Dr. Mark Roehrs discusses the expansion of the Japanese military starting with their victory over Russia in 1905.  He explains the role Japan played in the First World War and the political system that developed in Japan after WWI.  He emphasizes the impact the Great Depression had on Asian countries and Japanese dependence on American products.  Roehrs talks about the dynamic between the Japanese military and the emperor.  He discusses the invasion of Manchuria and the U.S. response.  He goes into the military commanders of the Japanese and the United States and the rising tensions between the two nations.  He explains why the President Roosevelt moved the American Pacific Fleet to Pearl Harbor and the Japanese plan to destroy the U.S. naval presence in the Pacific.  Roehrs covers Admiral Yamamoto's plan and the situation that led to the American military being susceptible to attack.  He does include the mistakes the Japanese made at Pearl Harbor will giving them a large amount of credit for a near flawless attack.  He details the events on the morning of December 7, 1941 in Hawaii.  He concludes with a review of the conspiracy theory that FDR or Churchill knew about the attack and allowed it to occur to get the U.S. into WWII.

HOST:  Rob Mellon

FEATURED BREW:  Big Wave Golden Ale, Kona Brewing Company, Hawaii

BOOK:  WWII in the Pacific
https://www.routledge.com/World-War-II-in-the-Pacific/Renzi-Roehrs/p/book/9780765608369

MUSIC:  Bones Fork