The correct answer is C .: Japan needed access to natural resources,enabling Japan to build an empire. Industrialization helped Japan to grow and develop. As the industry grew, Japan was modernizing at great speed. This led Japan to try to build an empire. The rapid industrialization and militarization of Japan caused it to emerge as a world power and to establish a colonial empire. The Japanese military force defended the empire and prosperity by obtaining the natural resources that the Japanese islands did not have.