Japan was looking for a way to Expand and solve it's economic and demographic problems.
China
TIn 1937, Japan began the invasion and Occupasion of China killing over 35 Million Chinese people and causing over $600 billion dollars worth of damage. This was the beginning of 8 years of combat with China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over it's import market.
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The US
The United States was very unhappy with Japan’s aggression toward China yet they still stayed out of joining World War II. They did look at Germany as a threat so increased their defenses which Japan took as a threat towards them. The US was the only country in the way of Japan continuing its expansion into the Pacific. Due to Japan's continued invasion of China, the US placed trade sanctions and embargoes against Japan which hurt them economically.
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The Plan
Because the U.S. was the primary military threat in the Pacific, Japan prepared war plans to deal with the problem. The Japanese plan was to conduct one large naval battle against the American Navy, destroying it, resulting in the inability of the U.S. to interfere with Japanese expansion through out Asia.The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific.
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