Why did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor?

What was Pearl Harbor?

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. It was one of the great defining moments in history. There were two aerial attack waves, totaling 353 aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida led the air attack. In one stroke, the Japanese navy scored a brilliant success and assured their eventual defeat. The aim of the strike was to protect Imperial Japan's advance into the Dutch East Indies and Malaya- for their natural resources such as rubber and oil, by neutralizing the U.S. Pacific Fleet. This led to the American entry in World War II.

The Western Countries led by the US had imposed crippling sanctions on Japan because of it's invasion of China. This hampered the Japanese military operations. Japan entered into diplomatic negotiations with US to break the impase. They used this time to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor.

The majority of the Japanese fleet had to sail over 4000 miles to get from its base to where the aircraft carriers could launch their planes for Hawaii. Its planes arrived just before 8AM on 7 December. Shortly five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. The most significant casualty was the USS Arizona. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and 2388 Americans were dead. Critical fuel storage, shipyard, maintenance, and headquarters facilities were not hit.

For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan's far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by significant opposition. The Battle of Midway in early June 1942 had eliminated much of Japan's striking power.

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor for different reasons:-

• President Roosevelt had banned all exports of scrap iron, steel and oil to Japan. The reason for the embargo was the Japanese invasion of China. Japan had lost more than 90% of its oil supply. This crippled their economy and military.
• The belief that Western powers were hostile to Japan.
• The United States wanted Japan to withdraw from Indo-China.
• The US opposed Japanese expansion and Japan’s demands were not being achieved by diplomacy.
• The Japanese were keen on expanding their empire and had to make a decision between surrendering or going to war with the United States.
• They wanted the US to acquiesce to their expansion into Asia.
• Pearl Harbor was the home of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Japan did not want the U.S. in the war because the U.S at this time had the greatest Naval force. They concluded that if the Pacific Fleet was destroyed, Americans would feel demoralized and not want to fight.
• The belief that Japan could defeat the United States. They convinced themselves that a devastating attack would dishearten the Americans and lead to cracks in the fabric of the American society that would threaten its stability.