Is it generally accepted that the US provoked Japan by stationing so many ships in Pearl Harbor? Or is it a conspiracy theory?

by robj185
Meesus

Not at all. Of all the apologist arguments for Imperial Japan, it's probably the least convincing. The argument generally tendered by Imperial Japanese apologists (and one of the immediate driving factors for them going to war with the US) is that the American oil embargo threatened Japan's strategic situation and that American demands (namely, withdraw from French Indochina and cease the war with China) were unreasonable.

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That line of thinking holds some weight in that Japan absolutely was dependent on oil imports to keep its economy running and continue fighting its wars. We can see this manifested in Japan's strategy early in the war. In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan thrust down into the Dutch East Indies, which held the oil Japan needed to keep its economy and war machine running. What the US intended was to force Japan to withdraw from Indochina and stop the war in China, not provoke Japan into striking first. However, given sentiments within Japan's high command and the general nationalistic sentiment within Japan at the time, it'd be hard to expect Japan to willingly back down (not that American decision makers actually knew it was the case).

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If you're interested in Japan's path to war with the US, I'd suggest picking up "Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy" by Eri Hotta.