Why do people not realize Japan was forced into doing Pearl Harbor because America cut off its oil?

Question

Imagine if someone cut off your oil! You couldn't drive or anything!

Answer 1

Japan wasn't 'forced' into doing anything- using such loaded wording insinuates that Japan was some sort of puppet whose strings could be pulled and controlled, completely prone to the manipulations of other nations with no conscious mind of its own which is not only an insult to a very prideful country.



Yes, there was an embargo and yes it was for political reasons but the notion that Japan was left with absolutely no choice in the entirety of the planet but to attack Pearl Harbor is laughable.



It was a CHOICE- they chose to respond to the situation in the way that they did, which had a domino effect (as these sort of actions usually do, regardless of whatever prompted it or whoever is behind it), prompting America to react (the manner of which was decided upon and 'chosen' by the Americans). Whether it was right or wrong is completely subjective and a whole other matter.



The Japanese had other options before them- whether or not they were appealing or acceptable or the best thing for the country or etc. is beside the point. Japan assessed the situation and decided that that was the best course of action for their country and carried on with it. Pure and simple.

Answer 2

Why don't I realize it was America's fault? Because it wasn't, you revisionist sack of (bleep).



Or are you stating that a Nation does not have the ability to choose who it does business with?



As a sovereign nation, a country has the right to decide which nations it trades with and which nations it does not.



Japan was already in a criminally aggressive war with China. Japan had without provocation attacked other countries in order to rape and plunder their resources which Japan lacked.



America decided to not do business with Japan. WE HAVE THAT RIGHT!

That is what an Embargo is, as opposed to a blockade, which is where we prevent others from trading with Japan as well.



Your "logic" is repetitive BS from idiots who don't know a damned thing about History.



No.. Pearl Harbor was not America's fault for cutting off American Oil from Japan.



Your asinine logic is the same as saying it is a store clerks fault he got beat up by a thug because he refused to sell something to the thug and asked the thug to leave the store.

Answer 3

I'm not saying that the original post is correct or denying war crimes committed by Japan or its allies, but I can't help but say that you people are so full of **** for turning blind eye on the circumstances that forced Japan to take an imperialistic attitude in the first place. Why do you refuse to put yourself into the seat of the "bad guy" for once? Or do you really believe that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because it had nothing better to do?

The cause of so much misery was the fault of both sides. A lack of trade, geographical circumstance and the alliance system itself made this whole thing a double edged sword.

Answer 4

Much as ir may offend those whose loved ones died in that attack, Japan actually did the US a favor. War with the Axis powers had become inevitable by that time, but without the national outrage that ensued the isolationist majority among us might well have delayed America's entering the conflict until the Axis juggernaut became too powerful to be stopped. Moreover, had we gone to war with the outdated, underarmed, and underarmored Pacific fleet the Japanese destroyed at anchor we'd have gotten our butts handed to us on a platfer. Nearly all those ships were veterans of WWI, remember, and a few had gone around the world with Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. While losing them in a surprise raid galvanized the public into vengeful fury, losing them in a pitched battle might have caused the public to demand an immediate cessation of hostilities against Japan and Hitler would have almost surely used that leverage to force a declaration of neutrality from the US,

Answer 5

We imposed an embargo on Japan because they invaded and occupied French Indochina.It may have been an excuse to manuver them into a corner, but regardless, Japan and Germany had been plotting war with the West for years. The Japanese strategists were divided between those who wanted to attack Russia and those who wanted to take on the USA. The second group won the debate. They were certain the Germans would beat the Russians, not so certain they'd beat the British. But they figured with Britain at bay in Europe, they could help themselves to whatever Hitler didn't want of Russia once that war was over. Another reason they preferred attacking the USA was they'd seen the body blows the Russians were taking and still in the fight. They were certain the Americans were less resilient. Many actually believed the US would surrender after Pearl Harbor, especially if they faced a two-front war with Germany as well. The notable exception, ironically, was the admiral who planned and executed the attack, Isoroku Yamamoto. He correctly predicted that unless Japan won in 6 months, the US would ultimately win the war,

Answer 6

The reasons Japan attacked Pearl Harbor were well know. However, Japan was not "forced" into anything. Japan choose to do what it did to continue to feed its war machine. America cut off Japan's resources because of the threat to the stability of the region. Japan could have backed off their military conquests to save oil and ultimately appease the US.

