Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor Research Paper

Why Japan bombed Pearl Harbor The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor due to the fact that they felt threatened by recent decisions made by the United States, mainly that the Japanese had plans to expand into the Pacific at this time and when they saw that the US had set up in Pearl Harbor, they decided to act. They attacked Pearl Harbor hoping to cripple the US’ Pacific Fleet, aiming to regain the natural resources and use this as payback since the US froze their assets. The Japanese did this believing that they would be able to intimidate the US into giving them the resources and assets they desired to continue their expansion, yet as we know this was not the case. The first factor that played into the attack is that years prior and leading up

was aware of the rapid and aggressive expansion into the Pacific, and since they too were interested in these resources, “The United States also had an obvious interest in these natural resources, and in response to the Japanese aggression, the U.S. Congress placed restrictions on doing business with Japan. And, if that weren’t enough, Japanese assets in the United States were frozen”(Pearl Harbor Warbirds). Due to this, tensions between Japan and the U.S. began to rise. Not long after, the U.S. strategically deployed naval bases and troops in Pearl Harbor, a move interpreted by Japan as a direct challenge to their expansionist aspirations and a threat. Recognizing the growing tensions, Japan decided to strike. “Military leaders and politicians saw a war between the U.S. and Japan as inevitable, with the solution being to attack first. Japan did just that.” (Pearl Harbor Warbirds). This attack stunned America, and the amount of casualties would lead anyone to believe that the Japanese were successful in the attack, “A substantial portion of the U.S. Navy’s battle line was either sunk or damaged at its moorings, and American airpower in Hawaii was crushed. Thousands of U.S. servicemen lost their

Which in the long run, caused an immense loss for the Japanese. Despite this, one would argue from the point of view of the Japanese, especially during this time period, the attack on Pearl Harbor seems like a pretty reasonable reaction. Japan had been trying to expand into the Pacific, and during these times the U.S. began putting restrictions on their trades and U.S. assets.”the United States began passing economic sanctions against Japan, including trade embargoes on aircraft exports, oil and scrap metal, among other key goods” (The U.S. Was Trying to Stop Japan’s Global Expansion). Then not long after this, the U.S began setting up troops in Pearl Harbor, which was easily seen by the Japanese as a threat. The tensions arising from decisions made by the United States were unsurprisingly seen as threats against Japan’s personal political interests, which led them to plan and carry out the Pearl Harbor attack. In conclusion, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the result of years of tensions between the U.S. and Japan and a threat that prompted the Japanese to react the way they