Background
On December 7, 1941, Japan shocked the United States when it unexpectedly attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Japan deemed the Allied Powers of Britain, France, and the United States had become a significant threat to their imperialist ambitions in East Asia and chose to launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese devastatingly bombed a number of ships and military bases in Pearl Harbor and destroyed over 300 planes on just that fateful day (McClister 2022).
Japan’s surprise attack not only scarred the minds of many Americans but also immediately changed the course of World War II. This event compelled America to enter into conflict with Japan and its Axis partners (Germany and Italy), ultimately leading to Japan’s military defeat in 1945 (De Sá 2022). Concerning the surprise Pearl Harbor attack, the economic impact on the Japanese decision-making process included Japan’s invasion of French Indochina, the Doolittle Raid, the oil embargo, and the U.S. disagreement with Japan in several ways.
Strategic Reasons
The preemptive strike on Pearl Harbor was motivated by three primary strategic objectives. First, Japan aimed to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet, thereby removing the only significant military obstacle to its planned expansion throughout Southeast Asia. Second, there was a goal to galvanize American public opinion in favor of a wider conflict, though this is often cited as a miscalculation. Ultimately, the attack aimed to capitalize on the perceived vulnerability of the U.S. military presence in the Pacific during that time.
Fundamentally, Japan’s overarching goal was to operate without opposition in Southeast Asia, ultimately establishing regional dominance and strengthening its military capabilities (De Castro 2020). Thus, they planned the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor as a way to cripple the U.S Pacific Fleet and keep them from joining the war effort. The surprise attack was intended to catch the U.S. Navy off guard and inflict heavy losses on its fleet before it could respond. It was an astonishingly successful move; more than 2,400 American lives were lost, and most of the battleships anchored at Pearl Harbor were sunk or damaged beyond repair (Sarmiento 2017). This surprise attack marked a turning point in World War II, propelling America into the conflict with a determination that would ultimately lead to victory against Japan.
Additionally, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in an effort to galvanize American public opinion into supporting a broader war effort. The surprise attack was part of a surprise offensive by Japan against American, British, and Dutch territories throughout the Pacific (Stuckey 2017). This surprise attack left the Pearl Harbor naval base in ruins and resulted in the deaths of many Americans, while some were wounded.
By executing such a surprise attack, Japan hoped that this would draw the United States into an expansionist war with Japan as its opponent. While it certainly helped bring the United States into the conflict, it served as a tremendous rallying point for all of America’s wartime efforts. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously declared December 7 “a date which will live in infamy” (Stuckey 2017). This call to action held symbolic power, uniting the nation behind America’s commitment to defeat Japan and emerge victorious from World War II.
Similarly, Japan launched a surprise attack to exploit America’s weak military posture in the Pacific. With US aircraft carriers located east of the Hawaiian Islands, Japan believed it could surprise the American forces with devastating attacks that would weaken and cripple the American Navy (Sarmiento 2017). This surprise bombing was intended to undermine U.S. trade power as well as its political influence in the region, ultimately allowing Japan to control all Pacific territories. In addition, Japan sought to gain access to vital oil resources that had been historically controlled by the United States, thereby further solidifying its position in Asia. Unfortunately for Japan, this surprise attack instead prompted an eventual victory for America and an irreversible shift in power back in favor of the Allied Nations.
Economic Reasons
Ultimately, the Japanese decision-making process was swayed by a variety of factors, including fear of the United States and the desire to create an empire in Asia. It also entailed the need for resources to support their war effort, and the belief that a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor would cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet (Wirtz 2017). Five key economic impacts contributed to the Japanese decision-making process. First, the U.S. had imposed economic sanctions on Japan to restrict its access to vital resources, such as oil, through the U.S. oil embargo (McCormack and Henry 2017). At the time, the oil supply was vital for Japan to maintain its military power; when U.S. oil exports to Japan were cut off in July 1941, it posed a significant threat to national security.
Furthermore, the oil embargo imposed by the U.S. underscored just how deeply strained diplomatic relations between the two countries had become, increasing their hostility towards each other. This helped further push Japan towards its decision to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor and solidified its image as an adversary of America (Gandara 2019). Before the embargo, Japan had relied on the U.S. for 80% of its total petroleum supply, making it necessary for it to find an alternative source (Kelanic 2020). It was believed that this shortage was responsible for driving Japan towards an aggressive expansion of territories in Southeast Asia in search of a new energy source.
In addition, once the U.S. imposed the embargo, it became too expensive for Japan to transport supplies from other countries due to the rising cost of fuel. As a result, its ability to wage war was severely hampered, proving one of many factors that drove it toward attacking Pearl Harbor as a means of breaking the standstill (Hosoi and Simon 2022). Ultimately, without access to U.S. oil supplies, Japan would not have been able to make any important military moves and carry out its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The decision to deny them access to this valuable resource led Japan to seek alternative oil supplies elsewhere. They were able to find sufficient overseas sources and met most of their military needs with supplies from the Dutch East Indies.
