1A+Japan+Wiki

Each student is required to answer the question below. Be sure to enter your answer under your name. Answers entered under the wrong name will receive no credit.
 * __INSTRUCTIONS__:

__QUESTION:__ Evaluate Japan's decision to reject the Potsdam Declaration **

__**IMPORTANT HINT**__**: T o __EVALUATE__ means that you will make judgements based on the information that you have. After completing the required first steps below, you will evaluate Japan's decision to reject the Potsdam Declaration. An evaluation also includes an element of "value" .... in other words, do you believe that Japan's decision to reject the Potsdam Declaration was a good or bad decision for Japan? Make sure you include your __JUDGEMENT__ about the value of Japan's decision based on your evaluation of the entire situation (steps 1-4 below) and whether you believe it was the correct or wrong decision for Japan to make **

1) Provide a __brief summary__ of events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration 2) Make a __bulleted list__ of features in the Potsdam Declaration 3) Provide a __brief summary__ of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration 4) And finally, EVALUATE Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration
 * REQUIRED FIRST STEPS:** ** (all of the information below must be included in your wiki entry)

__ANDY__** Many factors led up to the Potsdam Declaration. One of the reason was Japan’s amazing speed of territory expansion in Asia. Japan took over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, China, Philippines, Fromosa. Japanese army also won war with Russia, which also led to the Potsdam Declaration. The other factor would be that US war in the Pacific with Japan. Which, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, which also warned the US about the threat of Japan. This ultimately led to the Potsdam Declaration.
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__

-unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces -Japan would provide proper reassurances of their good faith in such action - If Japan disagrees, US will destroy them completely - Final warning to Japan to surrender and stop expanding
 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__

Japan didn’t accept the Potsdam Declaration since they are not aware about the U.S. secret atomic bomb. Japan thought that the American threat was just a continuation of the bombing. Japan was already under bombing so they didn’t think that it is going to get any worse. Japan had success in the past beating other countries. They think that US is just another big country that is easily to beat, so US not seen as a real threat
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__

I believe that it is unnecessary for the Japanese to decline the Potsdam Declaration. If Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration, it could have prevented the two atomic bombs dropped by USA alongside the causalities cost by the atomic bombs. The Japanese were too arrogant to realize that USA was on a different level compared to Russia and China. We can’t blame Japan since they don’t know about the atomic bombs, but it is still sort of stupid to fight against a powerful nation when they are already getting bombed. They wanted to keep on expanded and the Japanese knew that in order to do so, they must face the stronger nations. Their greediness ultimately led them to failure. I think that they definitely should accept the Potsdam Declaration. Japan couldn’t even keep their own country from getting attacked, why expand their territory? Innocent people are getting killed, injured, and still, they won’t admit defeat. If they accepted the declaration in first place, none of these would happen. They made a wrong decision of declining the Potsdam declaration. Japan would have avoided war and all those causalities if they accepted the Potsdam Declaration.
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__

__**AUSTIN**__ When the WW2 started, Japan had joined with Germany and Italy, thus expanding and conquering like no tomorrow, and taking over Manchuria, Singapore, Korea, etc. Also, a war with Russia was being fought, and having a war on sea with the Americans. Since Japan had bombed Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, therefore the US became more and more worried about the Japanese. Harry S. Truman, Clement Attlee, and Joseph Stalin met at Potsdam in Germany, discussing what was to be done after the war, and this came the Potsdam Declaration which demanded Japan's surrender and ceasing of expansion. Unconditional surrendering of Japan To have good faith in surrendering And good assurance Japan did not like the Potsdam Declaration, which led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese thought that utterly destroying them was just more regular bombing, which they could withstand. What they did not know was that they had atomic bombs which had not been seen before, or had only been heard of. Japan also thought they could destroy other super powers, like before, but this time they had been mistaken I think the rejection of the Potsdam Declaration was honorable, but illogical. Why risk lives of millions of people when they could simply surrender and succumb to US's demands? If Japan was in my hands, I would have gone ahead and accepted the Potsdam Declaration, because the US had already modernized decades ahead of them, and to catch up in just a few years could not be possible. The consequences of declining the Declaration has now been engraved into history, and shall serve as a bloody reminder of what Hiroshima and Nagasaki once was.
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __DDOODDAA (Jun Geon Lee)__**
 * __**Summary**__

During the World War II, Japan had joined up with the German and Italian, and was expanding out in a rapid pace, taking over French-Indo China, British-Burma, Singapore, Manchuria, Korea, the Solomon Islands, China, the Philippines, and Formosa. In addition, it was fighting a war with Russia and also having one in the Pacific with the US. Recently Japan had bombed Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, and the US grew concerned, and thought that it had to put and end to Japan’s expansion. Hence, President of the United States Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Premier of the Soviet Unit Joseph Stalin met at Potsdam in Germany, discussing what was to happen after the war; from this came the Potsdam Declaration which demanded Japan’s surrender and ceasing of expansion.

