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The Imperial edict of declaration of war by the Empire of Japan on the United States and the British Empire ( 米國及英國ニ對スル宣戰ノ詔書) was published on December 8, 1941 (Japan time; December 7 in the United States), 7.5 hours after Japanese forces started an attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor and attacks on British forces in Malaya,
Declaration of war by the Empire of Japan on the United States and British EmpireJapan's declaration of war
Hansard, 8 December 1941 (records of debate in the British Houses of Parliament) {{Authority control Declarations of war during World War II Japan–United Kingdom military relations Japan–United States military relations 1941 in international relations 1941 in Japan 1941 in the United Kingdom 1941 in the United States 1941 in military history 1941 in the British Empire British Empire in World War II December 1941 events Axis powers 1941 documents
The Imperial edict of declaration of war by the Empire of Japan on the United States and the British Empire ( 米國及英國ニ對スル宣戰ノ詔書) was published on December 8, 1941 (Japan time; December 7 in the United States), 7.5 hours after Japanese forces started an attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor and attacks on British forces in Malaya, Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
. The declaration of war was printed on the front page of all Japanese newspapers' evening editions on December 8. The document was subsequently printed again on the eighth day of each month throughout the war (until Japan surrendered in 1945), to re-affirm the resolve for the war.
Text of the document
Below is the text to the declaration of the war with the boldened texts released in the name of theEmperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...
:
Historical context
The document declares the war against theUnited States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, discusses their presumed disruptive actions against Japan's foreign policy and states that all avenues for averting war have been exhausted from the Government of Japan
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state ...
. Japan had invaded much of East Asia to create what they called the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The , also known as the GEACPS, was a concept that was developed in the Empire of Japan and propagated to Asian populations which were occupied by it from 1931 to 1945, and which officially aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian peo ...
", now largely viewed as a pretext for imperialism. In response, the US imposed an oil embargo An oil embargo is an economic situation wherein entities engage in an embargo to limit the transport of petroleum to or from an area, in order to exact some desired outcome. One commentator states, " oil embargo is not a common commercial practice; ...
on Japan in August 1941 to stop aiding their aggression in Asia and to contain Japanese actions. There was also an embargo on steel. Japan saw this as a hostile and provocative act, and retaliated with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the declarations of war on the US and the British Empire.
See also
*Arcadia Conference The First Washington Conference, also known as the Arcadia Conference (ARCADIA was the code name used for the conference), was held in Washington, D.C., from December 22, 1941, to January 14, 1942. President Roosevelt of the United States and Prime ...
*Declarations of war during World War II
This is a timeline of declarations of war during World War II.
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is usually the act of delivering a performative speech or the presentation of a ...
* Diplomatic history of World War II
The diplomatic history of World War II includes the major foreign policies and interactions inside the opposing coalitions, the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers, between 1939 and 1945.
High-level diplomacy began as soon as the war start ...
*Hull note
The Hull note, officially the Outline of Proposed Basis for Agreement Between the United States and Japan, was the final proposal delivered to the Empire of Japan by the United States of America before the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1 ...
* Kellogg–Briand Pact
The Kellogg–Briand Pact or Pact of Paris – officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy – is a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war to ...
* United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan
* United States declaration of war on Japan
On December 8, 1941, the United States Congress declared war () on the Empire of Japan in response to that country's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and declaration of war the prior day. The Joint Resolution Declaring that a state of war exist ...
* 大東亜戦争
* 大詔を拝し奉りて
References
External links
Declaration of war by the Empire of Japan on the United States and British Empire
Hansard, 8 December 1941 (records of debate in the British Houses of Parliament) {{Authority control Declarations of war during World War II Japan–United Kingdom military relations Japan–United States military relations 1941 in international relations 1941 in Japan 1941 in the United Kingdom 1941 in the United States 1941 in military history 1941 in the British Empire British Empire in World War II December 1941 events Axis powers 1941 documents