Gambling that brought disaster: Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? – Japan | Attack | Pearl Harbor | USA | World War

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The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 changed the course of World War II and world history. The Japanese military suddenly attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base located near the US territory of Honolulu, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor became the hub of the American fleet. About 16 US ships were damaged. 188 aircraft were destroyed. 2335 US soldiers were killed. It became the largest attack on American soil up to that point. In retaliation, the US used nuclear weapons on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. This became an event that shocked the conscience of the world.

Yesterday was the 81st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. The US was still a powerful country, although it was not as infallible as it is today. A country with an excellent tri-tier army. Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? Why did the nuclear bomb that led to the destruction of two cities provoke the attack?

There are various reasons for this. But the main reason for this was oil and other industrial materials, according to the Imperial War Museum of Japan.

Japan was a country with many imperial ambitions in the 20th century. They did this with the aim of rapid development of their industrial sector and financial sector. But they were shaken by the lack of natural resources and fuel. At that time, Japan was importing 94 percent of the country’s oil. The Manchurian War with China further pushed Japan into a fuel crisis.

It was also the days when the US, which did not interfere much in world politics, became active. In protest of Japan’s war in Vietnam, the US froze Japanese assets in America and stopped selling oil and other industrial goods to Japan. The Imperial War Museum points out that Japan attacked the US to deter the US from taking action against them. They thought that this would give them dominance in the Pacific region. It was a gamble. But the move backfired.

∙ The story of the cursed island

Native Hawaiians consider Pearl Harbor to be a cursed island. There is a story behind this. The story of Kahupahu, the goddess of sharks, and her brother Kahiuka.

Pearl Harbor was once known as Puloa. At that time, the sharks that lived in the sea near Puloa were the Kahupahu and her Kahia. Being good sharks, they protected people from other aggressive sea creatures and helped fishermen. In this way, the natives worshiped Kahupahu, who was their protector, as the goddess of sharks. Meanwhile, a terror shark named Mikololu arrived at Puloa with his companions from another place. That arrival was to kill the people of Puloa. But Kahupahu, who was protecting the people, did not allow this. Then the good sharks, led by Kahupahu, and the man-eating sharks, led by Mikalolu, turned and fought. This battle is recorded in Hawaiian legends as the Battle of the Sharks.

Mikalolu lost the battle anyway. The Aboriginal people of Pearl Harbor believed that Cahupahu lived on as the goddess of sharks, protecting the people of Puloa. But in 1902, the American government started widening the harbor here. The natives opposed this. They said that the Kahupahu lived there and would not like to see something like this. But US development continued. The newly built harbor collapsed in 1913. The natives then said that this happened because of the curse of Kahupahu. Cahupahu left the islanders with the oysters on the shore.

Content summary : Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor

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