Why did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor? (Short Animated Documentary)

What's the reference in No. 4 in the list of "Worst. Ideas. Ever." at the very beginning?

Japan: What's the worst that could happen?

It is fairly clear that General Short was ill prepared - he had received plenty of warnings while he was rather expecting a sabotage action instead of an air attack. however, there is one particular aspect. at the time of the attack, the aircraft carriers did not had an important rank compared to battleships. perhaps because of this, some high rank officers did not consider a massive air attack from carriers as a scenario. this may explain the almost complete absence of readiness for this scenario - which includes the pathetic service of radar operations. aircraft carriers got their later importance precisely after the PH attack.

I read Japan wanted a peaceful negotiation but the Japanese disobeyed orders attacking Pearl Harbor.

Yanamoto had been to the united states and saw their industrual might. He warned that japan could only hold off america for six months after the attack which his superiors ignored. Japanese arrogance and sense of superiority cost them dearly. They never improved their weapons feeling their soldiers were superior. They thought americans to be stupid and incapable of breaking their codes so they rarely changed them.Their zero planes,while capable fighters did not have self sealing tanks leaving them to explode when shot. They marvelled at how much firepower american planes would take as they were designed to be as safe as possible starting with thicker armor in strategic places and self sealing tanks.

The only thing wrong with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor from a strategic standpoint is that they didn't strike harder and/or more carefully; their bombs missed Pearl Harbor's dry docks, fuel supply, and, because they attacked on Sunday (the Christian day of rest which America still largely observed at the time at the time), even most of the sailors were absent. If any one of these mistakes (especially the first two) had been corrected, then it would have crippled America significantly and things would have proceeded more or less as planned; the only reason it looks ridiculous to us is because we have 20/20 hindsight.

Other factor is culture.

Ok the list at the start what’s the context of number 4

It goes a bit further than this. The Japanese views America as an existential treat and had for decades before this. People with the Japanese military had wanted a war against the US for decades and it goes back to the 1800s for the reasoning. Japan never truly trusted the US and always viewed them as the only real threat in the pacific.

I can’t believe the Pearl Harbor Butcher was Japan

Like many things, it seemed like a good idea at the time

They didn't think they'd win. But it's true they did it because they felt they had to. US basically provoked Japan with embargos because they saw an Asian power rising. If they had a stance against imperialism, they would have embargoed the UK and the Netherlands in Indochina as well, right?

They changed the whole war !!! Not only did they have the USA involved in war but also Stalin knew they wouldn't attack Syberia he took a lot of soldiers back to Moscow to protect it from Germans. If Japan attacked Syberia Russia would fall , Germany would win the battle for Moscow and that would be the end . The Alliance couldn't win without Russia ( America was not attacked and remained neutral ) so yes they really did change the outcome of the war !

When u know your chances of win are 1%, but u are too ambitious prideful and arrogant.

Japan didn’t think it could win the war in one strike, they though they could conquer enough to make the losses to retake it not worth it and deal at the table. Most Japanese general and admirals knew they were buggered

It doesn’t make sense

I wonder how much money Kelly Moneymaker makes?

Specific and quick, thank you

This video is not right ..The start was the perry expedition of 1855 (Americans trying to force Japan to give up a port for the American navy And trade routes) Also Japan winning the war against Russia And Russias government rights to Manchuria China also got into this And set the ball rolling America by then was selling Japan refined oil from one of its foreign investments ( Dutch east indies Now Indonesia ) Fearing Japan was headed that way And would no longer need America to rely on for oil The Americans placed a Embargo on Japan with oil...What they really did was force war Or go back 60 years in time without the need of oil....Japan had the idea if America did not have a fleet to fight with The vast ocean was for the taking ......America did know this was happening To many factors say otherwise...No carriers at pearl ( 1 was piggy backing fighter aircraft to Midway ....Radar picks up a large formation of planes And figures its a flight of B-17's from Midway (Making room for fighters instead of bombers) A Admiral once said This is the perfect naval base As we could raise sunken ships If Anyone ever could get close enough with a torpedo And it did not get stuck in the mud

I had a hard time understanding the narrator's accent.

the same reasoning as germany

So basically the United States cheated. America could’ve defeated them easily without nuclear weapons.

