious crisis and will more and more carry out preparedness for National Defense under the emperor it is expected that the whole nation will strive for the advancement of the Far East in Washington on Sunday December 7th 1941 Secretary of State Cordell Hull worked in vain on new attempts at a solution to the crisis but negotiations ended abruptly early that afternoon he received two callers envoys nura and kurusu who informed him that the Japanese and American positions were irreconcilable in the Pacific a fast Japanese Fleet stood off the island of of aahu ready to carry out Japan's secret decision to plunge the Pacific into Total War the pilots of the carrier planes which were to strike the first blows dedicated themselves to their task for the glory of their Emperor and in honor of their [Music] ancestors go with the fleet less than 300 mil from the target area the planes took off for the [Music] [Applause] [Music] kill [Applause] even before the Japanese envoys call on the US Secretary of State Japanese bombs were away over Hawaii US forces had 260 planes destroyed during the attack and suffered the Staggering loss of four battleships a cruiser and two tankers at Pearl Harbor in addition four battleships were badly damaged thus at one blow the US Pacific Fleet was all but demolished in Tokyo Premier Tojo made it official the Imperial rescript declaring war has just been promulgated the Valiant Imperial Army and Navy are at present engaged in a fight to the death now is the time for our 100 million countrymen to offer their all to pay their duty to their Nation and to sacrifice themselves for their country the rise or fall of Japan indeed the fate of the Far East depends upon the outcome of this war in Washington President Roosevelt responded quickly offensive extending throughout the Pacific area the facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again end danger it both houses of Congress acted immediately with but one dissenting vote therefore be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled that the state of war between the United States and the Imperial government of Japan which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared and that the president be and years hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire Naval and Military forces of the United States and the resources of the government to carry on war against the Imperial government of Japan and to bring the conflict to a successful termination all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States the second command there can be no objection the American people solidly United behind their commanderin-chief volunt ered eagerly to take an active part during the next four years millions of Americans forsook the Pursuits of a peaceful life to fight the enemy on battlefields all over the [Music] world for freedom and justice for [Music] for