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Some Japanese today feel they were
compelled to fight because of threats to their national interests and an embargo
imposed by the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The most
important embargo was on oil on which its Navy and much of the economy was dependent.
For example, the Japan Times, an English-language newspaper owned by one of
the major news organizations in Japan (Asahi Shimbun), ran numerous columns
in the early 2000s echoing Kurusu's comments in reference to the Pearl Harbor
attack.
In putting the Pearl Harbor attack into context, Japanese writers
repeatedly contrast the thousands of U.S. servicemen killed there with the hundreds
of thousands of Japanese civilians killed in U.S. air attacks later in the War,
even without mentioning the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by
the United States.
However, in spite of the perceived inevitability of the war
by many Japanese, many also believe the Pearl Harbor attack, although a tactical
victory, was actually part of a seriously flawed strategy for engaging in war
with the U.S. As one columnist eulogizes, "The Pearl Harbor attack was
a brilliant tactic, but part of a strategy based on the belief that a spirit
as firm as iron and as beautiful as cherry blossoms could overcome the materially
wealthy United States. That strategy was flawed, and Japan's total defeat would
follow." In 1991, the Japanese Foreign Ministry released a statement saying
Japan had intended to make a formal declaration of war to the United States
at 1 p.m. Washington time, 25 minutes before the attack at Pearl Harbor was
scheduled to begin. This officially acknowledged something which had been publicly
known for years, diplomatic communications had been coordinated well in advance
with the attack, but had failed delivery at the intended time. It appears the
Japanese government was referring to the "14-part message", which
did not actually break off negotiations, let alone declare war, but which did
officially raise the possibility of a break in relations. However, because of
various delays, the Japanese ambassador was unable to make the declaration until
well after the attack had begun. |
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Imperial Japanese military leaders appear to have had mixed
feelings about the attack. Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was unhappy about
the botched timing of the breaking off of negotiations. He is rumored to have
said, "I fear all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled
him with terrible resolve". Even though this quote is unsubstantiated,
the phrase seems to describe his feelings about the situation. He is on record
as having said, in the previous year, that "I can run wild for six months
... after that, I have no expectation of success."
The first Prime Minister of Japan during World War II, Hideki
Tojo later wrote, "When reflecting upon it today, that the Pearl Harbor
attack should have succeeded in achieving surprise seems a blessing from Heaven." |
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Yamamoto had said, regarding the imminent war with the United
States, "Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United
States, it is not enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii
and San Francisco. We would have to march into Washington and sign the treaty
in the White House. I wonder if our politicians (who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American
war) have confidence as to the outcome and are prepared to make the necessary
sacrifices?"
Few people celebrate Pearl Harbor Day. People should start
celebrating it, and learning more about what happened on December 7th 1941.
It is a significant day in history that is mostly forgotten by people who did
not have anything to do with the war.
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