Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

Mondo Military Updated on 2024-01-29

The main reasons for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are as follows:

Shortage of resources: After Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, it consumed huge resources, especially strategic materials such as oil and rubber. Japan relied heavily on imports of these supplies from the United States before the war, but the United States imposed an oil embargo on Japan in 1941, putting the Japanese war machine in danger of shutting down. To ensure that the war could continue, Japan needed to seize resource-rich colonies in Southeast Asia.

Threat to the U.S. Pacific Fleet: The U.S. Pacific Fleet is the biggest obstacle to Japan's expansion in the Pacific. In order to smoothly invade Southeast Asia in the south, Japan must first eliminate the threat of the US Pacific Fleet. Pearl Harbor was the main base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and as such became a prime target for Japan.

Soviet Threat: Japan's defeat at the Battle of Nomenkan with the Soviet Union in 1939 left Japan in awe of the Soviet Union's military might. In order to avoid the dilemma of being caught in a two-sided attack in the Asian theater, Japan decided to preemptively attack the United States and force the United States to fall into a passive position in the Pacific theater.

Japan's domestic political factors: At that time, there was a contradiction between the Japanese army and navy, and the navy formulated a strategy to go south in order to prove its worth. In addition, Japan's victories in the war of aggression against China and the theater in Southeast Asia led to the rise of domestic expansionist forces, who hoped to improve Japan's international standing by attacking Pearl Harbor.

Strategic Considerations: Japan believed that an attack on Pearl Harbor would temporarily gain military superiority in the Pacific and buy Japan time to occupy its resource-rich colonies in Southeast Asia as soon as possible. Japan did not intend to completely defeat the United States, but hoped to force the United States to negotiate and lift sanctions against Japan by attacking Pearl Harbor.

To sum up, the reason for Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was mainly to solve the problem of resource shortage, eliminate the threat of the US Pacific Fleet, avoid the threat of the Soviet Union, and meet domestic political needs. However, the sneak attack eventually triggered the United States to declare war on Japan, making Japan face an even more difficult situation in World War II.

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