“Thus, the earnest hope of the Japanese Government to adjust Japanese-American relations and to preserve and promote the peace of the Pacific through cooperation with the American Government has finally been lost. The Japanese Government regrets to have to notify hereby the American Government that in view of the attitude of the American Government it cannot but consider that it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations.”
– Closing lines of the “Japanese Note to the United States,” on 7 December 1941 (which was delivered an hour after the Pearl Harbor attack, and did not contain an actual declaration of war anyway)
Pearl Harbor was part of a series of attacks throughout the Pacific …
On a warm Sunday morning in Hawaii, Japanese carrier planes attacked the United States fleet in Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. But contrary to popular perception, this was not the only place that they attacked that day. The attack was actually simultaneous with moves elsewhere in the Pacific on places like British Malaya, British Singapore, and British Hong Kong. Prior to these attacks, neither the United States nor Britain had been at war with Japan; so these two countries were thus drawn into the Pacific theater of World War II at almost the same time. Other American possessions that were attacked at around this time were Guam, Wake Island, Midway Island, and the Philippines.
"Battleship Row" at Pearl Harbor (photograph taken from a Japanese torpedo plane, 1941)
Comments on the Ben Affleck movie “Pearl Harbor” (2001), which was terrible …
When I was in high school, I saw the Ben Affleck movie “Pearl Harbor” (made in 2001). From an entertainment point of view, this movie is barely passable if you can stomach the romance - and skip certain inappropriate parts of it. From a strategic point of view, it is (if anything) even worse. The B-25 bomber planes of the later Doolittle Raids did not fly like fighter planes, and the idea that they would be flown by fighter pilots like the ones who flew at Pearl Harbor was sheer nonsense. This is one of a number of colossally bad goofs in the movie. If you want the real story of Pearl Harbor, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is the best movie on the subject. In my opinion, it may be one of the best war movies ever made. It is not without some goofs (as I will comment on later in this post); but it got more things right than the later Ben Affleck movie ever did. “Tora! Tora! Tora!” was a movie made jointly by American and Japanese filmmakers, and it was a bigger hit in Japan than it was in the United States. People have complained of the documentary-like way in which it portrays the story, but I think the story benefits much from sticking to the facts for the most part. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it is much more entertaining than many Americans have tended to give it credit for.
Picture from the Ben Affleck movie “Pearl Harbor” (2001)
Japanese motivations for attacking the United States at this time
The Japanese had already been at war with China for over four years by the time they attacked Pearl Harbor (something that this movie notes), and they were angry with the United States for cutting off trade with them in vital war materials – including (and especially) oil. The United States disapproved of their war in China (and rightfully so), and so had tried to sabotage them by trade sanctions. Like the terrorists of recent years, the Japanese believed that the United States would back down after a blow like this; but they succeeded only in “awaken[ing] a sleeping giant, and fill[ing] him with a terrible resolve,” in the words of the quote often attributed to Admiral Yamamoto. (Although as the special feature for this DVD notes, there is some question as to whether he actually said this. It was probably a line intended to end this movie on a note that Americans would find more hopeful, as the producers admit in the special features for this movie's DVD.)
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor
The plans for the attack, with information obtained from Japanese spies
This movie mentions how the Japanese had information about the American fleet in Hawaii, but does not mention how they came by this information. This is one of the biggest oversights of the movie, from a strategic point of view. There were a number of Japanese nationals on the island – including a valuable spy named Takeo Yoshikawa, who was the source of much of their information there. In fairness to the movie, they had a lot of ground to cover in three hours; and some things probably had to be cut out in the interest of time. But this was one of the most important aspects of their attack, which would probably have been worthy of some mention here. As FDR argued in his “Day of Infamy” speech, the distance of Hawaii from Japan “makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.” (Source: “Day of Infamy” speech, 8 December 1941) In fact, the planning for the attack began even earlier than that. The Japanese had engaged in preliminary planning for this attack early in 1941, and full-scale planning for this attack actually began in the spring of 1941. (Although I should note that the attack plan was not approved by Emperor Hirohito until November 5th, which was slightly more than a month before the attack. Thus, FDR's estimate may be more accurate in regards to when the plan was approved; although the planning actually went much further back than that, if you count the pre-approval planning.)
Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy at Pearl Harbor
The “Japanese note to the United States” did not contain an actual declaration of war …
Contrary to popular belief, the “Japanese note to the United States” (commonly known as the 14-part message) did not contain an actual declaration of war. It only said that the hope for peace “has finally been lost,” and that “in view of the attitude of the American Government,” the Japanese government could not but consider that it was “impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations.” (Source: Text of the note) This movie helps to perpetuate the myth that this document contained an actual declaration of war – or, at least, an ultimatum. They said that “the Japanese have presented what amounts to an ultimatum.” This was probably done in order to pacify Japanese audiences of this movie, who enjoyed this movie somewhat more than the American audiences did (as its box office sales in Japan would indicate). Moreover, even if this 14-part message had contained an actual declaration of war, it was not delivered to the American government until one hour after the attack had started – something the movie does note in its closing segments, although it does put the blame for this on slow code-breaking and slow typing on the part of the Japanese Embassy. Since the Americans had cracked the Japanese codes, they actually got the text of the message decoded before the Japanese Embassy had it ready for them. Nonetheless, the Japanese failure to deliver it was significant; and FDR made sure to note this in his “Day of Infamy” speech.
FDR addresses a joint session of Congress after the attack, 1941
… and when they did declare war, the declaration came too late to be any good
Depending on which time zone you were in, the attack could be either on December 7th or December 8th. On December 7th American time (or on December 8th Japanese time), the Japanese declaration of war was published in Japanese newspapers, after the attack on Pearl Harbor had begun. It was also published after the Japanese attacks on British bases in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong had begun. I will quote from the text of that declaration now: “We hereby declare War on the United States of America and the British Empire. The men and officers of Our Army and Navy shall do their utmost in prosecuting the war.” (Source: Japanese Declaration of War against the United States and the British Empire) Although this declaration was published in Japanese newspapers on the day of the attack (albeit after it had already begun), it was not delivered to the American government until the day after the attack. Thus, in every conceivable way, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor broke international laws.
USS Arizona during the attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941
Response to the conspiracy theories about FDR and Pearl Harbor
Some conspiracy theorists have argued that FDR “sacrificed” the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, to get us into World War II. But there are a number of problems with this argument, such as the fact that FDR was then more interested in fighting the Germans than the Japanese. (He was more interested in the war in Europe, as his support for Britain during this time indicates.) Another is the fact that he would never have wanted to open World War II with an American defeat, which is what Pearl Harbor was. The day after the attack, Mr. Roosevelt noted in his “Day of Infamy” speech that the Pearl Harbor attack “caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost.” (Source: “Day of Infamy” speech) He did not mention how many “American lives” had been lost; but in all, more than 2,400 Americans were killed (including 68 civilians). The Japanese did not target civilians during this attack, I should add here, but some of them died anyway. At that time, the Japanese were after bigger game; although they targeted plenty of civilians at other times during the war, in places like Nanking and Greater China. Revisionists today like to omit this part, but it is definitely a big part of what happened. Revisionism is a negative thing when it is not backed by evidence, and a lack of evidence is characteristic of the conspiracy theories surrounding FDR and the attack at Pearl Harbor. This movie is much more accurate on this score, and this is one of the greatest strengths of the movie.
Conclusion: This movie is overall a pretty accurate depiction of the attack
So all in all, this movie is a pretty accurate depiction of the attack. It still remains the greatest movie ever made about Pearl Harbor. There are indeed some goofs, but they are small goofs compared to those of the Ben Affleck movie that I mentioned earlier. “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is still one of the best, and is one of the most truthful war movies ever made.
Footnote: Excerpts from the “Day of Infamy” speech
“Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.”
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the opening lines of his “Day of Infamy” speech (8 December 1941)
“Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.”
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the closing lines of the “Day of Infamy” speech (8 December 1941)
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Japanese American soldiers in World War II
A review of "Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire" (PBS Empires)
Forgotten battlegrounds of the World Wars: Asia and the Pacific
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Why dropping the bombs on Japan was the right thing to do
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