Question about Japan attacking Pearl Harbor

[markjrubin]

My questions are:
Why did the Japanase attack Pearl Harbor? For control of the pacific in general, for hawaii's resources, for a base to attack mainland us?
What was their intent in bringing us into the war?

Mark

 

[TallBill]

they wanted complete and total destruction of our fleet.. and not bringing us into the war.. but they knew they were f'd anyways..

 

[swimeric]

I think they figured they would eventually get into a war with the US and figured that they'd take a preemptive strike and attempt to severely damage the pacific fleet

 

[Robert01]

During US imperalistic age, the people in the Philipines rebelled against Japan I think. The US helped them out. I could be wrong, and I probably am.

Pearl Harbor was also owned by Japan prior to US taking it. Also, there was a Gentlemen's Agreement between the US and a couple of other countries that ticked off Japan.

 

[markjrubin]

<< they wanted complete and total destruction of our fleet.. and not bringing us into the war.. but they knew they were f'd anyways.. >>



why destroy our fleet? in doing so, they must have known they'd get attacked

mark

 

[Beau]

The US had sanctions against Japan. It was really hurting their economy. Their attack on the US in a roundabout sick little monkey kinda way provoked but the US.

 

[GoSharks]

<<

<< they wanted complete and total destruction of our fleet.. and not bringing us into the war.. but they knew they were f'd anyways.. >>



why destroy our fleet? in doing so, they must have known they'd get attacked

mark >>



if they got our whole fleet, what would we be attacking with? the atlantic fleet that would have taken time to get over to the pacific? while they would be coming, the japanese would have been able to take away most of our pacific possessions.

 

[CCshamrocks02]

<< During US imperalistic age, the people in the Philipines rebelled against Japan I think. The US helped them out. I could be wrong, and I probably am. >>



Not even close on both counts. The Philippines were Spanish-controlled until 1898-99 when the US occupied them during the Spanish-American War. A revolution broke out and it was repressed by the US by 1900 (during an aggressive colonial expansionist period by the US). The islands were US territory until their independence in 1946 (the years 1942-1945 being an exception, the Japanese occupied the islands after forcing out MacArthur aroud Christmas Day 1941.



<< Pearl Harbor was also owned by Japan prior to US taking it. >>



Pearl Harbor was NEVER owned by Japan. The Hawaiian Islands were a kingdom ruled by a native monarch (the last one was Queen Lilio-something, I could never spell it without looking it up). In 1893 (I think was the year, it was the mid-1890s at any rate), American pineapple and sugar planters led by Sanford Dole (you've heard of Dole pineapple, that's the guy) overthrew the monarchy. They petitioned to become part of the US but Cleveland didn't feel it was right for America to become imperialist. Dole became prime minister of Hawaii, letting the queen continue in a role similar to QE2 today if i'm not mistaken. Finally in 1899 the United States annexed Hawaii, Hawaii becoming a state in 1959. At no time did the Japanese own Pearl Harbor or any Hawaiian territory. The reasons why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor are varied, but seeing as Japan needed to fight the US eventually to set up it's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (Japanese gvt's name for the Pacific Empire they were attempting). They decided destroying the Pacific Fleet unannounced was the best way to open the inevitable hostilities. The immediate reason we were attacked was that we had restricted raw materials such as oil from going to Japan--Japan was getting deperately low on oil and needed to get some quick--that was the short-term reason for the attack, or it's timing at least. If anything i have said here is erroneous, I apologize profusely, this is just what i remember from AP American history and my econ teacher's explanation (he has a history degree too).

 

[vegetation]

<<
Pearl Harbor was also owned by Japan prior to US taking it. . >>



Not true. Pearl Harbor belonged to the Kingdom of Hawaii before the US took control. Some parts were privately owned by Americans, like Ford Island, before being purchased by the US government.

 

[TRUMPHENT]

The military leadership of Japan thought that the attack on Pear Harbor would cause the U.S. to sign a seperate peace treaty. That would allow the japanese to consolidate its "Co-prosperity Sphere". The attack was an absymal strategic failure. The carriers were not in port. They were ferrying planes to Midway or putting into West Coast ports for refit. The repair facilities were left intact. That would prove cucial in following engagements. The failure to refuel and rearm the planes and send them again was the biggest military blunder of the war.

 

[Karaethon1]

As I recall from the movie Tora, Tora, Tora, the Japanese foresaw that they would be running out of resources before the end of the war, so they determined that they would either have to defeat the US, or somehow make a diplomatic agreement with the US to extract resources from southeast Asian countries. They prioritized that a diplomatic solution was what they were truly after, but that in the meantime, they would seek a plan to severely cripple the US Naval fleet in order to gain a large upper hand in the inevitable world. They made it a big point to destroy aircraft carriers, but for some reason, the US had cleverly moved all of their aircraft carriers to Midway prior to the attack (kinda makes you wonder). Anyhow, everything went to Japan's plan except for the fact that their diplomats couldn't translate Japan's declaration of war on the US fast enough, so not until after Pearl Harbor was bombed was war officially declared on the US...

 

[Scouzer]

<< As I recall from the movie Tora, Tora, Tora, the Japanese foresaw that they would be running out of resources before the end of the war, so they determined that they would either have to defeat the US, or somehow make a diplomatic agreement with the US to extract resources from southeast Asian countries. They prioritized that a diplomatic solution was what they were truly after, but that in the meantime, they would seek a plan to severely cripple the US Naval fleet in order to gain a large upper hand in the inevitable world. They made it a big point to destroy aircraft carriers, but for some reason, the US had cleverly moved all of their aircraft carriers to Midway prior to the attack (kinda makes you wonder). Anyhow, everything went to Japan's plan except for the fact that their diplomats couldn't translate Japan's declaration of war on the US fast enough, so not until after Pearl Harbor was bombed was war officially declared on the US... >>




I do believe the aircraft carriers were out on a routine training mission and just by luck their mission made it so they weren't in port at the time of the strike.

 

[Odoacer]

the japanese wanted to destroy the pacific fleet. our carriers were out of port, lucky us. There was this one japanese admiral who was a real bonehead (nagato i think was his name or something) and decided not to finish off what the first wave had started. repair facilities, airfields, and fuel tank farms were all left intact.

They knew war was inevitable, they just struck first.

 

[Passions]

The japanese had an embargo placed on them, and were pushed for resources like oil. They wanted to control all of asia, but of course, the US wouldn't allow it. So, they decided to bomb Pearl Harbor. Their whole thought was that the US would sign a treaty giving them asia, but they didn't know US would open a can of whoop ass instead. It was a fatal mistake, but one they knew most likely would happen anyway. You had militants in Japanese court pushing for war and action, if you did nothing, you were kick out and shamed.