International relations between the U.S. and Japan

US-Japan Relations on World War II
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The Second World War started in 1939 to 1945 the Axis and the Allies military alliances. The Axis comprised of Germany, Italy and Japan. The Allies were made up of United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Poland, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa (Murray, 2001). The World War II was declared following the German invasion into Poland in 1939. It was a time when Germany was under the leadership of Adolf Hitler and was seeking to expand its territories. The war is said to have been the worst war in history as it lead to the death of more than 70 million persons (Murray, 2001). This paper will focus on the relationship between the USA and Japan during World War II.
World War II resulted from many unresolved issues resulting from the treaties signed in World War I. During the World War I period, the participating countries put all their resources in financing the war. Following the end of the war, their economies were greatly affected. The countries were mostly affected following the Great Depression in 1930. Due to this, most of the countries in Europe tried to boost their economy by gaining control over other States. The Axis alliances challenged the security and democracy of the Allies State resulting in the Second World War (Murray, 2001).
Japan`s trade with the USA begun in 1850 following a congress meeting held in Japan. The US supplied Japan with copper, metal and oil. The trade helped Japan to become a strong industrial country. However following the World War I, the relationship between Japan and the US progressively became worse. This was because of their conflicting economic interest on Eastern Asia. Japan lacked most of the natural resources which were available in East Asia especially China. The USA on the other hand, was importing tin, rubber and oil from East Asia. In order to protect their interest, the US signed a treaty with China so as to protect its natural free resources from Japan (Murray, 2001).
Japan participated in the World War II in the aim of getting control of East Asia`s natural resources. The US on the other hand, was determined to protect their interest in East Asia. During this war, Japan heavily relied on the exports from the US in their attack against China. In 1940, the US President declared a ban on its export to Japan. Furthermore, the US funded China on their war against China. This greatly affected the relationship between the US and Japan. Later on in 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on US military base in Pearl Harbor (Manchester, 1979).
At the beginning of World War II, the US government tried to maintain a neutral stand. However, they supplied the Allies Alliance with military equipment following the Lend Lease Act. Furthermore in 1941, war was declared against the US by German and Italy (Jersey, 2008). The Axis victory in Poland and France, coupled with the war against Britain forced the US to engage in the...