On the road to war The policy of southward expansion and the Greater East Asia

Harbouring expansionist tendencies for economic, political and imperialistic ends that became distinctly pronounced and vocal in the 1930s, combined with the attitude of the Western powers towards its ambitions, Japan was set on a collision course that ultimately brought it on the road to war. In hindsight, Imperial Japan’s embarkation on the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45)1 was an inevitable move, and one which subsequently led to the events at Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Japanese went to war for their very survival and in self-defense.