Why did Japan start WWII?

Question:

Answer:

The Japanese entered into a serious effort at creating an empire of their own in Asia, in part inspired by the empires and colonies of Europeans nations. The European nations were claiming colonies throughout Asia, and the Japanese felt like they'd better create their own empire, or else risk becoming a colony like so many of their Asian neighbors. Their rationale was that they were "freeing" Asia from the Western outsiders. Of course this wasn't really true--they were just as brutal and greedy as the Western nations. Meanwhile, their campaign of expansion put them at odds with Western nations, and in response Western nations fought against them or did stuff like how the US created an oil embargo against them, which is what prompted the Japanese to declare war on the US.