Japan had considered attacking Pearl Harbor before the Pacific Fleet was based there, but those earlier concepts assumed a much smaller target set. Such an attack was a spoiling raid rather than the decisive engagement at the center of Kantai Kessen. The preferred battle would catch an American fleet after a long Pacific advance toward the Philippines, when ships, crews, and tankers were operating at the far end of their support line. Japanese forces could then cut that line and concentrate nearer their own bases. Pearl Harbor in 1941 placed the major fleet close to American logistics instead of in the distant waters Japanese doctrine preferred.
Chapter · 26:32-27:59
Why Pearl Harbor was not the desired battlefield
Earlier Pearl Harbor concepts were spoiling attacks; the preferred decisive encounter was nearer Japan and the end of America’s supply line.