For what reason did Japan bomb Pearl Harbour?

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Personal Study: For what reason did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor?

Plan and Record of Procedure

        When we were asked to consider a question to answer, which would have been suitable for our personal study, I knew straight away that I would want to structure my question around Pearl Harbor.  Since childhood, watching movies about Pearl Harbor always caught my attention.  From most movies and books it seemed to me as if the Japanese people were just cruel and evil people, who had no basis to attack America; so was this the reason for the bombing?  That they were just cruel people? Or did they have a legitimate reason which had been completely cut out of history by authors and the Hollywood directors?  That question was embedded in my mind, and I always thought that I would research it when I had time, or to speak the truth, be motivated to.

 After sitting a few classes in lower sixth history, which was based upon our personal studies; I had realised that this was the ‘time’ I was looking for.  I could answer a question that really made me think, and not only that I would also be doing it as a little study.  This furthered my interest on such a crucial time during World War Two.  

I went to the library and took out a couple of books regarding Pearl Harbor.  Once I had read the books; I assumed I would now know the reason for Japan bombing Pearl Harbor, but the books I read had something in common, it told me how the bombing took place, how many were killed or injured etc, but never once mentioned why this all had taken place.  The bombing by a few historians was seen as a ‘focal’ point in that era, which helped secure a win for the Allies, so why was only half of the story published?  In-fact it I possessed the same amount of knowledge on this particular topic, as I had done previously.  This was when I decided to take it a step further and took out a selection of books regarding the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and also did some research on the internet.  At first it was overwhelming having so much information in front of my eyes and now knowing how I should analysis it all.  This was when I decided that I would read each book/site at different times of the day so I did not get confused.  After each book or site I had read, I took a notepad and jotted down all the crucial sentences, phrases, and even copied pictures which would give me jump start.  Now knowing that the question was answerable, I submitted it to my history teacher.  Whilst I was awaiting her acknowledgment, I for some unknown reason had left everything unfinished.

It was only during Christmas holidays, did I really start to think about a basic plan for my personal studies.  I knew that in total I should be aiming to have at least three chapters (which did not include my conclusion).   I would separate them into three separate categories; time leading up to the bombing, the day the bombing had taken place, and finally a key reason for the atrocity following a conclusion to tie up the lose ends.

After receiving a conformation on the title, all I had to do was to read my notes which had been previously written a little while before.  I would say that making my notes before writing the study had helped me a lot.  I did not have to waste my time finding and analysing facts, as I had already done so.  

By the end of January, I had completed my first complete draft.  It seemed to me that I had covered all the relevant issues which had to be mentioned which would help me get an answer.

 In total my first draft was made up of two-thousand one-hundred words, around a little more than a thousand words short than the maximum allowed.   I took advantage of this and decided that I would use this gap to analysis each fact I presented.  This was a good idea as I could comment on whether I thought a source was reliable or not.

Overall I was satisfied with what I had achieved, in the space of time I had left.  In future if I were ever given a similar task as this, I would remember to use the time wisely, and not take it for granted.  I am sure if I had done that this time round, I would have been able to go through more sources, which would have given me a much better image to discuss. Another aspect of this study, which I am happy about is the fact it has shown me that I am capable of answering such an awkward question, and can make a sound judgment on what are relevant facts and what are just unreliable.  This study also gave me a new perspective on the whole topic surrounding the incident at Pearl Harbor; I got an answer to my question, and had been implanted a new question in my head.  Did America provoke Japan into making the first move, which would secure the fate of America fighting the Nazi regime?  Who knows, some time in the future when I have the ‘motivation’ I may be very well be answering that question, and am sure I could to a reasonable job of it due to the skills I have picked up from answering this study.

Please Note:  The writing in italic is the quote and the writing in bold is my comment on the source.  The letter or number beside the quote indicates where I got it from, the list of books and sites can be seen on the last page.Chapter One – Events leading up to the attack of Pearl Harbor

        “The Japanese attack on the American fleet based at Pearl Harbor was less an attempt to provoke the United States into a declaration of war than a final admission that war between the United States and Japan was bound to come.” Through hindsight I know that this quote is quiet reliable; it shows that there was hostility between the twp nations which had provoked the bombing.  When trying to answer the question (above) and you come across such quotes; you can see the jigsaw taking shape.  On the other hand, I still have to be cautious as this was written thirty-nine years after the bombing, and could have been exaggerated to make Japan look as if they were ware mongers. This signaled the end of a long period of increasing bitterness between the two nations.  The ‘struggle’ was centered on Japan’s ambitions for an unchallenged hegemony in the Far East.  

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        During the early 1920’s the Americans held a conference in Washington.  This was in direct result of Japan ceasing Manchuria.  The reason America had condemned and refused to recognize the state of Manchukuo (which was set up to replace Manchuria) was solely due to the fact that the Japanese troops had just marched into Manchuria and took it over, as well as the fact that it “presented a direct threat to the ‘open door’ policy”.  Japan was becoming an increasingly crowded country; Manchuria offered around 200,000 square kilometers of land, which to the Japanese looked as an attractive offer.  By ...

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