Public Opinion Toward Japan in Pre-WWII

This research examines public opinion in the United States toward Japan in the period prior to the beginning of the Second Word War. Secondarily, Japanese public opinion toward the United States is also examined.

The thesis of this examination is that the actions of the Japanese nation in the pre Second World War period account entirely for the negative character of American public opinion toward Japan prior to the beginning of the war, and, in turn, these Japanese actions led inevitably to war between the two countries. In the conduct of this examination, the policies of the government of Japan that attempted to extend Japanese economic hegemony in Eastern and Southeastern Asia while simultaneously promoting Japanese political dominance in the Pacific region are considered as motivators for actions by the Japanese nation that were found offensive by the American public. Economic interests were a major causal factor of the Pacific War in the 1940s between the United States and Japan, and the influence of Japanese economic objectives on Japanese political decisions that affected American public perceptions of Japan in the prewar period are considered in this research. AntiAmerican attitudes in Japan were strong in the prewar period, and these attitudes increased in intensity throughout the 1920s and 1930s. While these attitudes did not make have a direct impact on American publ

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can and British governments decided "that it would be best to let the Japanese settle the incident with a minimum of outside interference." In effect, the Western governments chose to virtually ignore the Japanese incursion into Manchuria, and this absence of action emboldened the Japanese military leaders. In October 1931, Japan initiated an expanded military effort in Manchuria the objective of which was to expel all Chines forces from Manchuria. With this action by the Japanese, the League of Nations denounced Japan and demanded that Japanese military forces return to the positions held in midSeptember 1931. In the United States, the Hoover Administration considered but did not impose sanctions against Japan, and there was little public support for such action on the part of the United States government. It soon became clear to the world that Japan was going to sever China's northeastern provinces from the rest of the country. The Hoover Administration in Washington announced that the United States would not recognize any agreement that Japan imposed on China through military force. American public opinion in 1932 supported China. The American public, however, was prepared for the United States to withdraw from the Far
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Chiang Kaishek, United Japan, United Japanese, Rape Nanking, Washington Conference, League Nations, American British, Secondarily Japanese, Harbor December, World War, american public, public opinion, japanese military, american public opinion, japanese public, opinion japan, public opinion japan, japanese government, actions japanese, public opinion united, opinion united, prewar period, chiang kaishek, world war period, pre world war,
Approximate Word count = 1983
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)