__**Features of the Potsdam Declaration:**__

- Unconditional surrender of Japan - Good faith promises to surrender - Fair warning from the US

__**Reasons for Rejection**__

__J__apan rejected the Potsdam Declaration, ultimately leading to the infamous dropping of the atomic bomb by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan had several reasons for their rejection, one that it did not know about the US secret bomb (atomic bomb) and its destructive powers. In addition, the Japanese thought that the “utter destruction” in the Declaration merely referred to the continuation of bombing on Japan, which there always had been and which the Japanese were effectively standing up against. Apart from this, another reason for Japan’s rejection was due to its confidence; because Japan had already beat other big nations, the Japanese saw the US as nothing more than just another nation waging war, and hence believed that they could fight them off, like they did with other nations.

__**Evaluation:**__

The declining of the Potsdam Declaration was in fact, a good decision. By rejecting the Declaration, Japan kept their national pride, not prevailing to any outer threats from foreign countries until the famous atomic bomb seemed to kill just too many citizens within Japan. For people within the country, this kept the sense of having a pride for their country. In addition, by declining the Potsdam Declaration Japan ensured their individuality; they proved that they were in any way ‘below’ the other nations that tried to force surrender on Japan. If Japan had surrendered, no doubt nations such as the US and British that made the Potsdam Declaration would have raided the country and start to control the Japanese government, hence humiliating Japan and taking away its independence. Finally, with Japan rejecting the Declaration, the atomic bomb was used. Though incorrect and too inhumane to use at the start, the US using the atomic bomb on the Japan ultimately gave everyone an idea of how destructive the atomic bomb was. Using the atomic bomb lead to one’s own destruction as well as the opponent’s, and so the use of atomic bombs was greatly feared, and many countries ceased to make modern war with airplanes, tanks, and foot soldiers. Due to this, the damage and casualties made by these wars also declined. 

__**DYLAN**__
 * =====Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration-=====
 * =====The British, US and USSR gathered in Potsdam Germany to decide what course of action to take after thee war. The Japanese were to surrender, or they would annihilate the Japanese. Japan was a reason for concern because they had evolved into a large land-claiming machine and had started taking over most parts of south east Asian. Japan even bombed PearL Harbor in the US. The 3 countries, Britain, US and Russia decided to stop Japan before they went too far. When Japan rejected the Declaration, the US bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima with atomic bombs. This immense act of destruction forced the Japanese to sign the Potsdam Declaration and end the war.=====
 * =====Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration-=====
 * =====-If Japan didn't agree with the treaty, they would be annihilated.=====

-Provide assurance of their action.

 * =====Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration-=====
 * =====Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration simply because they didn't think that their situation could get any worse. They thought that the bombs already being launched at them were the worst. But the US introduced the nuclear bombs and Japan got the consequences.=====


 * =====EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration- In my opinion, Japan's rejection of the Postdam Declaration was a bold but cocky move. Even if they thought they it couldn't get any worse, that the firebombs they were faced with were the worst, they still couldn't withstand the force of 3 nations together. I think they should've played it safe and accepted the Declaration, seeing as they took over so much already.=====

__**GORDON**__ Brief summary of events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration The British (Clement Atlee), the US (Truman), and the USSR (Stalin) got together in Potsdam, Germany to decide what to do after the war, and the declaration called upon the Japanese government to surrender, or that they would be utterly destroyed. The US were concerned about the Japanese, not only because they attacked Pearl Harbor, but because Japan was expanding at alarming rates. Japan had taken over most of south-east Asia, and all three of the countries involved in the Potsdam Declaration wanted to stop Japan before they got out of hand. After Japan rejected the Declaration, the US dropped 2 nuclear weapons on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, to end the war and conclude the signing of the Potsdam Declaration. Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration · If Japan did not accept, then they would be utterly destroyed · Japan would not surrender · Japanese armed forces would surrender unconditionally · Would provide proper and adequate reassurances of their good faith in this action Brief summary of why Japan didn’t accept the Potsdam Declaration Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration because they thought that with the firebombs and bombing raids, the situation could not get much worse, so they rejected it. And then they got the Atomic Bomb dropped on them Evaluation of Japan’s decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration I think that Japan should not have rejected the Potsdam Declaration because even if they knew that nothing could get lost, they really had no choice, because if they did not accept they would be bombed to pieces. If they really thought that they still had a chance with many countries attacking them from all sides, they either had high self-confidence or were really stupid.

