Japanese Motivations for the Attack on Pearl Harbor

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, at 7:55 AM the Japanese Empire led a surprise attack on the US Naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, that would leave millions of Americans in shock, and heartbroken. Before the attack, the United States kept a low profile on International affairs, and concentrated on the domestic affairs at hand. This tragic moment in American history forever remembered. It is a mournful day for the American people, although, for the Japanese Empire it was an honorable day, one they would call a

Introduction: December 7 1941 marked a significant date, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval base, Pearl Harbour. The day after the attack, on December 8 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented his Infamy Speech to American civilians stating that; “Yesterday, December 7th 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. I asked that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on December 7 1941”. The purpose of this report is to show that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had no prior knowledge about the surprise attack supported by historical evidence in comparison to Robert Stinnett’s thoughts, the American journalist and former sailor that knew about the Japanese planning a attack on Pearl Harbour in advance.

December 7, 1941 was one of America’s darkest days. This was the day of the famous pearl harbor bombing. This attack came from the Japanese attacking the American Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack had been in the planning for many years to attack and weaken the United States Naval force. Japan wanted to do this to gain more superiority in the Atlantic and to grow their ties with European nations. In this paper I will talk about the people, the planning, the attack, and the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. It was indeed a great shock to the United States, many documents show that the bombing on Pearl Harbor was an attempt to stop the United States from entering into World War II. This attack was the turning in point World War II, and United States making the decision to help the Allies. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of its narcissistic political mentality and angered by United States placing the embargo act on oil.

On December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. On this horrific day over 2,400 Americans were killed by the bombs that the Japanese had dropped. A month preliminary to the attack, Japan sent a plenipotentiary to Washington to arrange the nation’s expansions in Asia. Although if the United States didn’t accept this aggression, Japan was ready to launch a surprise attack. President Roosevelt launched bombs to the Philippines between the Japanese and Dutch oil fields, before they had sent the plenipotentiary. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was over seven hours long, they were 353 Japanese fighter planes, torpedo planes launched bomb. They were a bombing blitz that destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft, had sunken 4 U.S. Navy battleships, and killed more than 2400 Americans with an additional 1,100 injured.

In Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War by Akira Iriye, the author explores the events and circumstances that ended in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base. Iriye assembles a myriad of primary documents, such as proposals and imperial conferences, as well as essays that offer different perspectives of the Pacific War. Not only is the material in Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War informative of the situation between Japan and the United States, but it also provides a global context that allows for the readers to interpret Pearl Harbor and the events leading up to it how they may. Ultimately, both Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Pacific War between

There were many events that led up to Japan making the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor. It all started with Japan wanting to expand their power. Japan was an island nation, it was

Jones, Sam J. "Japan, China, the United States and the Road to Pearl Harbor, 1937–41 -

December 7th, 1941, was the day 2,403 Americans lost their lives and 1,200 wounded during the Japanese air raid, on Pearl Harbor. On this day, the US Navy lost almost the entire Pacific Fleet in the harbor. After the attack, all the ships were either sunk or severally damaged minus the aircraft carriers. The aircraft carriers luckily were still at sea. The total number of military personnel killed was 2,335, including 2,008 navy personnel, 109 marines, and 218 army. Added to this were 68 civilians, making the total 2403 people dead. 1,177 men alone were from the USS Arizona.

In my article I am going to be talking about how the Japanese attacked a Naval Base in Hawaii called Pearl Harbor. I will be taking on the perspective of a U.S military personnel, who experiences the attack first hand. Throughout my paper I will also show the reactions of the people who lived on the Naval Base, and how this attack affected America to this day.

Japan's Attack on Pearl Harbour In December 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese. It was the consequence of a series of events which brought tension between Japan and America to boiling point. Japan was a country growing in power and stature and America soon came to realise that this growth could prove a threat to them. America aimed to stop Japan's growth in its tracks as they realised that if the situation was left to evolve much longer then the situation may be out of their control.

The notice for an attack would come via an intercepted transmission on December 6 to the Japanese Ambassador detailing a secretive 14 part message due to be transmitted and when advised, given to the American authorities. 13 parts were received and deciphered before midnight on December 6. Those 13 parts contained a history from Japan's perspective on what had happened in the war thus far and how they felt about it. Part 14, the most important part, was received by the decoders at 4am on December 7. By 10am they had deciphered and sent it to President Roosevelt. At 10.30am an addition to the message was received. It detailed that the message was to be handed over by the Ambassador at 1pm that afternoon. This also happened to be the time for the first attack however no location was given. Henry L Stimson the Former Secretary of War as recorded in What Happened at Pearl Harbour states the following regarding the MAGIC code:

The bombing of Pearl Harbor has remained a significant event in United States history. On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched an attack on the US naval base in Oahu, Hawaii. It specifically targeted military objectives and the US Pacific Fleet. The results following the two hour and fifteen minute raid destroyed 177 planes, sunk or damages eighteen ships, and left nearly 4,000 Americans dead. This attack on US soil spiked extreme patriotism throughout the nation and directly lead Americans into World War II. Since then, Pearl Harbor has been portrayed as a surprise attack on an unsuspecting country. However, American hands are not completely clean in this matter. Although it may have been a surprise to those in Hawaii, this was not the case in Washington. Information regarding the knowledge of an attack on Pearl Harbor was in fact intentionally withheld from American commanders. Through President Roosevelt’s desire to join the war, and the lack of communication between Washington and Hawaii, Pearl Harbor came to be one of the most tragic events in United States history.

Thesis: Japan has reasons why they chose to attack the United States; the attack on Pearl Harbor impacts Japanese Americans in the United States and the United States economy.

It was a quiet afternoon when all The soldiers were in The mess hall still in their pajamas eating and talking. At 7:55 the Japanese attacked with the first wave of 408 aircraft and 6 aircraft carriers. The attack only lasted for 110 minutes to 7:55 to 9:45. Bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans, completely destroyed the American battleships. There were eight battleships at Pearl Harbor that day, which included all the battleships of the U.S. Pacific fleet. Only 28 Japanese planes were shot down and 5 midget submarines sunk. 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others damaged. A total of 2,335 U.S. servicemen was killed and 1,143 were wounded. Sixty-eight civilians were also killed and 35 were wounded. My main conflict for this essay is Japan, China, the United States and the Road to Pearl Harbor, 1937–41. Between 1937 and 1941, escalating conflict between China and Japan influenced U.S. relations with