Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor?
490040
the U.S. stopped trading with Japan because Japan was an imperialist power which means they wanted to take control of China's resources and/or goods for their own profit.
383035
Holy cow, some really horrible answers so far........\n\nThe US had imposed economic sanctions on Japan because of their invasion and occupation of Manchuria, and their invasion and occupation of most of Western China.  We wanted them to withdraw from China, and imposed increasingly stringent sanctions that were hurting the Japanese economy, which not only prevented them from supporting their military activities but also hurt civilian production and consumption.\n\nThe Japanese decided that the best way to get the resources they needed (primarily tin, rubber, oil and other natural resources)  was to invaded the resource rich Dutch East Indies.  They also felt they needed to invade US possessions in the Phillipines and the Central Pacific in order to provide an outlying perimeter to protect their conquests.  The Japanese were well aware that such actions would cause the US, Enland, and the Dutch to declare war on them.  Since the English and Dutch were heavily involved in the war in Europe against Germany and Italy, the only real threat the Japanese faced was the US, primarily the US Pacific Fleet which was based at Pearl Harbor.  \n\nTherefor the Japanese devised a plan whereby they would launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, crippling the US Pacific Fleet to the point where it couldn't interfere with their plans for quite some time.  By the time it could, the Japanese would have built up their outlying perimeter making it extremely difficult for any US fleet to interfere.  They also hoped that the attack would so horrify the US civilian population that the US government would sign a peace treaty and accept the status qou.  Admiral Yamamoto and other high level militarly leaders warned that if the US decided to go to war, it was a war that Japan could never win because of the industrial and economic might of the US.\n\nSo, the attack was in response to US sanctions, sanctions which crippled the ability of the Japanese to conduct their war in China.  Since they were unwilling to give up their conquests there, and any further invasion would bring about war against the US, they decided on launching a surprise attack.\n\nHerbmueller99 gave a very short, essentially correct answer. Bobmarley and karatekaty are pretty much dead wrong, and everybody else besides nywrek are almost dead wrong. Nywrek is generally correct, although it was no secret that Germany, Japan, and Italy had signed the Tripartite Pact, and the entire USN wasn't based at Pearl Harbor, just a majority of the Pacific Fleet.\n\nHigh school and college history teachers must be doing a lousy job nowadays, or people simply don't read anymore.
593316
1937 is the year to remember because this is when China and Japan go to war. Prince Konyoye, Japan's Foreign Minister and Hidikei Tojo, Japan's military dictator want a Pacific Rim Empire. They believed Japanese people were ethnically superior to the people in the surrounding countries. As Japan grew industrially it needed raw materials and therefore, it had to invade territories to get them like the Dutch East Indies and China. \n\nThe U.S. placed an embargo on Japan after the China invasion. The one good of importance was oil. Since the U.S. could control oil imports to Japan and the US was cutting Japan off Japan felt threatened by the US fleet at Pearl harbor. Around this time Konyoye flew to Berlin to sign the axis pact with Italy and Germany. \n\nDuring this time Admiral Yammato was testing new torpedoes and bombing techniques to prepare his strategy for attacking Pearl Harbor. At the same time Japan decided to negotiate with the US, but it was a stall for time. On Dec 6,1941 the war department intercepted a message to the Japanese embassy in Washington, which contained everything but a declaration of war. The Japanese government wanted the US to know of an upcoming attack, but waited until the seventh to deliver the ultimatum. However the embassy in Washington delivered the declaration of war after Pearl had been attacked. Yammato was shocked and uttered "I'm afraid we've woken a sleeping giant."
564381
For all the self righteous folks above me and especially for "medusaswrath".  Before you condemn the United States to hell for doing what it though best to protect YOU and other citizens, you might want to consider this.\n\nWhen the Japanese were placed into the internment camps they did receive one benefit.  They were safe from a mob mentality that sought out any and all people of Asian descent.  You understand, they all look alike.  The potential for the streets to run red with Asian blood was very real.  After all, Japan and hence Japanese were the enemy.\n\nNow before your little gasket blows, be assured I don’t necessarily feel the actions taken by the Government were right.  At the same time I wasn't there and I think we can all agree that we know more today than they did on Dec. 8, 1941.  Also I have seen two of the camps mentioned.  It was a very bad life for the people held there.  Housing too small to hold one death row inmate would have an entire family living in it.\n\nIf you really want to get indignant about something, try this.  On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Fleet attacked the American Fleet while they rested at anchor in the waters of Pearle Harbor, Hawaii.  That is a well documented fact.  So why did President Roosevelt ask for a declaration of war the next day against Germany as well as Japan?\n\nThese things are complicated and best handled by people with the most information available to them.  It is wrong to judge a President months, years or decades after the fact.  When the day comes that you have to make a life and death decision, you have to make it in minutes or even seconds, and it turns out to be less than a perfect call when evaluated 50 years later, I really hope I can be around to beat you up for trying to safe my life.\n\nI do believe you hit a nerve.  Thanks I needed to wake up.
