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why didn't Japan invade the US?

According to people, I was informed that Japan never invaded the US because they knew US citizens were armed. Is this true? Any support?

20 Answers

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  • Lomax
    Lv 7
    5 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Japan didn't invade the USA because they lacked the resources to do so. They were already hideously over-stretched in 1941 with their war against China. Picking a fight with the USA was, frankly, the most stupid thing they could have done.

  • 5 years ago

    If you magically made every single gun in the United States in 1941 disappear, except those owned by the government, that would not have made a Japanese invasion even 1% more likely. Civilian-owned firearms were NOT, in any way, a factor in Japan's decision not to try and invade the United States - Japan's army would simply have killed any civilian they found, using machine guns, tanks, artillery, and bombs, had anyone shot back.

    Japan didn't invade the United States because Japan didn't have ten million soldiers available, plus millions of tons of supplies, thousands of airplanes, and the thousands of ships needed to transport and protect all of that across thousands of miles of ocean. Japan was a small country with little industry (compared to the giant industry of the United States).

  • DON W
    Lv 7
    5 years ago

    Japan never planned an invasion of the US mainland. Their attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to make the US leave them alone while they conquered Asia.

    The availability of weapons in the US played no role in their decision.

    The person should have used Switzerland as an example of their argument. The Swiss in 1940 required (and still do) that every adult male be part of a highly-trained and mobile nationwide militia, and keep a government-supplied firearm in their home. Knowing that the people were trained to defend Switzerland, and the difficulty of the terrain, were major reasons why Germany and Italy never invaded Switzerland in World War II. That's the "well-regulated militia" that the writers of the Constitution probably had in mind when they wrote the 2nd Amendment. There's some similarity to Israel, where everyone must attend military training when they are a young adult, and be subject to rapid call-up if there's a need.

  • John C
    Lv 5
    5 years ago

    Japan did not invade mainland USA in WW2 because they had no need to do so. They did invade American territories, including the Aleutians. The idea that the did not invade because Americans were armed is nonsense. Most Americans were not armed. The few that were would not have stopped the Imperial Japanese army, any more than armed civilians in Europe stopped the Germans.

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  • Steven
    Lv 5
    5 years ago

    Isoruku Yamamoto was a government attache' in Wash,DC before ww2,he traveled the North Eastern United States and viewed the US production capability,he also attended Harvard.Yamamoto kept Tokyo up to speed on what he seen on his travels,he reported that each state was like a standing army in its self with the number of hunters and armed civilians.His advice to Tokyo was to scrap any notion of invading main land America.Japan's resources were at a premium and Yamamoto knew he would lose a war of attrition.Yamamoto's correspondence with Tokyo is available to anybody to read,Yamamoto was against war with the US but still took the helm of the Imperial Japanese Fleet,knowing he would enjoy victory for only a short period of time.Resources were a item that Japan had to take if they could not purchase them,scrap iron,oil,rubber,tin and ore just to name a few.Yamamoto mentioned his fondness of the American people and respect he had for many that he met through his government service and travels,hope this helps you.

  • 5 years ago

    They hated sh&^ty music. If the war took place in the 50's or 60's during Elvis and the Beatles, they would've totally invaded. On a positive note, sushi and martial arts would've been here sooner.

  • Trevor
    Lv 5
    5 years ago

    Japan could not invade the USA simply because of the Distance between Japan and the USA, How the hell could the Japanese keep a supply going from so far away.

  • 5 years ago

    Technically they did. In 1942 they invaded the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska.

    But they never intended to invade America because it was logistically unfeasible.

  • 5 years ago

    You are 1000% correct...

    Admiral Yamamoto even stated that most Americans are

    Armed to the Japanese War Cabinet...prior to Pearl Harbor...

    He also stated that he could only promise them

    6 months of their offensives after they attacked Pearl...

    Really need to study the "Real Reason" the Japanese

    went and took those Counties...

    Bottom line they were Forced to do it...

    (Dutch (Shell)/England/France/America

    are not as innocent as we are made to believe...)

    Strongly suggest that everyone Read...

    "War Is A Racket"...

    Written by: Brig Gen Smedley D. Butler USMC (Ret) 1935...

    (Abe Books...)

    A real eye opener...

  • Steve
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    They invaded Alaska.

    A few years ago, japanese records were released showing they feared invading the main land because everybody has guns.

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