Why Did Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor

The United States remained neutral in World War II until the Japanese executed a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored at Pearl Harbor located in Hawaii. This attack resulted in the United States entering into World War II, both the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific. The event that took place on December 7, 1941 was and still remains a significant event in American and world history. Why did the Japanese choose to attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii over other possible attack locations? Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was worried that the successful attack on Pearl Harbor would be short lived by his statement, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

Prior to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, there were significant events that were indicators that an attack was imminent. In September 1940, the United States employed embargos on Japan that barred the exportation of steel, iron and fuel to Japan. This is a direct result from Japan attacking and taking over northern French Indochina. During the months of June and July in 1941, Japan conquered southern Indochina, which caused the United States, Britain and the Netherlands to freeze Japanese assets. This

The shallow water allowed for easy salvage of ships and allowed them to be repaired. Since the ships were anchored in port most of the crews were on shore leave and survived the attack or were rescued from the harbor. Timing also played a crucial role, during the attack none of the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers were not at port. The ships that were anchored in Pearl Harbor were situated in such a way that it was a trap for the Pacific Fleet. The Japanese were attempting to sink as many ships as they could. By striking across the mountains, from aircraft carriers, the Japanese navy was able to knock out several large ships including cruisers and