1941-12-08

Pacific War opens

Tokyo and the Pacific theaterJapan · The Pearl Harbor attack and Southeast Asian offensives expanded Japan’s war beyond China into the Pacific.

Other events in this phase

Second Sino Japanese War81
  1. Tripartite Pact signed
  2. New Fourth Army Incident
  3. Battle of Hong Kong
  4. Pacific War opensCurrent record
  5. Taiwanese Army volunteer system
  6. Doolittle Raid
  7. Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign
See all 81

Context

After the Pacific War opened, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan were pulled into one total-war system.

Sources and media

The Britannica Pearl Harbor entry is paired with JACAR wartime-administration records.

Media

First Tojo CabinetVisual recordFirst Tojo CabinetA cabinet photograph connecting Japan’s wartime government to the opening of the Pacific War.

Source Trail

ReferenceEncyclopaedia Britannica · Pearl Harbor attackOpen sourcePrimary SourceJACAR · Japan Center for Asian Historical RecordsOpen source