What did America do to make Japan want to bomb Pearl Harbor?

Question

People keep asking why were we attacked on 9/11, well why did Japan attack us?

Answer 1

Basically Japan got pissed that the US was sending support to China.....

The road to war between Japan and the United States began in the 1930s when differences over China drove the two nations apart. In 1931 Japan conquered Manchuria, which until then had been part of China. In 1937 Japan began a long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to conquer the rest of China. In 1940, the Japanese government allied their country with Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance, and, in the following year, occupied all of Indochina.

The United States, which had important political and economic interests in East Asia, was alarmed by these Japanese moves. The U.S. increased military and financial aid to China, embarked on a program of strengthening its military power in the Pacific, and cut off the shipment of oil and other raw materials to Japan.

Because Japan was poor in natural resources, its government viewed these steps, especially the embargo on oil as a threat to the nation's survival. Japan's leaders responded by resolving to seize the resource-rich territories of Southeast Asia, even though that move would certainly result in war with the United States.

The problem with the plan was the danger posed by the U.S. Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet, devised a plan to immobilize the U.S. fleet at the outset of the war with a surprise attack.

The key elements in Yamamoto's plans were meticulous preparation, the achievement of surprise, and the use of aircraft carriers and naval aviation on an unprecedented scale. In the spring of 1941, Japanese carrier pilots began training in the special tactics called for by the Pearl Harbor attack plan.

In October 1941 the naval general staff gave final approval to Yamamoto's plan, which called for the formation of an attack force commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. It centered around six heavy aircraft carriers accompanied by 24 supporting vessels. A separate group of submarines was to sink any American warships which escaped the Japanese carrier force.

Nagumo's fleet assembled in the remote anchorage of Tankan Bay in the Kurile Islands and departed in strictest secrecy for Hawaii on 26 November 1941. The ships' route crossed the North Pacific and avoided normal shipping lanes. At dawn 7 December 1941, the Japanese task force had approached undetected to a point slightly more than 200 miles north of Oahu. At this time the U.S. carriers were not at Pearl Harbor. On 28 November, Admiral Kimmel sent USS Enterprise under Rear Admiral Willliam Halsey to deliver Marine Corps fighter planes to Wake Island. On 4 December Enterprise delivered the aircraft and on December 7 the task force was on its way back to Pearl Harbor. On 5 December, Admiral Kimmel sent the USS Lexington with a task force under Rear Admiral Newton to deliver 25 scout bombers to Midway Island. The last Pacific carrier, USS Saratoga, had left Pearl Harbor for upkeep and repairs on the West Coast.

At 6:00 a.m. on 7 December, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 181 planes composed of torpedo bombers, dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. Even as they winged south, some elements of U.S. forces on Oahu realized there was something different about this Sunday morning.

In the hours before dawn, U.S. Navy vessels spotted an unidentified submarine periscope near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. It was attacked and reported sunk by the destroyer USS Ward (DD-139) and a patrol plane. At 7:00 a.m., an alert operator of an Army radar station at Opana spotted the approaching first wave of the attack force. The officers to whom those reports were relayed did not consider them significant enough to take action. The report of the submarine sinking was handled routinely, and the radar sighting was passed off as an approaching group of American planes due to arrive that morning.

The Japanese aircrews achieved complete surprise when they hit American ships and military installations on Oahu shortly before 8:00 a.m. They attacked military airfields at the same time they hit the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The Navy air bases at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay, the Marine airfield at Ewa and the Army Air Corps fields at Bellows, Wheeler and Hickam were all bombed and strafed as other elements of the attacking force began their assaults on the ships moored in Pearl Harbor. The purpose of the simultaneous attacks was to destroy the American planes before they could rise to intercept the Japanese.

Of the more than 90 ships at anchor in Pearl Harbor, the primary targets were the eight battleships anchored there. seven were moored on Battleship Row along the southeast shore of Ford Island while the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) lay in drydock across the channel. Within the first minutes of the attack all the battleships adjacent to Ford Island had taken bomb and or torpedo hits. The USS West Virginia (BB-48) sank quickly. The USS Oklahoma (BB-37) turned turtle and sank. At about 8:10 a.m., the USS Arizona (BB-39) was mortally wounded by an armorpiercing bomb which ignited the ship's forward ammunition magazine. The resulting explosion and fire killed 1,177 crewmen, the greatest loss of life on any ship that day and about half the total number of Americans killed. The USS California (BB-44), USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS Nevada (BB-36) also suffered varying degrees of damage in the first half hour of the raid.

There was a short lull in the fury of the attack at about 8:30 a.m. At that time the USS Nevada (BB-36), despite her wounds, managed to get underway and move down the channel toward the open sea. Before she could clear the harbor, a second wave of 170 Japanese planes, launched 30 minutes after the first, appeared over the harbor. They concentrated their attacks on the moving battleship, hoping to sink her in the channel and block the narrow entrance to Pearl Harbor. On orders from the harbor control tower, the USS Nevada (BB-36) beached herself at Hospital Point and the channel remained clear.

