EMPIRE OF THE SUN

Commodore Matthew Perry opened Japan to the world in 1853. Before that time, Japan successfully isolated itself for centuries, resisting external interaction and influence. Following considerable internal strife, Japan committed itself not only to international trade and interaction, but competition. Modernizing Japan’s military was a major part of this effort.

By 1905, Japan defeated a major world power in battle, Russia. By World War I, Japan was able to help the Allies secure the Pacific. Snubbed at Versailles in 1919 and in subsequent international negotiations, by the mid 1930s, Japan set its own course of imperial expansion in the Pacific. Considered the United States’ greatest potential