The following were 3 reasons for the outbreak of the Pacific War:

- Japan’s search for economic security
- Rise of militarism in Japan
- Worsening relations between Japan and the US
Which was the most decisive? Explain your answer. [13]

Introduction:
The Pacific War officially broke out on 7 December 1941, when Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor. This forced the US to declare war on the following day.

Main Body:
One of the reasons was Japan’s search for economic security. Being a country lacking in natural resources, Japan was always dependent on trade to sustain its economy. Its industries needed raw materials from other countries to manufacture their products and also depended on foreign markets to sell its products in order to maximise its profits. However, during the Great Depression, Japan suffered greatly due to the introduction of protectionism in many countries. This meant that Japan could not market its products effectively and thus, many Japanese factories closed down, leading to high unemployment and poverty in the 1930s. Thus, the military government was eager to solve these problems by ensuring a constant supply of raw materials and the availability of markets. This was only possible if Japan conquered places with raw materials and sufficient population to buy Japanese products. These places would come under Japanese control and would be part of the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’. These areas would include Japan, Manchuria, China and parts of Southeast Asia. To achieve this, Japan began to initiate an aggressive foreign policy, which would destabilise the Asia-Pacific region. Tensions with China and the colonial powers would build up, and ultimately resulted in the outbreak of the Pacific War.

Another reason was the rise of militarism in Japan. As the military appeared to be capable of solving Japan’s economic problems in the 1930s, they gained a lot of support from the Japanese people, especially among the member of patriotic societies, who wanted a military dictatorship. This resulted in numerous cases of assassination against politicians who were not supportive of the military. Eventually, the Japanese government was dominated by military officers. By 1941, General Tojo had become the Prime Minister. Like many of his officers, he believed in an aggressive foreign policy that would protect Japanese interests such as economic security and national pride. Long years of perceived discrimination had also led many members of the military government to believe that a war with the US was unavoidable. Thus, it was not surprising that the military government began to plan for a war on a massive scale. This would contribute to the outbreak of the Pacific War as Japan’s military leaders were prepared to challenge the status quo once they gained control of the Japanese government.

The third reason was the worsening relations between Japan and the US. Ever since Japan started to expand into China, the US had become more wary of Japan's ambitions. As Japan imported most of its raw materials from the US, the US began to place embargoes on Japan to check its aggression. This did not affect Japan's war efforts greatly as critical resources such as oil continued to be sold to Japan. It was only when Japan took over French Indo-China in 1940 that the US, together with Britain and the Dutch, placed an embargo on the sale of oil to Japan. This brought US-Japan relations to a new low. Negotiations were conducted to resolve the situation but they were unsuccessful. As a result, Japan decided to take over Southeast Asia to acquire the necessary resources. This would result in a direct conflict with the US, which controlled the Philippines and would not allow the Japanese takeover of Southeast Asia. Anticipating this obstacle, Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor to cripple any possible reinforcement to the Philippines while Japan took over the whole of Southeast Asia. This attack on Pearl Harbor triggered the outbreak of the Pacific War.