Japan's expansion in Asia was a crucial factor that led to the Potsdam Declaration. Japan invaded French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, China, Philippines, and Formosa, giving them most of the countries in Asia. Japan also fought with the Russians and the US, who decided to end Japan's advancement and make them surrender by the Potsdam Declaration.
 * JIMMY**
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__

- Unconditional surrender of Japanese forces - Provide proper reassurances of good faith in this action - Fair Warning, telling Japan that their alternative is their destruction
 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__

Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration because they did not know that the US had the atomic bomb, and thought US would only bomb Japanese lands with planes, which the Japanese had resisted until now. Also, they did not have to fear the US, since they defeated big countries such as China and Russia, so the US would only just be another big country.
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__

Personally, I think Japan made a terrible decision. Japan was simply underestimating other countries including the US. They believed that they could beat any other country, whether big or small, just like they did to Russia and China. True, the Japanese are powerful indeed, but their self-conceit in thinking that they would be able to defeat the US is actually //harming// their national pride and reputation, rather than protecting it. Even if Japan was able to defeat the US, they would have ended up with tons of casualties and injured. It would have been better to solve things in a peaceful way. Japan's greed for more and more land would be very risky in this situation, since the US has their secret weapon, the atomic bomb. Japan's decision was a pure gamble, to see whether the US or Japan would win, which showed how ignorant the judgement they made was. As a result of their terrible judgement, Hiroshima and Nagasaki was bombed.

Potsdam Declaration is the declartion of Japan's surrender. After the World War II, (during the years 1940's), Japan was expanding their country in an alarming rate. Japan had conqured over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, China, Korea, Philippines, and Formosa (Taiwan). Not only they took over other countries but they also bombed the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Then America was very timid and frustrated. They wanted to stop Japan's expansion. What: Mtg of leaders to decide what would happen after World War II Who: English, US, Russia About: Wanted Japan to stop expanding Events: Took over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore... War in Pacific--> Pearl Harbor. There are few reasons why Japan did not accept the Potsdam Decalration. Firstly, they didn't know about US secret atomic bombs. They thought it was continuation bombing. Lastly, they were over confident. Japan successfully beat other large countries, they didn't see US as a threat. Because of their foolish decision, US had to drop bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki which killed millions of innocent people. In my opinion, Japan rejecting the Potsdam Declaration was a foolish choice. Japan is very well known throughout the world of its great pride over their country. However, this eventually led Japan into a total misery. If Japan accepted the declaration earlier, they could have saved millions of innocent people. Research stated that there are still some kind of disease due to the after effect of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 * __HO SOO__**
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__
 * Unconditional surrender by Japan
 * Good faith promises to surrender
 * Fair warning from US
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__

The Potsdam Declaration was a meeting of leaders to decide what would happen after World War II. Britain, the US, Russia and Japan were there. It was about stopping Japan from expanding. Japan had taken over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, China, Philippines and Formosa. It had a war with Russia and there was war in the Pacific. They had bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, US.
 * __KAREN__**
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__


 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__
 * · Unconditional surrender by Japan
 * · Good faith promises to surrender
 * · Fair warning from US

Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration because it did not know about the bomb. US had threatened Japan, but Japan thought it was continuation bombing and Japan was still doing feel, even with the bombing. Japan had successfully beaten other large countries before so US was not seen as a real threat to them.
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__

Japan rejecting the Potsdam Declaration was a bad choice on Japan’s part. Although it had already been bombed by the US, Japan did not know about the US secret atomic bomb. Japan’s pride got in the way. They had won several wars with other large countries and had underestimated the US. They thought that the US would be the same and that they would win. Japan should have been more cautious and wary of the other countries, such as the US, and not underestimate them. If they did that, then the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima would be prevented.
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__


 * __LEO__**

__**Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration**__

Since Japan was expanding its territory in Asia at a very fast rate, many countries began to become furious. The Japanese took over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, China, Philippines, Formosa. Later on, they started a war with Russia and a War in the Pacific (Hawaii, Pearl Harbor). Hitler was also defeated and there was no chance Japan can win this war. The leaders of the major countries that participated in this war met at Potsdam in Germany to discuss what had happen. This led up to the Potsdam Declaration.

__**Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration**__


 * · What: Meeting of leaders to decide what would happen after WWII
 * · Who: British, US, Russia (Soviet Union), Japan
 * · About: To stop Japan from expanding
 * · Unconditional surrender by Japan
 * · Threaten destruction if Japan does not accept the Potsdam Declaration


 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__**

Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration because they did not know about the top secret atomic bomb which the American had developed. The Japanese thought that “complete and utter destruction” was just another continuation of bombing. Also, the Japanese had successfully defeated other great nations and the United States did not seem much of a problem to them.

