You are the representatives for Japan. It is your job to research and report on the events that led up to Japan's involvement in WWII. Here are some questions to guide your research. Who did Japan go to war with first? When did the fighting begin between Japan and China? Was Japan the aggressor or were they attacked by the Chinese? What was Japan's response to US economic sanctions? What happened at Pearl Harbor and what was Japans role? As a result of Pearl Harbor, who declared war on Japan? What other battles was Japan involved in during December of 1941 and who were they fighting against? Can Japan take any blame for causing WWII?
This site is a multimedia data base on the Second Sino-Japanese war. It includes information on the causes of and events leading up to the war, an image gallery, and video gallery as well as a number of links to more information on the war. http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/sinojapan.htm
This website has some general information on Imperial Japan, including their similarities to and alliance with Germany. http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jearnol2/MeijiRestoration/imperial_japan.htm
Here is information on Japanese-US relations and the economic sanctions placed on Japan by the US. Pay close attention to Japan's response to the sanctions. If you read section I, Abstract, closely you can glimpse reasons behind Japan's desire for territorial expansion. http://www.american.edu/TED/ice/japan-oil.htm
The next two links provide accounts of the battle at Pearl Harbor from first the Japanese and then the US perspective. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl2.htm
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl.htm
Here is a more objective account of the events at Pearl Harbor that includes Japanss reasons for attacking the US navy base and expansion into Southeast Asia. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq66-1.htm
This webpage has a lot of information on Thailand during WWII including the Japanese invasion of the country. http://www.geocities.com/thailandwwii/prachuap.html
This site provides information on the Battle of Hong Kong including background information on British-Japanese relations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hong_Kong
This page has a wealth of information on the battle for the Philippines during WWI. http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=46
This is information in the form a timeline on the invasion of both Malaya and Singapore (focus on Malaya). http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/15.htm
Here is some brief information on the battle for the Dutch East Indies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_East_Indies_campaign