898300
Yes the destruction of the pearl harbor during ww2 was the victory for united states and it's allies during the second world war because it made united states to get up and fight back and help those allied nation in trouble, but some other people recognize that the attack in pearl harbor was a lose because united states didn't preapare for the surprise attack, true all of this are true but losing in the first place making you recognized how to lose and stand up like a person, the attack on pearl harbor was a great lose of life for american navy but this lose is just the begining for u.s they now feel how the war really mean to everyone during ww2 all the lose of american navy during ww2 was paid for Blood, and winning the war had become a matter of time and of lives!
342821
it helped delay Japanese advancement through the Phillippines and through the Pacific as a whole, which possibly could have saved Australia from a potential invasion by Japansese forces.  \n\nIt gave time for the US to get their fleet back in order to continue the war, and it cost the Japansese some of their finest troops.
200761
Both.\n\nThe Japanese knew that it was only a matter of time before the United States would enter the war, so they took a gamble to strike pre-emptively to keep America out of the war.\n\nTheir intent was not to scare America into submission, but to cripple the Pacific fleet enough so that it would take them over a year to rebuild. By that time, the Japanese figure that they would have entrenched themselves in the conquered territories to make it impossible for America to get them out.\n\nThey made a few mistakes:\n1) They underestimated America's industrial power. Under normal non-war conditions, it would have taken over a year to repair the fleet, but when all of America converted to war production, it took only a small fraction of that time.\n\n2) They crippled the battleship fleet, but the Navy aircraft carriers were not at Pearl Harbor at the time. Military wisdom at the time made the battleships the main fighting force of the fleet, but at that time, the Navy was already changing tactics to make aircraft carriers the main fighting force. The attack at Pearl Harbor only sped up that process. America retaliated to Pearl Harbor using their carriers.
72372
well they bombed Pearl Harbour (hawaii) in order to eleminate the threat of US intervention, and give them time to sieze an empire before the Us could strike, that way they might get to keep it
266834
German Hitler=megalomaniac, tried to create a dynasty by conquering Europe.  Japanese=pissed at the US over trade practices, attacks the US @ Pearl Harbor.  The US fights (with Allies) in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific.  Wins.
899957
well first off the germans bombed pearl harbor, and no they did not use nukes. you should watch ANIMAL HOUSE it is a great documentary. you will learn a lot.
747752
Japan was in a land war with China and needed oil from Malaysia and the Americans threatened to block them. They thought if they took out the American naval fleet they would have complete control of the Far East. They not only attacked Hawaii, they also attacked and invaded the Philippines along with many other British and American outposts. Bottom line: It was about the oil.
1144248
We entered WWII after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, not because Hitler declared war on America, it was common knowledge that Hitler wanted to take over the world. It wasn't 20 million people it was 11-12 million. if you really want to place the blame anywhere but the Nazis and Fascists then you should blame France and Britain and the other Allies that attend the Munich Conference. It was here that the policy of appeasement was applied towards Hitler. Appeasement if you don't know is the act of giving in to enemies in order to avoid war. Britain and France allowed hitler to take over the Rhineland and it was only after hitler's invasion of Poland that the rest of Europe declared war. Also the blame lies with the individals that lived in areas surrounding the concentration camps that swore after the war that they had no idea what was going on in their backyards (as if the smell of rotting and burning flesh isn't and obvious give away!!) and FDR's New Deal Programs helped to pull us out of the Great Depression as opposed to Hoover who didn't try to help the unemployed and starving people that were being thrown from their homes!
322948
In theory I agree but in fact the Marines fight where the Navy is ordered to deploy. The bulk of our Navy was based in the Pacific. After Pearl Harbor the Navy and Marine commanders knew and decided that Japan would have to maintain air superiority and keep their fleets supplied. In addition the island hopping campaign to the Japan home islands. The bulk of  marine divisions ship stationed, the amphibious attacks could not occurred and the war might been lost.
777708
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt  wanted to help the allies as a neutral nation.  After Sunday,7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack by Japan;the next day the Germans declared war against the US . America legally and officially declared war on Thursday,11 December 1941.  Europe would get help first and then Japan was second.\n\n\n\nGood night y'all.
482259
The US had put an oil embargo on Japan for invading China. Without oil, Japan could not keep its war machine in operation - planes, ships and tanks use a lot of oil. \n\nI don't think you could really say attacking Pearl Harbor solved that problem, and of course it was not going to win the war, but it was the only way the Japanese military felt they could prolong the inevitable defeat. (They never believed that could actually beat the US in the end. But by attacking Pearl Harbor they thought they could gain 6 more months to advance into Southeast Asia).
330213
FDR wanted to get into the war to assist Britain but the public wanted no part of it.  The U.S. provoked Japan into an attack and sacrificed Pearl Harbor (U.S. intelligence knew they were coming) so the public sentiment would change and support our efforts to wage war against Germany.\n\nJohnny
775328
The winners write history.  Enough said.  Check the history books, do you ever see anything about the "relocation camps" on the west coast of the US filled with "Japanese" during WW II?  It happened. You have to really search for the information, but it is a fact.\n\nSpeaking of WW II, do you actually hear about how the US was staying "neutral", but we were providing weapons, money, and soldiers to the Allies and refused the Axis powers.  Thus provoking the attack on Pearl Harbor.