The raid on Pearl Harbour was a short term success but a long term failure for Japan. What lead up to the events of Pearl Harbour? Is there evidence that the President of the United States knew about the attack in advance? Why was Japan expanding its borders? Exclusively using archive film footage and photographs, this first part of the 'Conflict in the Pacific' series is an astoundingly detailed and informative film. This programme examines the emergence of Japan as a major power, the US Neutrality Act, the Second Sino-Japanese War (China Incident), the Japanese occupation of Indochina, the Japanese strategy for war against the USA and Britain, the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the fall of Singapore, the bombing of Darwin, and the Japanese conquest of South East Asia.