__**EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration**__

I think that Japan’s decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration was wrong. If they accepted it, then it would prevent the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese government did not respect the lives of their innocent citizens when they made this choice. They already knew that they will lose the war since they don’t have any allies anymore (Germany was defeated). Even if the United States did not develop the atomic bomb, Japan was eventually going to be heavily bombed. Enemies were getting nearer and Japan was also running low on resources and military defense, it was impossible to stop the enemies from entering Japan.


 * __LEON__**
 * __**Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration**__

n Japan took over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, China, Phillipines, Formosa n War with Russia, in Pacific (Hawaii, US) with Pearl Harbor

__**List of features in the Potsdam Declaration**__

n Unconditional surrender by Japan n Good faith promises to surrender n Fair warning from US

__**Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration**__

n didn’t know of atomic bomb n thought it was continuation of bombing n Japan had successfully beat other large countries, didn’t see US as real threat

__**EVALUTATION of Japan’s decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration**__

Japan’s decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration was incorrect and resulted in its ultimate defeat through atomic bomb. During the Potsdam Declaration, Japan was already on the verge of collapse, as the US got closer and closer to the Japan mainland; Japan should have realized this threat, and accepted the terms of surrender, instead of fighting on. Even though Japan did not know that the US had a powerful weapon under their sleeves (the atomic bomb), they did know that the US would continue to attack and bomb Japan, and that the casualties from the ensuing battles would kill of many of their citizens and army, while destroying a lot of their land and buildings. Also, Japan was at a great disadvantage against the US, with its government split, allies defeated, and its people sick of war, and should not have fought on in any circumstance.


 * __MERCEDES__**

Brief summary/events that lead up to Potsdam declaration The Second World War had ended, and then world powers like the U.S.A., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union were worried about Japan’s rapid expansion. Japan had taken over French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, China, Philippines, and Formosa (Taiwan). It had a war with Russia, and had bombed Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. This intrusion onto U.S. territory worried the Americans. Bulleted list of features in Potsdam declaration: The U.S.S.R., U.K., and U.S.A. demanded:
 * · Unconditional surrender of Japanese armed forces
 * · Good faith of such action
 * · The alternative of not agreeing the declaration would mean “complete and utter destruction of Japan”

Brief summary of reasons Japan did not accept Potsdam declaration: Japan had already been continuously bombed during the Second World War. They thought that the complete and utter destruction would only mean a continuation of the air raids and bombing. They were unaware that the U.S. was building an atomic bomb. At the time of the Potsdam declaration, the President Harry S. Truman had received notification that the bomb was ready. Japan was getting proud, as it had won against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, beaten China in the Sino-Japanese War, and expanded its territory greatly over the Pacific. They thought they did not have to agree to the Potsdam Declaration. Evaluation of decision of Japan for rejecting the Potsdam declaration: I think that Japan was being proud and foolish in refusing to agree to the Potsdam declaration. Even if they had already beaten two large countries, the Potsdam declaration specifically said “complete and utter destruction”. Such would mean the other countries going to measure already not taken. Since they threatened it, it would mean that they didn’t already “completely and utterly destroy” Japan already. They had already bombed Japan, thus they must not have considered “complete and utter destruction” to be more bombing. Japan should have sensed that something bigger would have happened, be it a full-scale invasion by many nations, or the secret weapon. A complete estranging of Japan from the world would also have crippled Japan, too.

-Japan will provide proper and adequate reassurances of their good faith in such action -The alternative for Japan is complete and utter destruction
 * __RYAN__**
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__
 * - The Potsdam declaration was made in between 17 July and 2 August 1945. During the declaration was made Clement Attlee, the new British Prime Minister, Harry Truman, the new president of the US, and Josef Stalin, the Premier of the Soviet Union met in the city of Potsdam in Germany. The purpose of their meeting was to discuss and decide what was to happen after the war.
 * There were several events which led to the Potsdam Declaration. One of the events that led to this was the Japanese territorial expansion all over South-east Asia and their territories had included French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, Korea, and etc. The Japanese war with the Russians was also one of the important factors that led to this declaration. However, the key event that brought the declaration up was the Japanese surprise attack of the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii where the US suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of the Japanese.
 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__
 * The main features of the Potsdam declaration was:
 * -The government of Japan was to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces.
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__
 * - However, Japan had refused to accept the declaration of Potsdam and there were several reasons for their refusal. First of all, Japan had no idea that the US actually had secretly developed atomic bombs that could actually cause utter and complete destruction of Japan. Also Japan had thought that the destruction mentioned in the declaration had meant just more bombings and air raids which Japan had been enduring so they thought that the situation could not get any more worse. Also Japan had defeated huge world power nations such as Russia in the past and the Japanese just thought that the US was just like those nations and could easily defeat them. They were basically overconfident and overestimating their own powers.
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__
 * -Japan’s refusal to follow the Potsdam Declaration was the biggest mistake that was ever made throughout the Japanese history. One of the reasons that the Japanese refusal is considered a grave mistake is because if the Japanese had accepted the declaration and had surrendered to the Allies, it would have been able to escape the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the atomic bomb and death of thousands of innocent civilians. Even if the Japanese had no knowledge about the US atomic bomb, Japan should have acknowledged their international position at the time. Japan’s greatest allies, Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany, was already defeated by the Allies and Japan was basically alone to face three greatest world powers where it was clear that Japan could not win. At that time the best option Japan probably had was to end the war less with less violence as possible and quickly. Another reason why Japan’s refusal is a huge mistake is because at that time Japan simply did not had enough power to resist out long. Defeat in the Pacific at the hands of the US navy had already done severe damage to the Japanese military power and also the Japanese forces were spread throughout Pacific so they already had the disadvantage in terms of number. Due to these three reasons, Japan’s refusal to accept the Potsdam Declaration was a grave mistake that had made a great impact on the Japanese history.