Answer 7

So you're new to this history thing, are you?



First and foremost. Few are aware that the Japanese actually orchestrated the fission bomb attacks on their own cities and populations - Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and had only entered the war at the Emperor's insistence to take advantage of the reaction by the United States to Germany.



Two things hold historically true that countries such as Germany and Japan both knew: That the victors of war may write their history books, but they invariably end up absorbing the cost of rebuilding the nations they won against.



So at the time this occurred - Japan's infrastructure was notably second rate to many of the other leading nations around the world. Not only that, but the emperor was losing control over his population - having already lost control of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to local "warlords" (they weren't really warlords, they were actually just elected governors in free elections), so the sentiment of the people was already suggesting an overthrow of the emperor was actually inevitable.



Tactically, Forcing America into a war with Japan served the country's best interest.



Locally, Hawaii was regarded as a territory to Japan. Something the emperor and those who traveled new to be a lie, but so few traveled let alone investigated ownership of claimed territories that when Japan announced it was launching a preemptive strike on Hawaii to reclaim it's territory, no one in Japan saw this as an act of war, it was locally regarded as an act of reclamation.



Now the Emperor had long known about the pursuit of atomic technology by both the Germans and the United States, and by this point, he was hedging his bets who'd 'discover' it first..



It should be noted that historically, there's never been any real explanation why Japan and Germany were both at war at the same time.



The Emperor of japan saw opportunity. Send freedom fighters aka zeroes to the front line from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And then. Put pressure on the local warlords in those region to cede control back to the Emperor. When this didn't happen, then the Japanese manipulated US intelligence to target two cities the Emporer would use as an example not to defy his authority again.



The plan worked out magnificently. The US contributed billions in the construction of infrastructure and training that was never there to begin with. it contributed billions more to redevelop two decimated cities - Hiroshima and Nagasaki.



And today, it should be noted that these two cities which only had about 120k people in each now have literally millions of inhabitants and have literally no signs of the events in World War 2.



Do yourselves a favor.



Look past the history books.



And ask yourselves the question:



What really happened? What is 'the end game?'



With Hollywood as an exception. most people - especially leaders - simply aren't that petty in real life without having something they're going to gain from this ...



Who really won World War 2? Did the United States, who quite literally shelled out billions of dollars to reconstruct these countries they fought against?



Since when does being the winner mean paying money for damages?



You'd be crucified if you were in court defending a lawsuit for that.

Answer 8

So... in your mind have natural resource limitations is a good excuse to start wars?



Japan's problem wasn't that "America cut off its oil."



It was and is that Japan HAS NO OIL.



No other nation caused that circumstance.

Answer 9

Why don't I realize it was America's fault? Because it wasn't, you revisionist sack of (bleep).



Or are you stating that a Nation does not have the ability to choose who it does business with?



As a sovereign nation, a country has the right to decide which nations it trades with and which nations it does not.



Japan was already in a criminally aggressive war with China. Japan had without provocation attacked other countries in order to rape and plunder their resources which Japan lacked.

Answer 10

Pay heed to what " george " said. Ultimately Yamamoto was proved correct.

Still, I 'd say it is the resources that clinched the whole issue in that War.

The Allies were having big territories & rich in resource that makes them prone to dig in & fight for a prolonged battle that will win finally as the resources poor Axis (they were in the War for resources) would run out of steam. Plus USA was unsullied at home(Pearl Harbour, Hawaii is not on mainland USA but three & half thousand miles away). The curious aspect or advantahe - it enabled them to concentrate on Researach in weapons that won the war and what's more, without any hassles or any looses ends to be tied ter the War, as was the case with WW I.