Damn, how many ppl worked on this one video? u were thanking & naming off a small army

If you smell what the Japanese is cooking 😏 👊🏼

what a bloody crap!!
jewies allarmed usa that japan was going to help jermany at the house of the rising sun and further
Hitler send all jews to there burning end , japan blew pearl harbor at 6;00 in the sunday morning when the ultimatum to usa had expired that day 6 hours earlier in america.very very screwed up all of this....Hitler and .Germany would not give europe freely to english america . thats the only right answer.greetings from flankie.Niederlande

This is why it's so hard for to feel bad about the nukes or fire bombings.. Like C'mon you are an ISLAND instigating WAR with a SUPERPOWER! Do you NOT care about your citizens? Absolute arrogance, ignorance, idiocrasy! We've turned the page on Japan's violent nature for the better.

they had a good plan for attacking pearl harbor, but the admirals left it half done.

So, in other words, only European countries are allowed to COLONIZE.

Japans leaders at the time clearly never went to American they were gonna get killed in a war against the US.

Imagine if they'd invaded Russia instead.

Isolationists here in the States would've prevented us from joining the war in any meaningful way. No US supplies going up the volga would've meant there was no reason for Hitler to waste his entire 6th army attacking Stalingrad. Japanese gains in Siberia would've meant no coal for the Russian army or its people.

Stalin would've sued for peace and been left with a sliver of Russia much like vichy France. Britain would've been left without allies and the axis would've ended the war controlling most of the eastern hemisphere.

Another historically bad idea:

Napoleon the 3rd declaring war on Prussia because he thought the south German states would support him due to their enmity with Prussia.

Boy was there egg on his face when he found out that the south German states allied with Prussia

ssouthern plan or northernplan me in hoi4 picking both and losing horribly (its mp)

Among Japanese commanders... Shizuichi Tanaka was oppoosed to Pearl Harbour as he had served abroad in the UK during post First World War and interwar years....

Why wouldn't the horse look good next to the fountain? 🤔

Nice video, nice images, good ideas .... but the voice intonation....too dull, too monotonous.... One can hardly follow....

No mention of US evil act. Theres a real reason why Japs bomb pearl harbour

Didn’t the rather large land area of Manchuria & Korea have any metallurgical deposits for the Japanese industrial need etc… . ? Why attack the rather large USA 🇺🇸 when the Japanese didn’t need such a disaster. And to slaughter the Chinese when without trespass they the Japanese could have fed the starving Chinese with their own native Chinese food as peaceful & friendly allies .

Cant help but wonder if Germany and Japan had made a coordinated effort to invade the USSR from the east and west it might have turned out different. Thank God they didn't, but with the mention of the Northern Doctrine It begs the question.

You mentioning your patrions In a 3min video absolutely kills this content 👎

"YOU WHAT?!"
Hitler

Actually, Japan didn't intend to attack Pearl Harbor, it was Yamamoto's plan and decision. He threatened to resign if the IJN high command didn't agree to attack Pearl, and it gave in

How I feel copying this vid word for word for a history assignment

The military leadership was full of pathological gamblers.

ハル・ノート。

Other reasons why Pearl Harbor attack was such a failure. No Air Craft Carriers were there. WW2 was about the carrier and not the battleship. All the oil fuel fields were NOT TOUCHED. SO Refueling all ships in the future for counter strikes are simple. Repair centers untouched. The Yorktown carrier gets damaged in battle at Coral Sea goes to Pearl gets fixed and goes to fight at Midway. These are 3 big reasons and then there is this. USA has unlimited resources and is bigger and stronger than Japan. so all they did was punch Mike Tyson while he was sleeping. they got a good shot in but then got their asses kicked. BAD!!