What was the "real" reason Japan attacked United States?

Dear Wiseguy, 

Many book were written on the agression of Imperial Japan and the
reasons to attack Pearl Harbor.

One should look at Japan's regime at that time - a militaristic Empire
who was interested in seizing control over most of East Asia and the
Pacific and that has threatened European/American interests in the
region (Almost all lands in Asia were either European/American
colonies or highly influenced by those countries).

The attack of Pearl Harbor, a US main naval base, would disable the US
Navy and ease the occupation of the Philippines (American colony) and
other areas in South Asia and the Pacific.



Further Reading
===============

Blue Hill Public School, "Why Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor?" 
<http://www.esu9.k12.ne.us/%7Ebluehill/DP/Pearl_Harbor/Pearl_harbor_home.html
(alternatively try http://www.esu9.org/~bluehill/DP/Pearl_Harbor/Why.html>.

Sarah Dufort, Dominic Fatore, Josh Mattingly, Ray Zedler, "Pearl
Harbor Attack", <http://www.pitt.edu/~jcm11/NavalResearch/pearlharbor.html>

Martin Gilbert, A History of the Twentieth Century, Vol. Two:
1933-1951 (New York: William Morrow and Co., 1998).

Haskew, Mark "Sins of Omission"
<http://www.ieteen.org/extra/extra0701b.html>

Edwin P. Hoyt, Japan’s War: The Great Pacific Conflict (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1986)

Seach terms
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I think that answered your question. If you need any clarifications,
please let me know before you rate the question.

1.  Oil, rubber, and minerals quarantine against them by the U.S.?
2.  Future rights to Godzilla movies?

Not sure.  Missed history that day.  heh  heh  heh

I read a terrific history of the PTO from the Japanese perspective;
I'll get you the name of it when I find it in the library again.
Barring that, try any Japanese authored history of WWII. You'll be
shocked how different the accounts of causality are.

I recently saw a TV programme that indicated that it was the USA that
fired the first hostile shot.  A US warship sank a Japanese submarine
just before the attack on Pearl Harbor:

"It claimed that, an hour before waves of enemy aeroplanes struck its
naval base, an American warship sank a Japanese submarine leading an
underwater attack force."
http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2002/08/30/1030508122886.htm

THX -- it's long been known that the Japanese had launched several
mini-subs outside the mouth of Pearl Harbor, intended as part of the
attack to torpedo escaping ships.  A U.S. destroyer detected them and
depth-charged them but it was unknown if any were sunk -- that's why
the recent discovery by divers was surprising.

Two excellent books edited by Robert Cowley, the former editor of
Military History Quarterly, outline Adm. Yamamoto's strategy in
attacking Pearl Harbor:
"What If? The World's Foremost Historians Imagine What Might Have
Been"
"No End Save Victory"

Yamamoto Isoroku was very aware of the strengths of his plan -- and
the long-term threat of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.  He hoped for a
strategic coup by catching at least two of the three American carriers
in Pearl Harbor but that part of the plan failed.

Thats called American Propaganda


The Japanese bombed pearl harbor because the united states cut off
their oil supply. Obviously, they needed oil, so they attacked their
main navel force.

Japan had no intention of invading United States(at that time).

And Godzilla was made in 1949 ;)