Much of the metal, oil, and other materials that Japan used for its war effort in China came from the United States. Americans did not like selling Japan materials to use against China. But the trade was legal because of a nineteen eleven agreement between Tokyo and Washington. However, the American government told Japan in nineteen thirty-nine that it would end the earlier agreement. It would no longer sell Japan materials that could be used for war. Washington's decision made the Japanese government think again about its expansionist plans. And the announcement a month later of the peace treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union gave Tokyo even more cause for concern. The Soviet Union could be a major opponent of Japanese expansion in eastern Asia. And it appeared free from the threat of war in Europe. These two events helped moderates in the Japanese government to gain more influence over foreign policy. A moderate government took power in January, nineteen forty. However, this period of moderation in Tokyo did not last long. In the spring of nineteen forty, Germany launched its lightning invasion of Europe. The Nazis captured Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and finally France. Extremists in the Japanese government saw the German victory as their chance to launch their own attack on European colonies in Asia. They quickly began negotiations with Hitler to form a new alliance. And within months, militant leaders overthrew the moderate government in Tokyo. The new Japanese government was headed by a moderate, Prince Konoye. But its minister of war was an expansionist, General Tojo. Tokyo wasted no time in taking action. It forced France to give Japan permission to occupy northern Indochina. And Tokyo also demanded that Britain close the Burma road to the Chinese city of Chungking. These events caused relations between Tokyo and Washington to become even worse. In the second half of nineteen forty, President Roosevelt banned the export of metal and oil products to Japan. His administration also lent money to China. And American representatives quietly began to meet with British and Dutch officials to discuss joint defense plans for possible Japanese attacks in the western Pacific. Washington and Tokyo held long negotiations in nineteen forty-one. The American officials hoped the negotiations might delay Japan from launching an attack to the south. They also thought that a delay might give more moderate leaders in Japan a chance to gain more influence. And for a time, the American plan worked. Japan did not make new acts of aggression. Again, events in Europe caused this situation to change. Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in the middle of nineteen forty-one. This prevented Moscow from doing any fighting on its eastern borders. So, Japanese troops were free to invade southern Indochina. Continued Japanese Path to WW2, Page 3