So basically they wanted to build an empire sort of like that of Great Britain the United States and from that they could extract natural resources, exploit labor and build new trade routes and become one of the world's great powers.īut while japan had big ambitions there was one huge problem, the Japanese mainland did not have the natural resources required to build that empire. So Japan had spent much of the early 20th century modernizing its economy and its military. So why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in the first place and how did Japanese miscalculation in planning the attack doom them to defeat in the Second World War? Well to answer that question we first need to go back to the 1930s. However, the attack would also change the course of the Second World War and spell ultimate doom for Imperial Japan. Scheduled for the 7th of December, the attack would take the Americans by complete surprise paralyzing their fleet for months and costing thousands of lives. Their target, the U.S Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor. On the 26th of November 1941, a Japanese attack fleet consisting of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, and hundreds of aircraft departed from Japan and began the long journey to an assembly point 230 miles north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Instead of reverting to isolationism, the U.S geared up for total war and Japan's fate was sealed. Though Japan took its objectives in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, the U.S did not respond as expected. The attack at Pearl Harbor was a huge gamble, but one which did not pay off. To blunt that response, Japan decided to attack the U.S Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, hoping that the U.S would negotiate peace.
However, striking south into British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies would almost certainly provoke an armed U.S response. Having lost 94% of its oil supply and unwilling to submit to U.S demands, Japan planned to take the oil needed by force. When Japan occupied French Indochina in 1941, America retaliated by freezing all Japanese assets in the states, preventing Japan from purchasing oil. Meanwhile, the USA was slowly awakening from its isolationism. After capturing Manchuria, Japan became bogged down in a full-scale war with China in 1937 and had to look elsewhere for the resources it needed to fight. However, Japan lacked the natural resources to make it a reality, with all but 6% of its oil supply being imported. Japan had been modernising its economy throughout the 20th century and wanted to build an empire of its own. Japan attacked the U.S Pacific Fleet at its base at Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December 1941, but what led to that decision? Why did the Japanese attack the USA? - The answer is oil.
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