September 18, 1931 - Japan Invades Manchuria:

The Japanese were determined to expand their empire. Japan controlled Korea and also controlled the Manchurian railway. With the control of the railway the Japanese made a rumor that they Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway, and attacked the Chinese army. They Chinese knew that the Japanese are doing this just to invade Manchuria so they didn’t retaliate. The Japanese invaded Manchuria even though they were told not to by their government. By February of the 1932 the Japanese had taken over the Manchuria. It was said that, “Thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians had been killed by the modern but ruthless Japanese army (johndclare.net)”.

            This event shows the beginning of the Japanese rule over China. The Japanese are trying to expand their empire and China is their first target. This event shows a relation to our theme of “Diversity, Conflict, and Justice” because the Japanese are taking over China. This is an injustice to China because of the false rumors spread that the Japanese used as an excuse. It shows the diversity between the two countries because of their different beliefs on how their country should be ran. The Japanese government has told the soldiers to withdraw with the invasion but they do not listen and go forth with their plan. This event shows how we have not changed over time. Today China and Japan still hate each other.

July 7, 1937 – The Sino-Japanese War breaks out:

The war was a major invasion of eastern China by Japan.  “In China the war was known as the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War of Resistance (en.wikipedia.org).” In Japan the war was known as the “C” operation or “HEI”. Many historians believe that the start of the war was at the battle of Lugou Bridge. The Battle of Lugou Bridge let to the invasion of Shanghai, Nanjing were the massacre of Nanjing occurred. It was estimated that over 300,000 people died at Nanjing. The Sino-Japanese was a start of more bad things to come in the future. China was only one of the targets of the Japanese.

            This event relates to our theme of “Diversity, Conflict, and Justice” because again like in all wars there is conflict between two parties. The Japanese take over china to increase their power. This event relates to our essential question of “Have we changed?” because it shows how back in the 1900’s there were wars and in present day we still have wars going on in our country. The war in Iraq shows that people today still resort to guns and violence to achieve something such as power.

December 7, 1941 – Bombing of Pearl Harbor:

The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, was aimed at the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Corps and Marine air forces. Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku planned the raid as the start of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. “The attack on Pearl Harbor began at 07:53 7 December Hawaiian Time, which was 03:23 AM December 8 Japan standard time (en.wikipedia.org)”. The Japanese planes attacked in two waves, in which a total of 350 planes reached Oahu. Vulnerable torpedo bombers led the first wave of 186 planes, exploiting the first moments of surprise by attacking the aircraft carriers and battleships while dive bombers attacked the U.S. air bases across Oahu, starting with Hickam Field, the largest, and Wheeler Air Field, the principal fighter base. The 168 planes of the second wave attacked Bellows Field and Ford Island, a marine and naval air base in the middle of Pearl Harbor.

            This event relates to our theme of “Diversity, Conflict, and Justice” and our essential question of have we changed because it shows conflict between the Americans and the Japanese. The Japanese are hungry for power and need land to expand. It shows how we have and have not changed because as of present day Japan is one of America’s allies. We have not changed because we still have wars such as the one in Iraq where we have violence and destruction. The war in Iraq shows that we will always have differences and conflicts among others.

December 22, 1941 - Japanese invade Luzon in the Philippines:

The Japanese invasion of Luzon was supported by bombing runs which effectively destroyed the US Eastern Air Force on the ground. United States and the Philippine Army forces were poorly trained and they had no intention of standing and fighting.  The army really offered little resistance. The Japanese Air Force attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the 7th December 1941. The following day they carried out air strikes on the Philippines and destroyed half of Macarthur’s air force. Macarthur was much criticized for this as he had been told to move his air force after the raid on Hawaii the previous day. The Japanese Army also invaded the Philippines and they soon held the three air bases in northern Luzon. On 22nd December the 14th Army landed at Lingayen Gulf and quickly gained control of Manila from the inexperienced Filipino troops. Although only 57,000 Japanese soldiers were landed on Luzon it had little difficulty capturing the land.

            This event relates to our theme of Diversity, Conflict and Justice because the Philippines were attacked by the Japanese for no reason at all. That was an injustice to the Filipinos who died. They were caught up in the mix of the war because some of the US army was stationed in the Philippines. There was a conflict between Japan and the US. This event relates to our essential question of “Have we or Have we not changed?” because it shows how we have changed. Today Japan and the United States have settled there differences and now we are allies with each other.

April 1945 – Japan and the Soviet Union sign the “Japanese-Soviet Neutrality pact”:

Japan and the Soviet Union sign this pact on April of 1945. The Japanese sign knowing that the Soviet Union won’t be a threat to them. With this pact the Japanese military can now concentrate on the southward drive toward China and Southeast Asia. The pact only lasted for 5 years, until 1946. It ended due from an attack from the Germans. “The Soviet Union’s violation of the pact and the detention of Japanese prisoners for anything up to ten years after the end of the war created a sense of victimization in Japan to the extent that there is still no formal Peace Treaty between the two countries to this day (ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/html)”.

            This event relates to our theme of “Diversity, Conflict, and Justice” because its shows conflict between Japan and Germany. When the Soviets back stabbed the Japanese that caused a quarrel between the two counties. The Soviets had different views on ruling Europe and they did not think that they needed the Japanese help in order to fulfill their goals. This event relates to our essential question of have we or have we not changed. In this event it clearly states that there is still hard feeling between the two parties. We have not changed because there is no peace treaty signed until this day.

May 3, 1946 – The Tokyo Trials begin:

The Tokyo trials began on May 3, 1946, and lasted two and a half years. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East also referred to as the IMTFE, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, or the Tokyo Trial, was held to try the leaders of Japan. It was presided over by a panel of 11 judges, one each from victorious Allied powers The Tokyo trials have been criticized as another example of "victors' justice." Tokyo Trial was based upon the concepts of war crimes initiated at the Nuremberg Trial. Some charges were Crimes against Peace, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes and Aggressive War. There were 28 defendants tried, mostly military and political leaders. “Seven others were sentenced to death by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity. They were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948 (answers.com)”.

            This event relates to our theme of Diversity, Conflict, and Justice. This even in history shows justice being served in the country of Japan. The Japanese generals are being punished for their wrong doings during their occupation of China, particularly the town of Nanjing. The Japanese soldiers are paying the price of having killed thousands of innocent Chinese people. The event relates to our essential question of have we or have we not changed because it shows that we have not changed. Even though the Japanese soldiers were put on trial and punished, the people of China are still angry that the Japanese are not living up to what they did in World War II. There have been many riots in China.

April 11, 2005- China riots against Japanese for writings in history books:

This event is about how China is protesting against the Japanese for their new history book that the protesters say that is fails to admit the extent of Japan’s World War II atrocities. China said that Japan needs to address and appropriately deal its wartime historical aggression. The Chinese has called for a big protest against Japanese goods in their country. Thousands of protesters called for a boycott of Japanese products, burning flags and shouting anti-Japanese slogans. China’s government urges China to remain calm because everything is being done to resolve this problem. The Chinese government is working to protect the safety of Japanese government missions and Japanese citizens in China.

            This event relates to our theme of “Diversity, Conflict, and Justice” because it shows the conflict between China and Japan. China is rioting because Japan is not living up to what they had done to the Chinese in World War II. It shows how we have not changed because back in World War II the Chinese disliked the Japanese for the atrocities done to them. Today China is rebelling against the Japanese and their government for allowing them to publish that history book. This show how we have not changed throughout history.