The Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941, is not the atrocity it is portrayed to be. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour was a result of US provocation. The Lend-Lease Act infringed on America’s neutrality; Japan felt oppressed by American policies, and the US actively supported the Allied forces, without ever officially declaring war.

The Lend Lease Act was truly unfair to the Axis powers, and made the Japanese angry. The Lend Lease Act was to send 7 billion dollars worth of military (102 billion dollars in 2007 terms) by 1942 in military goods to Britain, on the agreement that they would be returned after the war (The Battle of the Atlantic, 22). Japan however, was receiving nothing from the US. A true neutral country would have either supported both sides equally, or provided no support at all. Japan knew that the United States Neutrality Act from the 1930’s was rapidly becoming nonexistent or easy to maneuver around. Clearly these actions by the United States are going to make the Axis feel threatened. The United States was directly supporting the Allied forces by supplying them with things they needed for the war. Japan and Germany realize that had the United States not participated in any part of the war, it might have already been over. An American phrase popular in 1940 was, ‘all aid short of war,’ (Lend-Lease. Growth of American Support). Japan could not be expected to stand there idle while their enemies are being heavily supported by the United States. In the wording of the Lend-Lease Act, it states President Roosevelt could help, “any nation whose fight against the Axis aided the defense of the US (190 World Book.) In that statement he is saying that he is directly supporting Japan’s enemies.  Japan’s enemy, China, and the US are also allied. “Based on official U.S. documents, the Sankei Shimbum reported that the United States compiled a plan to send bombers and pilots to China to secretly support Chinese forces in the Sino-Japanese war” (U.S. planned to bomb Japan). Without the fear of looking bad in the public eye, and getting involved in the war officially, the United States had plans to give bombers to the China on the duty that they would attack Japan. Japan would be threatened by these actions, were thus justified in a ‘surprise attack’ of their own. “On July 23 that year, then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt approved a plan to provide U.S. aircraft to the Chinese government, by initiating the documents “OK, FDR,” according to the report.” (U.S. planned to bomb Japan). The Lend-Lease act directly supported the Allied forces, and was unfair to the Axis.