 * __SHERRY__**

During World War Two, Japan had began expanding in Asia at a rapid speed, conquering French Indo-China, Burma, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Manchuria, Korea, parts of China, the Philippines, and Formosa (Taiwan). The Japanese were very close to expanding into a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, their army’s plans for empire building in Asia, and this worried the Allied powers, especially the British, the Americans, and the Russians. However, this was only one of the reasons that led to the Potsdam Declaration. On December 7th, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Americans were furious. From that point, they were determined to “win through to absolute victory”. Also, Japan had joined Germany and Italy in the Axis side of World War Two. It was obvious that if the Axis powers continued their expansion, they would soon conquer the entire world. Therefore, the Allied powers had to act soon. So on 1945 with Hitler defeated and Japan on the verge of collapsing, the three Allied countries forced the Potsdam Declaration on Japan.
 * //Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration//**


 * //Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration//**
 * //o Unconditional surrender of all the Japanese Armed Forces //**
 * //o Good faith in promise to surrender //**
 * //o Alternative was the complete and utter destruction of Japan //**

When the Japanese government saw the words “complete and utter destruction” in the Potsdam Declaration, it meant little to them. Their country had already endured air raids and fire bombings for months. They thought, //What could be worse?// However, the Japanese didn’t know about the United States’ new secret weapon, the atomic bomb. They thought that rejecting the Potsdam Declaration would simply mean a few more months of continuous bombing. They never would’ve imagined that this mistake would soon result in literally the “complete and utter destruction” of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Another reason for Japan’s rejection was their pride. They had defeated both China and Russia in two separate wars, and had conquered most of Southeast Asia. Even after losing a few battles, the Japanese were still pretty confident about themselves. Not knowing about the United States’ atomic bomb and being clueless and confident at the same time resulted in Japan’s rejection of the Potsdam Declaration.
 * //Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration//**

In my opinion, I think that in the situation Japan was in, neither rejecting nor accepting the Potsdam Declaration would have been a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ decision. The Japanese government could either choose to accept the Declaration and be blamed by their people for doing so (and perhaps cause rebellions), or reject the Declaration and protect their pride, faith, and popularity among their people, but unintentionally sacrifice Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Neither result would have been fair to the Japanese government and people. However, they were at the disadvantage of not knowing about the United States’ new weapon, the atomic bomb. I think if the decision had been up to me, I would’ve chosen to reject the Potsdam Declaration as well. Like the Japanese people, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine what could be worse than several months more of air raids and fire bombings. In addition to that, if Japan had surrendered absolutely all of their Armed Forces because of a simple threat, that would’ve made the Japanese seem weak and easy-to-defeat. The Japanese people were very patriotic and prideful at that time, and I think rejecting the Potsdam Declaration was the more appropriate choice for Japan.
 * //EVALUATION of Japan’s decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration//**

__**TUPUP2**__
 * __Brief Summary/Events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __Bulleted List of features in the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __Brief Summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration__
 * __EVALUATION of Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration__

__**JIN JIN**__

1) Provide a brief summary of events that led up to the Potsdam Declaration Japan had captured China, French Indo-China,the Dutch East Indies, British-Burma, Singapore, Manchuria, Korea, The Solomon Islands, the Philippines, and Formosa in what they called a Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, they had plans to spread their empire all over Asia. While in the United States, Franklin Roosevelt was prepared to appease Japan in order to concentrate efforts on helping Britain and France defeat Hitler. However the U.S government continued to sell vital materials such as oil, scrap iron and steel to the Japanese. Roosevelt feared that a sudden economic boycott might prompt Japan to declare war, so he notified Japan of his plans to cancel its commercial treaty and hoped the economic pressure would deter Japan from expanding new territory. However it did not work and the USA had to cut off sales of many essentials to Japan. In an effort to frighten the USA, Japanese entered The Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. Soon, Germany surprised Japan by breaking their Non-Aggresssion Pact with Stalin and attacking Russia, whom Japan had signed a neutrality treaty with. Japan felt they were left with no choice but to join the war when U.S.A cut off their oil supplies. They suddenly bombed Pearl Harbor, and war ensued until Japan was near defeat. The allied countries- USA, the Soviet Union and Britain met at Potsdam Germany to discuss what would happen after the war. They issued a warning to Japan that warned them of “complete and utter distruction”.