Most idiots here who bet on Axis think it is a Heavy weight boxing bout. After the event the winner & the loser collect heir money, go home, eat & sleep. War is not like that. For in stance USSR can't be knocked out of the map by Germany, nor Germany would be (at least the Allies knew being a wee bit wiser & not crazy). We are not living in Roman Empire times.

Guys like Yamamoto are half wise. Cleverness by half is dangerous, as you can't jump across a stream in two steps.

Answer 11

The US stopped selling oil, scrap metal, and aviation fuel to Japan as an economic sanction to protest Japan's invasion of China.

Answer 12

They could have drilled for oil in Japan/ Also Officers from ww2 Attacked our economy in 2008. They worked on it for 8 years purposely & the latest by going to A foreign Country to help them in destroying us through terrorism, instead got their heads cut off. Of late certain car companies sabotaged their vehicles & sent them to America & they killed people & our court's fined Toyota $1.1 Billion dollars. I wonder if it was paid yet & now another car company in Japan's safety device in the steering wheel are defective & can cause American deaths. Mike

Answer 13

Quit making crap up.

Either you're making stuff up, or you're extremely gullible.

What's your excuse for Japan invading all of those other places long before Pearl Harbor?

Answer 14

Japan's unprecedented modernization established during the Meiji Era proved to be a major catalyst for the eventual attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan along with Siam (Thailand) defeated the efforts of European empires to subvert and destroy their ability to govern themselves. Japan demanded, as it should, equal status concerning trade rights, socioeconomic development, and international affairs. The defeat of the Russian fleet at Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese war shocked European Society. Japan had moved from using essentially Junk wooden vessels to the steel hulled, Capital ship common to the most advanced Western Navies in forty years. They had learned to navigate the global political environment of the era masterfully. The outbreak of WWI only lent to their ambition for equal footing. During that conflict they sided with the Triple Entente, which provided significant access to European controlled resources that would not have been possible had the European battlefields not been so desperate and deplorable. After the war Japan had attained international status as a world power. They now had direct influence over "policy" concerning the Asia-Pacific region. The Japanese still faced several major hurdles that would lead to Pearl Harbor.

1. Japan is not rich in natural resources.

2. Internal stability was weak due to a dynamic societal change within one generation.

3. The Japanese were not European or there Caucasian "western" derivatives.

The Japanese have been an Empire, with varying periods of power distribution, for 1200 years. There principal religion, Shinto, is based upon warfare. There societal structure was based upon military, feudal, order. At no point, until after WWII, have they not continually been in the process of expansion and conquest. This is in fact exactly the same pattern that "western" civilization has been displaying through out history. The point comes down to resources and who was going to control and exploit them. The Japanese developed and lead Asia co-prosperity sphere initiative was a backlash at the dominant control European Empires had over resources located in their own region. The Japanese had no love for the "barbaric" Europeans involved in their own imperialistic agenda. The European were insulted by the "savage-natives" from Japan trying to take resources they had rightfully stole. In the end attacking Pearl Harbor was inevitable almost a fatefully obvious step when two racially misguided Empires vie for the same thing...Power.

Answer 15

Okay, you want to follow the causation train, why did the US cut off Japan's oil? Because they invaded China, and violated international arms agreements and were seeking to establish regional hegemony.



Why did you not realize that?

Answer 16

Japan's need for oil was a relative need and there were other avenues left un-explored for Japan to have tried to obtain oil without resorting to an aggressive war;however, if my need for bling (jewellery) were great enough, and you were using your money for like shopping and like buying your own groceries and things, paying your own bills and generally taking care of yourself, perhaps I might philosophise that you had really "forced" me into staging a home invasion of your home, in an attempt to get your cash so I could go shopping for more jewellery for myself. In light of the phrasing and tenor of your question, I feel that this might be a justifiable answer for you.

Answer 17

History now shows that America KNEW of the advancing Japanese fleet but chose not to intervene, as they needed an excuse to enter the war, oil or no oil.

Reminds me a bit of 9/11, really...