When the attack ended shortly before 10:00 a.m., less than two hours after it began, the American forces has paid a fearful price. Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged: the battleships USS Arizona (BB-39), USS California (BB-44), USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Nevada (BB-36), USS Oklahoma (BB-37), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS West Virginia (BB-48); cruisers USS Helena (CL-50), USS Honolulu (CL-48) and USS Raleigh (CL-7); the destroyers USS Cassin (DD-372), USS Downes (DD-375), USS Helm (DD-388) and USS Shaw (DD-373); seaplane tender USS Curtiss (AV-4); target ship (ex-battleship) USS Utah (AG-16); repair ship USS Vestal (AR-4); minelayer USS Oglala (CM-4); tug USS Sotoyomo (YT-9); and Floating Drydock Number 2. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before the had a chance to take off. American dead numbered 2,403. That figure included 68 civilians, most of them killed by improperly fused anti-aircraft shells landing in Honolulu. There were 1,178 military and civilian wounded.

Japanese losses were comparatively light. Twenty-nine planes, less than 10 percent of the attacking force, failed to return to their carriers.

The Japanese success was overwhelming, but it was not complete. They failed to damage any American aircraft carriers, which by a stroke of luck, had been absent from the harbor. They neglected to damage the shoreside facilities at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, which played an important role in the Allied victory in World War II. American technological skill raised and repaired all but three of the ships sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor (the USS Arizona (BB-39) considered too badly damaged to be salvaged, the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) raised and considered too old to be worth repairing, and the obsolete USS Utah (AG-16) considered not worth the effort). Most importantly, the shock and anger caused by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor united a divided nation and was translated into a wholehearted commitment to victory in World War II.

Answer 2

Ok firstly, the Flying Tigers used the Curtis Warhawk P-40. the first combat-ready 38s (the P-38E rolled off the assembly line in October, 1941. SO they were never in use during the air conflicts with Japan prior to the US being attacked at Pearl. Also, the USS Ward attacked and sank a jap miget sub 1 hour prior to the air attack on Pearl which was on 7 DEC 1941, not 6 DEC which was a saturday. Gte the facts straight pal. Lastly, we dropped the A-Bombs on 6 and 9 August 1945. NOT 1946. Just so you know. Now with regards to this question, the japanese had always felt that the Americans regarded them as inferior, that their machines were not up to "speed" with the Americans. That their tactics were not on the same level as the Americans. When they bombed Pearl, it was one of elation and one of pure joy. Not joy in the sense of pleasure but joy in the sense that they had delivered a blow that they felt would put them on an even level with the Americans and hopefully make them (the Americans) sue for peace and/or lift the oil embargo against the Home Islands. It also debunked the myth that the "yellow man" was inferior to the American and could in fact play ball with the best of them. (Well for a yr or two anyway.) When the American B-24's hit Japan in April of '42, it was nothing more than a morale booster for the Americans. Although no significant damage was done, the mere fact that the Americans had in fact hit the Home Islands was a form of dishonour to the japanese. It was then that they realized that they were in it for the long haul and it was a war that they could not win, although the hope was to prolong it long enough so that the American people would tell their leaders to sue for peace.

Answer 3

The US was telling them not to make any further violence in Asia during 1940's and the US threatened an oil embargo or full out embargo. Japan didn't like the threat and they knew that to win against the US even back then they had to hit them hard and fast to make them think the war was too costly or the massive resources of US would crush them. That is why they attacked US at Pearl Harbor.

Answer 4

At that time, Japan was ruled by an Emperor (who claimed to be God) that wanted to expand Japan's resources. As a small island country, Japan has very limited natural resources.

Ironically, those who attacked us on 9/11 are very similar in their tactics and zealotry as the Japanese of the Empire-era.

Answer 5

Japan was lookign for world domination, just like Hilter was. Japan figuired we were an easy target since we weren't in the war. England had come and asked for help, we told them we didn't want to get invovled.
Well, Dec. 7th changed our minds. We were realized that we couldn't sit by.

Sept. 11th was the same way, the terriorists thought we would run and hide. They were wrong just like Japan was; they both woke up the sleeping giant.

Answer 6

In short, the USA was preparing to ally themselves with England against Germany in Europe. Japan was allied with Germany and it was thought that Japan could turn the US from becoming involved in the European arena of the war. Thus Japan struck the US.

Answer 7

Japan wanted to prove it self so it bombed pearl harbour,so they were basically saying they bombed the superpower and they can beat them and the're stronger

Answer 8

They wanted the Hawaiian Islands as a strategic base for military operations. Good question. There may be other reasons!

Answer 9

short verison the US imposed a oil embargo on Japan

Answer 10

America put up sanction on Japanese to punish and prevent them from invading China.

Answer 11

To pull the US into the war.