Why did Japan stop at Pearl Harbor and not attack California directly?

Answer 1

Japans purpose in attacking Pear Harbor was to destroy tyhe US Pacific fleet, especially the US aircraft carriers. Japan intended to inhibit the United States ability to respond to Japanese expansion in Eastern Pacific rim countries. Japan was not able nor did Japan have any tactical or stratigic reason to invade California or to occupy Hawaii. Pearl Harbor was THE major US Navy base and bombing California was unnecessary. While Japan had a formidable navy, it could not amass a sufficient invasion force nor could it have supported many troops once they were ashore. They were greatly extended as it was at Pearl Harbor; mainland America is 2400 miles further east from that. There were a couple of attempts to take over some of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska (at that time Alaska was not a state) but those were short-lived, poorly supported and inevitably failed. Yes, they could have invaded but not with any great success. Just as it took the USA several years to build up a huge resource of bombers, Marines, amphibious boats, and 99 carriers - all in anticipation of invading Japan, the Japanese would have required vast resources to successfully invade the USA mainland.....resources they did not and never were going to get. Japan could have had some success invading peripheral North American areas. For example they did occupy for a year or so, a couple of Alaskan islands. Probably they could have invaded Alaska proper and occupied the major cities. Hawaii? Probably but not with the forces immediately available. Panama - maybe for a brief time, enough to destroy the canal. Point is that any of these operations would have required a major commitment that would have taken away from operations elsewhere: Burma, Philipines, Wake, etc. Japan never seriously considered such an invasion. Instead their plan was to occupy several bands of islands/territories that would be mutually defensible with planes and warships. They hoped the USA would tire of attacking these outposts and getting bloodied, and thus opt for a negotiated peace that would leave Japan the dominant Far Eastern power. As with Germany in Europe, the whole plan was to gain stature as a world power, not to destroy the western nations. World War II was one big power play where those on the near outside tried to penetrate the upper levels of power occupied by the USA, Britain and Russia but were unable to do so and were knocked down.