One could say that the overall cause of WWi was western European colonialism as well as the existence of the Austro-Hungairan and Russian empires togther with the military or defensive alliances the European powers and states made between themselves. It was evident no war in Europe at the time was going to be a mere one-on-one contest between two countries, and wars events were going to drag nearly everyone into it.
Trade and the use of resources had been built up prior to WWI not by “free trade” but by imperial controls of emperial held lands and colonies and restrictions on access and trade that empires and states imposed for what they thought was their own protection and betterment. Japan would see the same thing tying up resouces and trade all around Asia, and mostly not by Asian powers.
Also the fact that England and France could never accept that there was a new kid on the block.
And our conflict with Japan in WWII, came from our continued support of French and British colonialism in Asia.
And that support of French colonialism also led to that thing called “Vietnam”.