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United States and Japan sign Treaty of Kanagawa. Japan must open five ports to American trade. Americans can live in port cities, but did not have to obey Japanese laws. Paid very smalll tax on imported items; "flooded" Japan with cheap products.
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Commodore Perry arrives in Japan and forces Japan to open its ports to American ships to resupply. United States also demanded Japan to begin trading. (Gunboat Diplomacy)
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Emperor Meiji restored as supreme ruler of Japan. Japan begins modernization- new army, sent people to study in foreign countries, developed technology (trains, ships, telegraph)
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Emperor restored to most powerful. State Shinto religion. New lnad laws.People elected a Congress (Diet).
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Japan and China fought over the Liaotung Peninsula (Port Arthur) and Taiwan. They were useful for ports, and both countries wanted the land. Japan won, and acquired the land.
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Russia took Port Arthur from Japan, and the war was fought. Japan defeated Russia, and Japan remained a very powerful country. Japan was angry, because Russia did not pay Japan reparations payments.
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War begins between to alliances in Europe. Japan sides with UK, France, Italy, US, Russia. Japan emerged as only industrialized country in the East. Japan fought for ports in China, and islands in the Pacific. The Allies won, and Japan took the land.
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Japan invades the Manchuria area in search of resources and control of land, Chiang Kai-shek opposes the invaders.
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US and Japan are competing for same resources, and Japan is depending on US for most of it. FDR and Congress are upset over the trade.
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A non- aggression treaty between Germany and Soviet Union. Soviet Union is a threat to Japan's expansion planis in the east. In Japan, a moderate government took over. Germany (Nazis) invades Europe. Militant leaders overthrew Japan's moderate government.Tokyo demanded that Britain close the Burma Road to China.
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Nazi Germany attacks Soviet Union. Roosevelt takes control of all Japanese money in the US, brings armed forces of Philippines under American command, and closes the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. America and Japan are very close to war.
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Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, sinking ships and killing thousands of a Americans. President Roosevelt then declares war on Japan.
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Japanese troops force Philippean and American to march 65 miles to internment camps.
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General Doolitlle forms troops to bomb 5 Japanese cities. Their small jets used aircraft carriers to fly over Japan, then crash land in China. Some of the soldiers were captured and killed, some were kept in camps, and some may have escaped.
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Japan and USboth lose one aircraft.
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Americans intercept Japanese code messages. US ambushes Japanese Navy; Americans defeat "cream" of Japanese Navy (their very best pilots). This is a turning point in the war in the Pacific.
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Thousands of lives lost on both sides' indicator of number of American/Japanese lives that would be lost in the war.
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United States drops bomb on Hiroshima.
