Human civilization has been thousands of years, and World War II was the most tragic war, with 14 years of fierce fighting, more than 70 million people died due to war, involving 61 countries, not including the number of indirect deaths due to war.
Among them, Japan, as one of the Axis powers, committed heinous crimes against dozens of countries in Asia. The casualties inflicted on China alone amounted to 35 million. This shows the depth of Japan's crimes.
Although the world is generally at peace after World War II, local conflicts and tensions still exist, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has been fought for more than 2 years and is still in a stalemate.
With the arch fire of the United States and NATO, the dark clouds of World War III have always shrouded people's hearts. If this catastrophic war does break out again, some people wonder who Japan will be the first to attack at that time.
In fact, a German expert on such a question once expressed his opinion in "Deutsche Welle". After in-depth analysis and research, he gave his own prediction: Japan's first target, most likely the United States. This prediction is not groundless, but is based on the historical enmity between the United States and Japan and the complex reality of the relationship.
Looking back at World War II, in order to expand its sphere of influence, open up oil transportation routes, and realize its ambition to dominate the world, Japan raided Pearl Harbor in the United States in 1941 without saying hello. Inflicted heavy losses and casualties on the US military, and most importantly, lost face. This made the United States, which was originally watching the fire from across the strait and reaping the benefits of fishermen, to join World War II and fire on Japan.
In order to retaliate against the Japanese army, the United States built a huge navy, built 155 aircraft carriers, and launched a fierce attack on Japan in the Pacific theater. In addition, the battlefield was also expanded to the Japanese mainland, and the US military used air force bombers to carry out hundreds of large-scale bombings on Japan, and the bombing of Tokyo alone killed more than 500,000 people and left millions homeless. Succeeded in cornering Japan.
However, Japan was not convinced, because it was supported by militarist ideology, and the Japanese emperor even formulated a plan of "100 million jade pieces" to fight the last man and prevent the landing of US troops. Seeing Japan's attitude of stubborn resistance, the United States was not accustomed to it, and directly dropped two atomic bombs, which severely damaged Japan's strength and made it unable to resist anymore.
With the rise of two mushroom clouds, two military-industrial cities were destroyed, and more than 300,000 people were killed and wounded. Japan completely lost its temper and was full of desire to survive, and then accepted unconditional surrender.
This does not mean that Japan has been subdued, and until now, Japan has always believed that if it did not have these two atomic bombs, they would not necessarily lose, and have always had illusions. So the ambition to dominate the world has never disappeared. For Japan, the United States is undoubtedly an unforgettable enemy. It was, and still is, a roadblock on its path to domination. At present, Japan's willingness to be the little brother of the United States is nothing more than "enduring humiliation."
After World War II, the United States began to vigorously support Japan in order to gain Asian advantages and suppress the Soviet bloc. With the support of the United States, Japan's economy was rebuilt and rapidly developed, becoming one of the great powers in Asia, and at one time its economy was the second largest in the world.
But this dependence on the United States has also caused Japan to lose its independence to some extent. At present, the United States has a large number of military bases in Japan, stationed about 30,000 troops, and this has made Japan militarily closely monitored by the United States and constrained everywhere.
Against this background, in the event of another world war, Japan may well choose to launch an attack on the United States. The US troops stationed in Japan were the first to suffer.
On the surface, Japan's military development is restricted, but in fact, Japan has long ignored the pacifist constitution and built seven helicopter carriers, purchased hundreds of fifth-generation aircraft, and more than 400 long-range missiles. The deepest hidden is its nuclear material stockpile, and it is reported that Japan can build thousands of nuclear bombs if it wants to. So, on the whole, Japan has the strength to fight the United States.
At the same time, the high quality of the Japanese army and the unity of the domestic population gave Japan a certain advantage in the war. In addition, the United States has many enemies around the world, and once war breaks out, the United States will have to face pressure from many sides.
At this time, if Japan chooses to launch an attack on the United States, it will take the United States by surprise, so from a strategic point of view, Japan's choice of the United States as the target of attack is reasonable to a certain extent.
Of course, this is just a prediction and speculation. We do not want to see the outbreak of war, let alone the devastation of any country. However, in the current international situation, we have to be prepared to meet various challenges. Only in this way can we ensure the security and stability of the country.