Why Didn’t Japan Invade Hawai’i After Pearl Harbor?

Logistics had little to do with it

Japanese soldiers march through Singapore (Public domain)

After the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, the panicked citizens of Hawaii believed that an invasion was imminent. Reports of Japanese patrol planes and shadowy landing craft moving in from the horizon paralyzed the island for the rest of 1941. It seemed like a logical conclusion to draw. Most invasions were preceded by a heavy bombing attack.

Even the military on the island was preparing for an invasion. The navy was digging trenches along the beaches and setting up machine gun nests and barbed wire tangles to prevent Japanese soldiers from gaining a foothold in Honolulu.

But a Japanese invasion never came. It was never a part of the plan to invade Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese also passed up juicy targets in Australia and Ceylon where defenses were light and victory could have been easily secured if they had planned properly.

So why didn’t the Japanese invade targets like Hawaii during their offensive?

(dis)Unity of Command

Army and navy officers sit across from each other at the high command (Public domain)