| Date | May 2017 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 17M.1.BP.TZ0.10 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Analyse | Question number | 10 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The sources and questions relate to Case study 1: Japanese expansion in East Asia (1931–1941) – Responses: International response, including US initiatives and increasing tensions between the US and Japan.
Source K
Chihiro Hosoya, a Japanese professor of history, writing in the article “Miscalculations in Deterrent Policy: US-Japanese Relations, 1938–1941”, for the academic publication Journal of Peace Research (1968).
According to a US public opinion survey of late September [1941], the number of Americans favouring strong action against Japan had greatly increased. Furthermore, Roosevelt stated on 12 October that the United States would not be intimidated. The Tripartite Pact had worsened relations with the United States. Japanese army officers demanded an acceleration of southern expansion. Even before the Tripartite Pact, Japan had demanded permission to move troops into southern Indochina and did so on 28 July. The Japanese pressures on Indochina led the US government to freeze Japanese assets in the United States and to impose an embargo against Japan. Officers in the Japanese navy were resolved to go to war because of the oil embargo. They were anxious about the existing supply of oil turning the Japanese navy into a “paper navy” [powerless navy].
With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source K for an historian studying the tensions between the US and Japan.
Markscheme
Value:
- The source was written in 1968 and therefore offers a retrospective view within a generation of the actual events.
- It offers detailed analysis of US-Japanese relations between 1938 and 1941 with focus on the reasons for the escalation of tensions.
- The purpose is to analyse in depth the growth of tensions between Japan and the US. Because it is an article written by a Japanese academic, it is likely to offer a well-informed Japanese perspective of events.
Limitations:
- Because it discusses a very narrow period of time, it does not consider the tensions between the US and Japan between 1931 and 1937.
- Focused on the deterrent policy, it doesn’t place US-Japanese relations in the broader context of the Second World War.
- The author's nationality may have influenced his perspective of events.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. The focus of the question is on the value and limitations of the source. If only value or limitations are discussed, award a maximum of [2]. Origin, purpose and content should be used as supporting evidence to make relevant comments on the value and limitations. For [4] there must be at least one reference to each of them in either the value or the limitations.
