Question

Why did the Japanese bomb the Pearl Harbor? Did the Americans and Japanese have any disputes before the Pearl Harbor bombing?

Answer 1

The bombing of Pearl Harbor was during the \[I\]\[World\]\[War\](i think) and was a surprise attack from the Japanese to the Hawaiian Coast, the largest US Navy Harbor, and was because of the fact that it was so big, Japan wanted to destroy it so that they would win the war, but the attack was unsuccesful and was countered by the US Air force.

*NOTE I haven't taken World history in about 3 years, so this may not be accurate.

Answer 2

well it was WWII but anyway....so they bombed it just for no reason?

Answer 3

just because they were intimidated?

Answer 4

pretty much, they believed that they were going to lose in the Allies brought in the US, which they did anyway, and because of the Nations LARGE navy, they destroyed it all.

Answer 5

Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese for several reasons.

1. When the Japanese decided to attack America, they knew that almost all of the immediate forces were naval. Hence, they decided to bomb pearl harbor, as it held the majority of the American naval forces in the pacific. By bombing the navy, they managed to cripple any efforts at an attack force following them immediately to retaliate.

2. Geography. They also decided to attack pearl harbor, but i believe the final decision was not made until approximately 2 to 3 days before the attack. Other targets included San Francisco, large coastal cities, etc. They decided upon pearl harbor because it was closer to japan than the U.S., and they would have less distance to travel. The closer they came to the U.S. coast, the larger the chance of being detected, and forced to turn back. Also, if they attacked the mainland, they would have to pass Hawaii on the way back, and by that time a force would be following them.

3. Deception. While the Japanese navy was steaming towards Hawaii, their ambassadors in D.C. were trying to convince the government that japan would not attack. Unfortunately for them, some people were getting suspicious. The fleet decided to attack then, instead of risking the longer journey to the coast.

Answer 6

so there are no preceding disputes between Japan and US?

Answer 7

Japan believed it'd scare the us out of the war

Answer 8

Japan's industrial and military machines needed oil, a lot of it, and their aggressive actions in China and French Indochina had forced the United States to first try to deal with them diplomatically, and when that didn't work, implemented embargoes on shipping raw materials to them. The US finally halted shipment of oil to Japan order to force them to the bargaining table.

The Dutch East Indies had the oil they needed and plans were being drawn up to invade them which would have made the embargo pointless. But something had to be done about the US to keep them from interfering with their plans. Japan saw the embargo as an act of provocation since they were so dependent on it. From their perspective, it was the US that was threatening their ability to be self-sustaining - even when they went ahead to conquer everything around them to get what they needed.