Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy cover
Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy
by Eri Hotta
Description: Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy provides an account of the events and decisions in Japan leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, focusing on the political and military context of that time
ISBN: 0307594017
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jordanb · 2015-12-05 · Original thread
I've read the linked book[0] and you're right that the headline gets it wrong. It should have said that the decision to attack Pearl Harbor was the result of Face-saving among the Japanese military leadership. To summarize:

The US had embargoed Japan and was demanding that the army (IJA) withdraw to its pre-war Manchurian borders in China. The IJA needed American goods to prosecute the war but such withdrawal would result in an utter loss of face for the IJA.

The IJA instead proposed that the US and Dutch be attacked and goods be secured from American and Dutch colonies (Philippines and Indonesia) to fight the war in China. This would chiefly be a Naval war and thus executed by the IJN.

The IJA hoped to force the IJN to share in its loss of face by admitting it wasn't powerful enough to fight the USN. But the Admirals refused to publicly admit that they couldn't fight the USN (privately they lobbied the Emperor and his subordinates to intervene). Through this impasse between the service branches the Japanese government drifted towards a war they knew they couldn't win.

[0] http://www.amazon.com/Japan-1941-Countdown-Eri-Hotta/dp/0307...