2) Make a bulleted list of features in the Potsdam Declaration · unconditional surrender of all Japanese Armed Forces · good faith in promises to surrender · the alternative for Japan is complete and utter destruction. · fair warnings from USA

3) Provide a brief summary of reasons Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration Japan did not know about atomic bomb and underestimated the threat of “complete and utter destruction”. They simply thought that it would be continuous air raids and bombing as the Allied Powers had been doing. In addition, Japan was proud of the fact that they beat many powerful nations such as China and Korea, so they did not want to surrender.

4) And finally, EVALUATE Japan's decision for rejecting the Potsdam Declaration Japan made a grave mistake in rejecting the Potsdam Declaration. Not only would have acceptance of it prevented the tragic death of thousands of innocent civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it also would have spared Japan the humiliation and criticism from all over the world of valuing pride over civilians. Japan had continuous success in conquering other nations, which resulted in their refusal to surrender; even when it was clear to them, with the defeat of Germany and shortage of weapons that they could not win against the allied powers. Only when there was obviously no choice but to surrender after the dropping of atomic bombs, Japan signed the very treaty that could have spared them all this unnecessary grief.

All students must TYPE THEIR FIRST AND LAST NAME IN CAPITAL LETTERS, and BENEATH your name, cut and paste your paragraph which was completed in class to this wiki. Make sure your paragraph has a topic sentence which reflects the topic of the questions and which contains sufficient detail to support your analysis.
 * __ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF WWI ON BOTH JAPAN AND CHINA__

Andy Lin**

It had a huge impact on both of the nations, the WWI benefited the Japanese but deeply harmed China. The WWI made Japan gain a foothold in China- Shandong province. They were able to do it since that the west was busy fighting in Europe so Japan was allowed to do anything they want. Japan took over Shandong and later on presented China with the 21 demands. The 21 demands further strengthen the foothold in China for Japan. The 21 demands threatened China’s independence, especially the 5th article. Japan argued that China needed them for protection because they are all Asians. Japan, on the allied side, signed secret treaties with western countries that both sides wont interfere with the opposite sides interest. Japan got a lot out of this since that they could still be in Shandong. This shocked China since China expected a reward, because they were fighting on the allied side. Japan became a stronger nation while China was weakened. Japan got even stronger after the Paris Peace conference, which Japan got many pacific islands and was allowed to stay in Shandong. Afterwards, things got worse for China, Japan was able to keep on move in to China and basically dominate Asia.

MERCEDES LI Japan’s involvement with World War One allowed Japan to further expand into China and extend its power over China’s businesses and territories. Upon entering the War on the side of the Allies against Germany, Japan proceeded to capture German territory in China as the Allies were occupied with Germany in Europe. This occupation was followed by the ultimatum of the Twenty-One Demands upon China, provided Japan with further rights and powers in China, under the name of protection from racial injustice. Secret treaties with the Allied powers protected their rights after the ended of WWI by the Treaty of Versailles, which granted Japan with the German Pacific Islands, the German businesses in China, and right to remain in Shandong province in China. All of these events contributed to strengthen Japan and allowed Japan to expand over China and even most of South and East Asia, establishing it as a dominating imperial world power.

LEO CHEUNG

Japan and China have been impacted greatly by the WWI. Japan made a very wise decision to use WWI as an opportunity to expand their own empire. With no nations to stop their interest, they can do anything they want. They forced the Chinese to agree to the 21 Demands, which completely weakened the Chinese rights as well as independence. This action also gave Japan a tighter control of Shandong province. However, looking through the China’s perspective, injustice can be seen, as their effort in defeating Germany was not recognize or rewarded and they were forced to hand over Shandong to Japan. The Treaty of Versailles gave Japan the German Pacific Islands along with the German businesses in Shandong province. They also couldn’t be released from the 21 Demands since the foreign countries had signed secret treaties with Japan so that they would not interfere Japan’s actions. Japan benefitted from this war to gain control of parts of Asia, but China’s independence was threatened by Japan and became even weaker.

AUSTIN CHAN

In World War One, Japan expanded and conquered areas of China's, and took over local businesses and government posts. In the War, the Allied side had a nice addition: the Japanese. Fighting against Germany, Japan captured German territory in China as the Allies were occupied and busy with the German soldiers in Europe. This was followed by the 21 Demands, which were basically destroying China's independence as a whole, and giving Japan massive control over China. Treaties which were made in secret were kept after the Treaty of Versailles, whereas Japan took advantage of the German Pacific Islands, right to keep Shandong province and businesses in China. As a result, Japan expanded over China, and paved the road to becoming a global world power.

