Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941 (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)

Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941 (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs) by Michael A. Barnhart. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780801495298.

The roots of Japans aggressive, expansionist foreign policy have often been traced to its concern over acute economic vulnerability. Historian Michael Barnhart tests this assumption by examining the events leading up to World War II in the context of Japans quest for economic security. Drawing on a wide array of Japanese and American sources, this is the first English-language book on the wars origins to be based on research in archives on both sides of the Pacific. Barnhart focuses on the critical years from 1938 to 1941 as he investigates the development of Japans drive for national economic self-sufficiency and independence and the way in which this drive shaped its internal and external policies. He also explores American economic pressure on Tokyo and assesses its impact on Japans foreign policy and domestic economy. He concludes that Japans internal political dynamics, especially the bitter rivalry between its army and navy, played a far greater role in propelling the nation into war with the United States than did its economic condition or even pressure from Washington. Japan Prepares for Total War sheds new light on prewar Japan and confirms the opinions of those in Washington who advocated economic pressure against Japan. At a time of growing interest in U.S.-Japanese economic relations, this book will be stimulating and provocative reading for scholars and students of international relations and American and Asian history.