Supposedly about 43% of the Hawaiian population was Japanese in 1920, and they continue to have a large presence today. Why would the Japanese bomb their own in WWII, a time of such strong ethno-nationalism? Was there some builtup animosity toward Hawaiians and Japanese expats?

by OneStandardMale

I found out Japanese is perhaps the largest ethnic group in Hawaii just now, and I was somewhat surprised. Was there some animosity in Japan toward those who emigrated?

restricteddata

The Japanese did not bomb indiscriminately at Pearl Harbor: they bombed the military facilities almost exclusively. The majority of the civilian deaths came from American attempts to fire back at the Japanese (anti-aircraft shells that didn't explode in the air and fell into housing) — I'm not criticizing this, but just making it clear where those deaths came from. The Japanese goal was to destroy ships, facilities, and kill soldiers.

I bring this up because it seems like you are under the incorrect impression that many of the Japanese who lived in Hawaii were targeted or killed by the Pearl Harbor attack. The reason the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor had nothing to do with the people who lived in Hawaii, it had to do with the fact that it was the most important American naval base in the Pacific Ocean. The majority of the people who worked at the naval base were not Japanese-Americans.