Ichiban Number One: Perspectives On Japan's Pursuit of Power 1867-1945

When Commodore Matthew Perry came to Japan requesting trade opportunities, the startled Japanese were awakened out of centuries of slumber, and new leaders began to think of dominating all of Asia --- and perhaps even the four corners of the world. Their goal: to be ichiban (number one). Expansion of the Empire was necessary, of course, because the Home Islands could not provide the necessary raw materials needed to accomplish such ambitious goals. One of the greatest shortages was oil, and when the U.S. placed an oil embargo on Japan in the summer of 1941, Japanese militarists were willing to go to war with the U.S., and consequently planned a six-month-long campaign of surprise attacks and naval night battles. The Japanese already had significant strongholds in Asia, and their military forces were ready, but there was one thing they hadn't planned on: the ability of America to respond so quickly.