Answer 18

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nanking.htm



Oil trade was cut because Japan had decided to invade and take over half on the globe. From the invasion of China in 1937 to the end of World War II, the Japanese military regime murdered near 3,000,000 to over 10,000,000 people, most probably almost 6,000,000 Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war.



In 1931, the Japanese occupied the Chinese province of Manchuria transforming it into a Japanese puppet state. It was the first step in Japan's drive to control all of China. Six years would elapse before the Japanese took the next step in their plan of conquest.



The population of Nanking was subjected to an uncontrolled butchery that came to be known as "the Rape of Nanking." As the Japanese army poured into the city, fleeing residents were shot or bayoneted. Thousand of suspected members of the Chinese Army who had shed their uniforms for civilian clothing, were apprehended, their hands tied behind their backs and led en mass to killing fields where they were shot, beheaded, used for bayonet practice or killed in some other gruesome manner before being dumped into mass graves. Thousands of others were buried while still alive. Rape was rampant as thousands of women were repeatedly forced into brutal sex and often murdered once the lust of their attackers had been satisfied. The carnage lasted for six weeks and took an estimated 40,000 lives.

Answer 19

Do you not realize that Japan and America signed a peace treaty right before the attack? Seems that they weren't so forced after all.

Answer 20

America cutting of Japans oil supply may have provoked them, but we certainly did not, nor any body else, FORCE them to do so. That was their own decision.

Answer 21

Yea well no duh. If Japan is attacking the Allie territories and China which can only help nazi Germany's expand more territory in North Afruca and Europe then why not cut Japan oil. Imperial Japan did far more worse things to the Chinese than Germans did to the poles

Answer 22

Japan I believe was trying to become allies with the Axis powers of Italy and Germany. That is what made the United States cut off its oil I think.

Answer 23

Japan had invaded its neighbors including China and aligned itself with Nazi Germany, that is the reason for the oil embargo against Japan during WWII

Answer 24

Yes, that's the excuse given.



Couldn't they have just bought oil on the open market from other nations, rather than invading them to seize the oil after taking out America's pacific fleet? Or offered to help develop those oil supplies in joint projects with those other nations?



Sorry, your excuse doesn't hold water.

Answer 25

I just knew Obama would find a way to blame America for Pearl Harbor, too! Now, if he can just trace it to either GWB, or Rutherford B. Hayes!

Answer 26

You really expect us to believe Japan was sitting around minding their own business, when suddenly, just for fun, the US decides to cut off the supply for oil????????



Nice try, but no one is buying this

Answer 27

There is no question that FDR antagonized the Japs and turned a blind eye to the Pearl Harbor attack. He had a hard on for war. Before the Pearl Harbor attacks, the US population was over 90% opposed to intervening. He should have been hanged for high treason. He was one of the worst people who ever lived.

Answer 28

ok, I get why Japan attacked pearl harbour in a way, but I guess it's quite difficult for them to sympathise with Japan given the circumstances.

Answer 29

We did not force them to send bombs to our home. Would you say we were forced to send atomic bombs in response to Japan's attack? Japan fired because we cut off supply, we fired to protect our own, because a threat was made.

Answer 30

There's 2 sides to every story.The Japanese went to war with China, and attacked others as well.The U.S. decided it was not a good idea to help them economically in order for them to continue their attacks.Both sides needs to be told, but this is why you need to research things on your own, NEVER trust a college, NEVER take what they tell you as the whole truth or even truth.QUESTION everything and every aspect!

Answer 31

Japan could have backed down from their military expansion. Then the embargo would have been lifted. Unfortunately their government was controlled by radical conservatives who didn't value peace and human life enough.

Answer 32

The greater majority do not know real history. Instead, they know the "history" presented to them on TV by "The History Channel." Think they tell the truth? Think again. People realize nothing about WW2, and 99% of them will never know. Why? Stupidity, mental laziness, too busy eating, doing the internet or looking for fun ...

