Akira Iriye's "Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War" is a book that takes a critical look at the events leading up to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II and the United States' joining of the war.
The book gives a unique perspective of the causes of the war.
It does so by examining the interaction between Japanese foreign policy and international relations during the war period and gives a careful analysis of diplomatic correspondence.
Iriye argues that the attack on Pearl Harbor was not a sudden and irrational act, but actually the result of the decisions made in Tokyo with many different influential factors.
The book is divided into two parts.
The first part includes documents associated with the Pacific war
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One strength of the book is its analysis of the attack from a broader international perspective.
Irye argues that Japan's quick rise to being a major power during war times created an environment because of a growing sense of insecurity and frustration with the international status quo.
These factors pushed the Japanese government into pursuing a more aggressive foreign policy.
He explains that the events building up to the war were, both domestically and internationally, influenced by political, economic, and military factors.
Iriye explains the convoluted issues behind Pearl Harbour in an international context.
The author emphasizes the importance of the incident and its impacts on history while identifying the countries that played major roles at that time.
He goes further to expand upon the wars engaged by China, Japan, Britain and the US for many years preceding the event, making clear how the conflicts in Europe and Pacific, over time, took the shape of a global conflict.
Iriye's also offers an insightful perspective of the Japanese government's decision-making process in
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Initially, Japan took a defensive position towards the United States because of its activity within Pacific Asia.
Namely its occupation of Pacific islands like Guam, Hawaii and Samoa.
The United States' relations with allied powers, Britain and France were also an influential factor.
However, Japan soon felt economically threatened by the United States.
Before 1941, More than 80% of Japan's oil imports came from the United States.
In spring of 1941, when Japan took control of French Indo-China, the United States banned oil exports to Japan as this was seen as a threat to allied powers.
This essentially pushed Japan to declare war against the United States.
Iriye's "Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War" also helps us to understand the causes of World War II.
Iriye depicts the errors of communication between the United States and Japan leading up to the Pearl Harbor Attack.
According to the diplomatic documents presented in the book, the United States disregarded Japan's attempts to improve relations while neglecting the threat that Japan posed, placing some of the blame on the United