To put these events in historical context, it should be understood that Japan's aggression in Korea and China in the decades leading up to WW II was viewed by many Japanese economic and military strategists as their only hope for survival in a hostile, racist world. Japan, a country with virtually no natural resources, had become increasingly dependent economically on the good will of other nations, particularly the United States, a country which had recently passed immigration laws discriminating against Asians. Domination of Korea and China, both politically in disarray and militarily weak at the time, seemed to offer a way out. Undoubtedly some Japanese also believed their own propaganda-that they were liberating the peoples of East Asia from the yoke of Western oppression to create a new era of collective prosperity-though their actions soon belied the claim. Thus, they became entrapped in a brutal eight year war that they could not win.