'Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbour?' In December 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese. It wasthe consequence of a series of events which brought tension betweenJapan and America to boiling point

She still wanted to expand further, and atthe time, the best option was to increase her trade links overseas.Still supplying raw materials, America became gradually more aware ofJapan's increase in size and military strength. They became more andmore worried by it because they realised that if they grew anymore,then Japan may prove a threat to America and her trade. At theWashington Conferences in 1921, America reasoned with the Japanesegovernment and decided that Japan's naval bases and naval arms wouldbe limited. For every 5 ships that America had, Japan would be alloweda maximum of 3. Although Japan agreed, they still aimed to expand moreso that they could become one of the major world powers.The Great Depression in America hit Japan with force. Japan wasaffected because America's trade was vital to Japan's survival. Tradewith America became limited and Japans economic prosperity was atrisk. Japan needed more imports. The army decided on a militaristicoption and seized Manchuria, as it had rich supplies of raw materialssuch as coal, iron ore, timber and rice. They believed that byexpanding, Japan could become more powerful. As Japanese troops werealready stationed in Manchuria, it proved an easy target for theJapanese. The Americans, focusing on their own needs, did notinterfere with the seizing of Manchuria. This proved to be a baddecision for them as their trade links with China were badly affected,but more importantly Because of the success in Manchuria the militarygained power. The public became more enthusiastic and supportive ofmilitaristic nationalism. This led to the military running thegovernment by the late 1930s as many people supported expansion andcontrol in Asia. In the future, Japan would be more aggressive andthere would be less chance that they would back down to the Americans.In 1937, Japan attacked the rest of China, indicating to America thatJapan was a definite threat to their trade links.By July 1940, America's President Roosevelt had decided he must takeaction against Japan's expansion. He banned the export of strategicmaterials to Japan. By doing this he hoped to halt their expansion. Healso decided that a massive American Naval Expansion was in order. Bydoing this he hoped that Japan would fear America because the AmericanNavy was a major strength in the Pacific Region. He hoped to threatenJapan into ending her aggression.In September and December of the same year, Roosevelt cut off allsupplies of aviation fuel, steel, scrap iron and other vital warmaterials to Japan. By choosing this option, he hoped to slow downtheir preparation for war and give America time to plan and think.Negotiations were proposed in March 1941 as Japan felt the pressuresof America's actions. America told Japan that they would start tosupply them with oil again, if Japan stopped any expansion and withdraw from Indo - China. America negotiated because they needed tostrengthen their trade links again. Japan decided not to negotiate astheir expansion for raw materials was so important. The Japanese hadto decide whether to give up slowly or give one major blow to Americaso that Japan could revitalise whilst America recovered. The military,now in control of the country, were more inclined to the last option.Because America was not willing to negotiate or co operate with Japan,and Japan were in such a desperate situation, war was seen asinevitable by the Japanese government. Japan became angered even morein September 1941 because America rejected Japan's proposals forpeace. Japan felt there was no other option but to prepare for war.In July, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto suggested an attack on PearlHarbour. Pearl Harbour was seen as a simple target by the Japanese,just as Manchuria was. It offered itself as the perfect place toattack. The whole of the US Naval Fleet were docked in the harbour,providing Japan with an opportunity to cause major damage to the USwarships. If war were to break out, then it would be a naval one.Japan took the advantage and bombed Pearl Harbour, severely weakeningthe American Navy. This proved crucial as it both evened out the powerbetween Japan and America and it also gave Japan the opportunity toexpand further whilst collecting vital supplies to fight a war withAmerica and give them a fighting chance.Japan had to attack Pearl Harbour because of their lack of rawmaterials. This was the major long-term cause of the attack. This canbe linked back to the Emperor and the military influence. They werethe two main influences on the Japanese people and the Emperor himselfwas encouraged by militarism. Because of the influence on the Emperor,he ordered an invasion of Manchuria for raw materials and more power.This proved to be a medium term cause. America failed to stop Japanwhen they attacked Manchuria. This meant that the Japanese army becamestronger and militarism grew. The course was almost certainly set forwar once the military controlled Japan.The most important medium term cause was the Wall Street Crash, whichtook Japan into the Great Depression through America's misfortune.They were badly affected by the depression because Japan relied mainlyon other countries, especially America, for imports of raw materials.America had been hit with depression as well. They concentrated ontheir own problems and failed to stop Japan from invading Manchuria.The main short-term cause of the attack on Pearl Harbour was America'sdecision to reject negotiations and peace talks from Japan aboutbringing down the Oil Embargo. This angered the Japanese government,causing dangerous tension between the two countries as Japan were in adifficult situation and were now willing to attack the Americans. Therejections of proposals in September 1941 led to Japan confirming thedecision for war on the 26th of November. In the end Japan was drivento war by the fact that the military had control of the country. Thearmy thought that an attack on Pearl Harbour would prove vital if theywere to become equally as powerful as America and have a fightingchance in the war which had seemed inevitable for a long time.