The Japanese intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Explanation:Objectives. The Japanese attack had several major aims. First, it intended to destroy important American fleet units, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya and to enable Japan to conquer Southeast Asia without interference.
They decided to strike in order to prevent the United States from attacking them. The Japanese thought that if they took out the war ships in Pearl Harbor, then the United States Navy would be crippled and would never attack.