Another key trigger for the invasion was Japan’s desire to procure resources such as rubber and tin, which were increasingly necessary for its war effort. To that end, one of the main economic factors influencing their decision-making process was the Invasion of French Indochina two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor (Holcomb 2020). The added resources from Indochina allowed Japan to increase munitions production, fuel further military expansion, and potentially contain potential opposition from the United States in direct anticipation of the upcoming surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
This invasion undoubtedly played a crucial role in enabling Japan to pursue its broader military objectives. It therefore became a decisive factor for initiating its devastating surprise assault on Pearl Harbor (Goldman and Michael 2017). The French Indochina Union was a grouping of regions in Southeast Asia that were under French colonial rule. The union consisted of the colonies and protectorates of Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin, and Laos.
The freeze of all Japanese assets in the United States heavily influenced Japan’s decision to conduct a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. This move was a direct consequence of the mounting tensions between Japan and the United States, stemming from disagreements over maintaining certain economic balances, primarily in the oil and steel trades (Robinson 2021). As such, this forced Japan into an unsustainable liquidity crisis as millions of its foreign assets were frozen. The freezing made it increasingly difficult for Japan to pay for resources abroad that could sustain its economy in the long run. This not only confirmed Japan’s stance on disputed economies but also pushed them further down a path toward war, as they saw it as a necessary solution to their current financial turmoil.
The U.S. government froze all Japanese assets in the United States in retaliation for Japan’s aggressive actions in Southeast Asia. This included $225 million in gold held by the Japanese government in California, as well as other liquid assets and investments (Hall and David 2009). The Japanese military viewed this move as a severe blow to their war effort, and they were determined to retaliate against the United States.
The opportunity arose on December 6, 1941, when four American aircraft carriers (the Enterprise, Lexington, Saratoga, and Yorktown) (Marriott 2021). Their aircraft were out of port on maneuvers and could not be reached in time to warn them of the impending attack. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was thus launched on them.
Consequences
On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo was launched by U.S. forces, hitting multiple targets in Japan’s capital city with sixteen B-25 bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. The demoralizing surprise of this raid deeply humiliated the Japanese military and people while weakening the faith they had in Japan’s defenses. This attack immediately followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor, further demonstrating America’s capacity for swift retaliation and military strength (Grehan 2020). In both attacks, Japan believed it was no longer safe to engage in an extended war against a mighty nation, and its decision-making process shifted toward ceasing hostilities rather than continuing its aggression unchecked. As a result of this shift, economic victory became much more possible for the United States due to restricted trade and supply blockades implemented by its naval forces.
Despite the heroic efforts of U.S. soldiers, the economic and social damage they inflicted on Japan had disastrous consequences. Businesses were destroyed, and many Japanese citizens were killed in aerial bombardments, which caused significant collateral damage to civilian homes, monuments, and infrastructure (Grehan 2020). The raid also hit Japan’s national morale as it was a reminder of Pearl Harbor’s surprise attack just four months prior, by showing that the United States’ military superiority could reach wherever they wished within Japan. As a result of the grief brought by this attack, Japan increased defense spending, which weighed heavily on its economy (Saavedra 2021). This was because most resources were channeled toward military production instead of other areas, such as agriculture and industry.
Moreover, the attack, heavily influenced by the threat posed by increasing numbers of American troops in the Philippines, was a prime consideration, as it would have prevented their further expansion into Southeast Asia. Japan’s need for commodities and resources to sustain its military and homeland further exacerbated existing tensions between the two nations. In addition, Japan felt that if its advances into China were to remain unchallenged, action needed to be taken against the U.S.’s military presence in the Pacific theatre (Shih 2021). As perceived threats increased, Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor as a way of breaking U.S. economic isolationism and gaining access to much-needed resources.
In addition, American troops stationed in the Philippines had a vested interest in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese sought to expand their influence and control into Southeast Asia in 1941, posing a significant threat to the security of Filipino forces (Trinidad 2017). American soldiers were well aware that if Japan seized control of the region, their prospects for survival were slim. Preserving their freedom was thus a major priority, making them highly resistant to any form of Japanese expansionism.
Furthermore, U.S troops knew that with any successful invasion, Japan would gain critical access to resources and military arsenals, allowing it to become an even more formidable adversary for many years to come. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor had shocked the Western world and galvanized U.S forces in the Philippines (Town 2020). Unsurprisingly, local troops had no desire whatsoever to see a Japanese entry into Southeast Asia unfold.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was a devastating blow to the U.S in 1941, both militarily and economically. The devastating economic impact of the attack contributed strongly to Japan’s decision-making process. The destruction of American capital ships, aircraft, supplies, and facilities left the U.S Navy crippled. This created a power vacuum in the Pacific that Japan sought to capitalize on as it expanded its empire with greater control over resources, such as oil.
Moreover, the shock of being attacked unexpectedly at a critical location gave an unassailable moral authority for Tokyo to legitimize its actions against the U.S. in Asia, one that lasted until the end of WWII. These calculated goals were partly motivated by Japan’s limited access to critical war materials due to America’s tougher stance on trade with them in 1940 and 1941. This made it clear that economics played an important part in Japanese plans leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack.
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