Answer 33

A person who attacks another person because of a perceived threat isn't the way we do things. Japan felt honor bound because it was run by war monger. But I think the world felt ( feels ) it was a dastardly attack.

Answer 34

Japan was using the oil to fuel it's wars machines. Japan was clearly the aggressor.

Answer 35

The US launched a trade embargo because it was fed up with years of Japanese war crimes in China, which Japan had invaded prior to the outbreak of WW2 which started in Europe in 1939.



One example of Japanese atrocities:



"In December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army marched into China's capital city of Nanking and proceeded to murder 300,000 out of 600,000 civilians and soldiers in the city. The six weeks of carnage would become known as the Rape of Nanking and represented the single worst atrocity during the World War II era in either the European or Pacific theaters of war."

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm



If you think that sounds awful, the reality of it was far worse.

And there's plenty of old photos showing it that you can look up if you're interested.



Reality is that Imperial Japan lost its mind and was running amok like a rabid dog.

Trying to blame the US for trying to stop that by means of nonviolent trade sanctions is ridiculous.

The Japanese have nobody to blame for what they did in the 1930s and WW2 but themselves.

Same as they have nobody to blame but themselves for it taking not one but two nuclear weapons being dropped on them to finally snap them out of it and bring them back to their senses.

Answer 36

By that logic, we should have bombed Saudi Arabia because they cut off our oil during the 1973 oil embargo crisis too! Do you know how stupid your logic sounds?

Answer 37

People, or at least most historians that I have read, do understand that fact. But the fact is that, like Hitler's attack on Poland (admittedly with less excuse), there was no declaration of war.

Answer 38

At the time Japan was busily invading, enslaving and murdering all of China while planning on invading the US. We cut off their oil supply which hurt their "honor" so they attacked us, unannounced.

Answer 39

Maybe because the Japs were ruthless *******? They shoved bayonets in women's ******* and cut off men's ***** and stuck them in their mouths. And why is the US obligated to sell Japan oil? FOH ignorant ****.

Answer 40

Saudi Arabia cut off our foreign imports from their country causing an enormous jump in prices at the pump. Should we have attacked them?

Answer 41

So how did the japanese attack on Pearl Harbour keep the Oil flowing for Japan ????

Answer 42

LOL



Yea, which is why WE destroyed cites in Saudi Arabia during the OPEC oil embargo in the 1970s.

What else were we suppose to do?

Answer 43

It wasn't a sneak attack. I will give you that much. Acting like it was a Huge surprise even 70 years later is funny

Answer 44

Nice try Emperor Hirohito.

Answer 45

Why don't you realize that the reason we cut off trade was because they insisted to attack China and the Asian colonies of our European allies?

Answer 46

What country are you even from and what schools did you go to are the real questions here(Of course, don't answer them though. This IS the internet, after all).

Answer 47

Cutting off the oil supplies might have provoked the Japanese attack but it does not justify it. You cannot force someone to attack you.

Answer 48

Well... all America was trying to force them to do was stop

a genocidal, imperialistic war in China and Manchuria.

(Their record of War crimes rivaled that of Hitler.)

Answer 49

The funny thing is that you don't seem to have asked yourself the next obvious and logical question. Why did FDR do that?

Answer 50

No the fascist government of Japan was at fault,America was not at fault

Answer 51

Big deal. Back in those days most Japanese people didn't even own cars.

Answer 52

The natural resources isn't the only way to cut off i think

Answer 53

So let's have a do over pumpkin

Answer 54

ANOTHER perfectly typical Democrat announces that like literally all Democrats, it thinks INITIATING FORCE is a LEGITIMATE way to get what you want.

Answer 55

Why do you want to realize them if they're sleeping

Answer 56

Your ignorance is amazing, troll. Like saying it's the woman's fault she was raped because she didn't allow the rapist to have sex with her.

Answer 57

I bet you support Iran and Russia based on your premise.



Why don't you support America?

Answer 58

The emperor ended up with a lot more problems

Answer 59

Yep because every time someone does something you don't like bombing and killing is justified. Dope!

