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Essay On Japan's Attack On Pearl Harbor

Decent Essays

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a result of several events associated with Japan’s mission to dominate Eastern Asia and the South Pacific. Before the 1930’s, Japan had one the world’s most prosperous economies due to the British economic slump in the 1920’s. The Japanese overtook the markets the British had previously dominated. This economic growth only lasted for ten years. In the early 1930’s, Japan suffered its largest economic downturn as a result of the World Great Depression. During this time, many countries stopped trading with Japan, leading to a 50% drop in their exported goods. The Japanese government believed if they moved away from a Western-style free market economy, they would recover from their economic crisis. The Japanese thought returning to a state-controlled economy would further alleviate the financial problems. However, these actions did not correct their economy. The Japanese people blamed their …show more content…

Knowing they would deplete their resources in two years, they began stripping the resources from territories they were occupying in China. Additionally, they began negotiations with the United States and its Allies. The United States wanted Japan to cease the invasion of China. When negotiations between the United States and Japan stalled, an impatient Japan declared war against the United States, Great Britain, and Holland. Japan’s plan included destroying the Pacific fleet in an effort to spread its forces across the South Pacific. In 1941, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto proposed an attack on Pearl Harbor. The US Ambassador to Japan, Joseph C. Grew, informed the US government of this planned surprise attack. However, due to the distance between the two countries, senior US military experts did not believe this plan could be executed. As a result of the US Ambassador’s information, the US Intelligence Office began monitoring Japanese messages using a decoding machine called

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