On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack and declaration of war against the United States. The attack was the culmination of growing tensions between the two countries since the early 1930s. From 1931 until that fateful day in 1941, Japan and America waged a game of political chess. Japan's motivations for entering the war can be boiled down to two objectives. The first was Japan's quest for expansion and the second was defense against Western capitalism, which threatened Japan's prosperity. During the First World War, Japan had managed to place itself among the leaders of the Allied nations. Despite this, the Japanese fought against racial discrimination, which harmed relations between Japan and the West. However, racial discrimination was not one-sided: the Japanese firmly believed that they were spiritually superior to their Western counterparts. This superiority complex, combined with Japan's growth during the war, fueled imperialist desires. Japan aspired to become a competitor in the global market economy, but it lacked the vast resources possessed by the United States and other Western Allies. During the Great Depression, Japan's economy collapsed due to declining exports, leading to political upheaval. “The American Hawley-Smoot Tariff in 1930, followed the following year by the British Imperial Preference, threatened to cause permanent damage to the Japanese economy.” (Gordon, p. 140) Japan believed that political and economic control of China would provide the resources and security Japan needed to prosper. Thus, in 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria in a merciless attack led by the Guandong Army. "Manchuria became so important that many economies... middle of paper... because of the American attitude." (Gillon p. 952) On December 7, 1941, the "Japanese launched their attack on Pearl Harbor ", "Hawaii and America entered World War II. (Gillon p. 952) The Japanese did not expect to fight the United States on the continent, they wanted to control the Asia-Pacific region, and by choosing Pearl Harbor they were attempting to eliminate American forces in the Pacific. The Japanese superiority complex got the better of them, they believed that the United States would not defend the Pacific territory but would abandon it. Japan was wrong, the Pacific War was a brutal battle fought on the Pacific Islands. “American forces gradually took over Japan's conquests and fought their way back to Japan's home islands. » (Gillon p.978) The war ended in August 1945 when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered six days later..