Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:16:07-1:17:14

Were Japan and the United States really negotiating peace?

The prewar talks were continuing diplomatic exchanges over policy in China, not negotiations to end an existing war.

Imperial JapanNaval DiplomacySecond Sino Japanese WarUnited States
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Question

Did Japan negotiate with the United States in bad faith while its carrier fleet sailed for Pearl Harbor?

Short answer

The contacts were an unresolved diplomatic argument over Japan's actions in China, not negotiations for a peace treaty ending an existing war.

Notes

The viewer asks whether sending the strike fleet while talking to Washington proved that Japan negotiated in bad faith. Ordinary diplomatic contact differed from a peace negotiation: the two states were not yet at war and were not drafting a peace treaty. Washington pressed Japan over its actions in China, while Japan asserted a right to continue its chosen policy. That deadlock matters because describing every exchange as a peace negotiation can make the timing of the strike appear more straightforward than the diplomatic record supports.