World War II was a global conflict that took place over six years. The first conflict began in Asia between China and Japan, then in Europe when Germany invaded Poland. The Asian War, or otherwise known as the Second Sino-Japanese War, was the largest Asian war of the 20th century. Japan's long-standing desire to invade China and dominate it politically and militarily led the Japanese to invade Manchuria, attack Pearl Harbor, and then surrender after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan's thirst for domination over China and its raw materials led not only to the United States' involvement in World War II, but also to the creation of the atomic bomb and the destruction of Japan's two major cities . Japan's decisions and actions led to much loss of life and their eventual surrender in World War II, but through fire and smoke, Japan rose and matured to become one of the most prosperous nations in the world. During the 1920s, Japan launched an expansion plan. in Manchuria, then in China shortly after. So, in order to thwart these plans, America has implemented embargoes and sanctions. In 1940, Japan felt the consequences of the American export control law. In order to preserve its expansion goals, Japan felt it had no choice but to launch a preemptive strike against the United States. Under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japan gathered information, developed battle plans, and trained pilots for several months. Japan believed that by attacking first it would be able to prevent American forces in the Pacific from interfering with Japanese plans to invade the United Kingdom's colonies. They had no idea that such a move would trigger an all-out war between the two countries. The approximately two-hour bombing of Japan... middle of paper ...... took effect in 1952. After the war and seeing all the destruction, Japan adopted the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which state that " Japan will not possess or manufacture nuclear weapons, nor will it permit their introduction into Japanese territory.” After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese strongly opposed any kind of nuclear weapons on Japanese soil or waters. They witnessed the destructive and volatile properties of nuclear weapons and became one of the pioneers against the use or creation of such weapons. Now when you look at Japan, you see the world's second largest economy and the world leader in technology and machinery. Not only did Japan have to endure one of the most destructive disasters in world history, but it was also able to learn from that experience and become a great, prosperous nation..