While World War One benefitted Japan in its desired expansion of territory and control in Asia, it severely threatened China’s independence. While the Allied nations in the West were busy fighting Germany, Japan recognized this as an opportunity to gain their long-wanted influence in China. Thus, they cleverly took advantage of the Western nations’ preoccupation. Shortly after joining the War on the Allied side after Great Britain’s formal request to Japan to assist them in destroying German warships in Chinese waters, Japan sent an ultimatum to the German government demanding the handover of Jiaozhou Bay and its business interests in Shandong Province. Receiving no reply, Japanese forces attacked Germany’s territory in Shandong Province on August 23. Eventually, on November 7, Germany surrendered Shandong to the Japanese. Following this, the Japanese government imposed a list of twenty-one demands on the Chinese government. The Twenty One Demands intimidated the Chinese because the fifth and final group of demands practically forced China to give up all control to Japan. Later on, when the Treaty of Versailles ended World War One, China expected some sort of reward from the Paris Peace Conference for participating and helping them fight against Germany during the War. However, Japan had signed secret treaties with the Allied nations, promising Japan the control of Shandong Province and many Pacific Islands if the Japanese would recognize and not interfere with the Allied nations’ gains in China as well. This wasn’t the end. Japan then continued on its journey to becoming the most powerful and influential nation in Asia, taking over a great amount of Asian countries and fighting several wars and battles. On the other hand, China’s independence was endangered and it was struggling more than ever to survive Japanese domination. The World War One really stimulated Japan’s long-lasting period of expansion and domination and in turn began China’s suffer from Japanese and Western influence.
 * SHERRY HSIAO**

HOSOO JIN World War I has let the road to expand land for Japan while China were breaking apart. WWI has greatly influenced both Japan and China. Since the Westerners were busy fighting among themselves, Japan took an advantage over it. They saw this as an opportunity to gain a foothold in China; especially the Shandong Province. Japan also won Germany's military. Japan then started invading over China. Chinese were gettin threatened. China felt discriminated and humiliated. China received no reward or recognition after WWI but instead had to allow Japan to take over Shandong China had to accept the 21 Demands. Because they didn't have no other choices, Japan's military spirit was at the peak after winning over he Germany military, while China had a poor military.Then eventually the relationship between China and Japan worsened.

 KAREN CHUI

WWI had a great impact on Japan and China. When it first started, Japan saw WWI as an opportunity to gain a foothold in China, specifically Shandong Province. It entered the war on allied side. Since the West was busy with WWI, Japan got a foothold in China. Japan issued the 21 Demands to China. This threatened China’s independence. It justified their presence in China based on racial issues. After WWI, China couldn’t get released from 21 Demands because Japan had signed secret treaties with allies, which promised to recognize Japan gains in China if Japan would not interfere with allied gains in China. China was double crossed after WWI because of secret treaties between Japan and the allies even though China helped fight against Germany. China received no reward or recognition after WWI, but instead had to allow Japan to take over Shandong. Treaty of Versaille ended WWI and Japan gained all German businesses in China, many Pacific islands and allowed Japan to stay in Shandong. Japan continued to expand into China and throughout Asia, fighting 2 Sino-Japanese wars, a Russo-Japanese war, taking over French Indo-china, Dutch West Indies, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc and killing many Chinese soldiers.

 Ryan Nam World War I had left considerable influence and impact on both China and Japan. One of the impact that the WWI had on Japan was the growth of Japanese economy and power since they had acquired new territory and also defeated the Germans proving their military power and might internationally.Also through this Japan was able to obtain a foothold in China. On the other hand, the WWI had greatly weakened China and their control over their own territories. The World War I basically left China helpless and barely clinging on to their independence as Japan had taken over Shandong and Manchuria and the 21 demands basically made China in the state of near-colonized by the Japanese. Also the World War I had made Japan many new allies as many of the Allies forces made secret treaties in Japan where each one recognized the other’s rights in China while China was betrayed and left alone as they gained nothing but lost more even though they had fought at the side of the Allies during the war. These were basically some of the major impact the World War I had on China and Japan.

