Pearl Harbour Paper - Essay Example

During this attack, nearly 2,400 Americans lost their lives. Japanese sources confirmed that they only lost less than 70 service men (Hixson 103). After these attacks, the future of Japan remained on the balance due to possible retaliations by US and its European allies. This essay will investigate the implication of the attacks on America and the Japanese empire. The essay will also investigate how the attack inspired America into joining World War II. Japan had aggressive interests in Asia and therefore it considered America as a major threat.

Before the attacks, America had established strong military bases in the pacific off the coast of Japan that were intended to protect American interest in Asia and the pacific. Just before Japan carried out the attacks, the US navy posed a major threat to the Japanese interests on Dutch Indies and Malaya. Japan was intending to invade the two regions due to the availability of natural resources such as oil and rubber. The surprise attacks on the US military bases were therefore, meant to neutralize US power in the pacific and pave way for Japanese advancement.

The Japanese decision to carry out the attack was wise and tactical. This is because America was overwhelming Japan with its continued invasion of eastern territories. America had occupied or controlled all territories that were of Japanese interest. These included the Philippines, Dutch Indies and China. The attack was the easiest way that Japan could have applied to divert America’s attention concerning its occupation of Pacific territories. America was exporting oil to Japan before the Japanese decided to attack the Pearl Harbor, this was a tactical method of controlling Japan.

America could not conduct a direct occupation of Japan as it had done in other territories. Oil exportation was the only method that the US could have applied to control Japan (Hixson 123). This is evident from most negotiations that were conducted between the two powers. When Japan intended to invade French Indochina, America threatened Japan with withdrawal of oil export. This indicates that Japan really needed to break away from overdependence on American oil. Japan was also experiencing a massive expansion in its industrial and military sector.

The country therefore needed uncontrolled supplies of oil and other raw materials. If Japan had not invaded US installation at the Pearl Harbor, it would never become an energy independent nation. The US stopped exporting oil to Japan in 1941 following Japanese expansions into China that were motivated by the pearl harbor attacks. After the US ceased its oil exports, Japan looked for other alternatives to get its oil supplies and its long journey of becoming an independent nation in terms of energy.

Competition over dominance also made the US and Japan to become major rivals. Analysts believe that rivalry between Japan and the US had reached a breaking point even before Japan carried out its attacks on the US facilities. Japanese provocative moves in China and Philippines had made the US to secretly plan for war against Japan. Although the US was getting ready for war against Japan, they never believed that Japan would have interests in attacking the Pearl Harbor. If Japan had not attacked the Pearl Harbor, the US could have used the facility to carryout offensive on Japanese soil.

In such case