The Japanese decided then that they had to blunt that U S response by attacking the U S Pacific Fleet at anchor Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. By attacking Pearl Harbor Japan believes that it can severely cripple the U S fleet and buy them time in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
While there is no single correct or simple reason for the attack, this lesson should help students realize that Japan's motivation for attacking Pearl Harbor was driven by its political self interests, its scarcity of economic resources and perceived opportunity costs, and America's embargo policy.