DYLAN MEREDITH World War I was what the Japanese used to use as leverage to try to gain more of a grasp on China. This was because the Westerners were too preoccupied with their own issues involving World War I and couldn't afford to rush to China's aid and force the Japanese to back off. The Japanese forced the 21 Demands on the Chinese. The 21 Demands were a serious threat for China's independence, because the 21 Demands had justified Japan's presence in Chinese land based on racial issues. China was also unable to break away from the 21 Demands, or to do anything that wouldn't harm them further. This was because Japan had secretly signed treaties with other allies, all of which had agreed to recognize Japanese gains in China if Japan had agreed not to interfere with the Chinese gains. China was then betrayed after the end of World War I, even after helping fight Germany, because of the secret treaties Japan had forged with other allies. Besides getting no awards for compensations for their role in World War I, China's Shandong was taken over by the Japanese. The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I and the Japanese received German businesses in China, allowed Japanese to stay inside Shandong and China was beaten down once again.

Leon Zhang The impact of WWI was important for both Japan and China, in two completely different ways. During the war, Japan was allowed to wreak havoc and conquer many parts of China, while China had to watch them do this, and even after helping the Allies, could not get help to drive China out. Meanwhile, Japan won Germany’s territory and businesses in China while threatening China’s independence, making it stronger and putting it in a good position to continue to expand into China and Asia as a whole. China lost much territory, was humiliated, and instead of being rewarded, were hurt for their help in WWI.

Jason Chow WWI had a major impact on Japan and China that led to advantages and disadvantages that affected both countries. The Japanese had many advantages; they were able to gain much control over the Chinese land and also had control of Chinese rights and laws from the 21 Demands. Not only did they have these advantages they also had the support of the foreign powers, Japan showed no sign of slowing down with their expansion and industrialization, but on the other hand the China’s case seemed to going down in a slump. The Chinese faced many disadvantages, they had trouble earning control of their lands and maintaining rights over their land due to Japanese manipulation. One shocking event that happened to China was when the Western Nations granted the Japanese the control of Liaodong Peninsula and several other pacific islands during the Paris Peace Conference despite the fact that China had helped the Allies in WWI, which showed the unimportance of China to the Western powers. Overall, WWI resulted badly for the Chinese and boosted the Japanese status.

JINJIN XU Although World War One benefitted Japan both economically and in means of power, it severely threatened China’s independence. When it first started, Japan saw WWI as an opportunity to gain a foothold in China, specifically Shandong Province, since the west was busy with the war in Germany. So Japan entered the war on the allied side. After gaining much control over China, Japan soon issued the 21 Demands to China, the 5th article threatened China’s independence. Later on, China also entered the war on the allied side and when the allied side won WWI, China was double crossed at the Paris Peace Conference when China was not awarded for participating. Instead, Japan remained in China and even gained the old German territory in China due to Japan’s secret treaties signed with nations promising they would not influence their power in China. Japan then continued to expand territory, which at the time contained much of Asia. While Japan was successful, China was struggling to remain independent from Japan. World War One encouraged Japan’s success in expansion while caused China to suffer from Japanese and Western domination.

Jimmy Woo For Japan, the reward of WW1 was great. Japan was able to capture some of the lands in China including Shandong and Manchuria, and by acquiring the German’s Pacific Islands as a reward for entering WW1, they were able to move throughout Asia. On the other hand, China had multiple losses including Shandong Province and Manchuria, deaths from two Sino-Japanese Wars, and by the 21 demands, in the risk of losing their independence. They also did not receive any rewards from WW1, and they lost hope of being independent again by secret treaties Japan and the allied countries signed, which protected both the allied sides and Japan’s interest in China, further giving up spheres of influence in China.

Gordon Liu The impact of World War I on Japan and China was great, although in some ways it was negative and other ways it was positive. For Japan, the impact great, and Japan gained much from World War I. Japan joined the war on the Allied side, and as a result signed secret treaties with the Allies to keep their influence in China, issued the 21 Demands to threaten China’s independence at Japan’s own gain, and got a good deal from the Treaty of Versailles. Later on, Japan expanded into China and Asia, gaining much land in the process. On the other hand, China got the negative side of the deal, although also joining the war on the Allied side. As the West was busy in Europe, Japan walked all over China and took over Shandong, had their independence threatened by the 21 demands, got double crossed by the Allies by getting nothing in return for their effort. Japan went into another 2 wars with China, and then killed many Chinese soldiers, losing land in the process. China also couldn’t get released from the 21 demands at the end of the War.

Jun Geon Lee As a whole, the World War I benefited Japan, harmed China, and made tense the relationship between the two countries. Japan received the possession of Pacific Islands, Shandong, and other territories, whereas China received no reward and furthermore had to allow the Japanese to stay in their country due to the Secret Treaties. In addition, with Japan’s victory and China’s loss in the two Sino-Japanese Wars, Japan developed greatly, while China suffered great losses. With these results, the relationship between China and Japan tensed, for Japan was given privileges over China with the Treaty of Versailles, and made the 21 Demands, threatening the independence of China. But even for Japan, there were some downsides; with the refused membership from the League of Nations due to racial issues, Japan was greatly humiliated.