Conclusion
War broke out between Japan and the US based on long standing political and economic rivalries. Prior to World War II, the US was the main power breaker in Pacific and South East Asia. Japan wanted to build an empire, and knew that it had to defeat the US to do so. The US placed an embargo on Japan in order to limit it’s growth to protect it’s own interests in the Pacific. This further convinced Japan to secure it’s own resources, and this lead directly to Pearl Harbor, where Japan tried to defeat the US Navy. The US retaliated, declaring war on Japan. Three and a half years later, in 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki despite protests by the scientists that made the atomic bombs in the first place in order to secure the complete surrender of Japan. Even though Japan and America have had some rough times, but they have worked through those differences and now are close allies.