Answer 60

They also could have, you know, not teamed up with the government that murdered my people.

Answer 61

It didn't work out that well for them, did it?

Answer 62

You must really like anime.

Answer 63

You why were they given the okay to attack so we could test the Atom Bomb?

Answer 64

As you see the ultra liberal younger generation wants to see the US as the villian.

Answer 65

History is what it is.

Answer 66

You ever hear of the Rape of Nanking.................didn't think, that was reason of enough.

Answer 67

But Prescott Bush was selling them Oil



and etheltetral lead so their Aircraft could Fly on the 7 dec 1941



STANDARD OIL = Prescott Bush



In l941, Standard Oil of New Jersey was the largest petroleum corporation in the world. Its bank was Chase, its owners the Rockefeller's. Its chairman, Walter C. Teagle, and its President was William S. Farish Bush’s grandfather, who had extensive connections with the Nazi government. However, by April l7, l945, the Chase National Bank "was placed on trial in federal court on charges of having violated the Trading With the Enemy Act."



Standard Oil supplied $20 million dollars worth of aviation fuel to the Nazi Luftwaffe in 1938. A senior managing partner of the firm was George Bush's father, Prescott Bush. As a result of being supplied with the best aviation fuel on the market, Hitler's air force was then capable of fire bombing London.



"When war broke out, Frank A. Howard, one of the more dynamic vice-presidents of Standard [also on the board of Chase Bank], flew to Europe with Bush’s grandfather William Stamps Farish who authorized the meeting with I.G. Farben's representative Fritz Ringer. The two men drew up an agreement that specified they would remain in business together, "Whether or not the United States came into the war."



During and after World War II, William Stamps Farish staffed the Standard oil tankers with Nazi crews. When war broke out in Europe, he ran into trouble with British Intelligence, which boarded some of his vessels outside U.S territorial waters on the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards and seized Nazi agents who were passengers. When the British began interrogating Nazi crews on the Hitler-Standard connection, Farish fired the Germans and changed the registry of the entire fleet to Panamanian to avoid British search and seizure. His vessels carried oil to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where they refueled and siphoned oil to German tankers for shipment to Hamburg. They also fueled U-boats even after the American government was fighting an undeclared war in the Atlantic.



Standard tankers supplied the German submarines with fuel, which resulted in the sinking of thousands of American ships. By the end of the war, German U-Boats had sent over 3,450 ships and hundreds of thousands of men with 14 million tons of Allied shipping to the bottom of the sea. Bush’s grandfather William Stamps Farish was making millions of dollars selling oil to fuel Hitler’s war machine, with no guilt or remorse for how many people he was killing. But as the war grew worse, Farish was hauled before a Senate committee who was investigating the corporate corruption, that was endangering the national defense.



On March 26, 1941, Attorney General Thurman Arnold appeared before the Truman Committee (in Congress) in order to lay in front of the committee his specific charges against Standard Oil. He showed how William Stamps Farish had flagrantly disregarded Lend-Lease and Good Neighbor Policies in his connivance with Hitler. He also zeroed in on the subject of the secrete patent process for making synthetic gas and rubber, how Farish had purposely kept this new technology from the U.S. Military while he sold the information to the Nazis and the Japanese. Arnold charged that cables showed that Standard Oil had made arrangements with Japan and Germany to continue supplying them with fuel throughout any conflict regardless if war were to break out between the two nations. Leaving the Senate chamber on March 28, 1941, surrounded by lots of reporters and photographers, Truman was asked, "Is this treason?" He replied in the affirmative.



to the Thumbs down get an education or do some research Prescott Bush the Rockefeller s and the Duponts Helped the Japanes and the Nazis wage WW2



IBM helped Round Up Jews





http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh55-6.html





what do you think Iraq was all about ? ? ensuring the Oil flow so the Oil from Mexico would Not Go Up it is ok if the USA starts a war over Oil But God forbid anyone else believes they have the Same Rights

Answer 68

lol

Answer 69

OK.

Answer 70

American propaganda

Answer 71

oh please.