Japan bombed Pearl Harbor primarily due to a combination of its urgent need for natural resources, especially oil, which were being restricted by U.S. economic sanctions, and its strategic goal to expand its empire in Asia and the Pacific. The United States, in response to Japanese aggression in China and Southeast Asia, imposed embargoes and froze Japanese assets, threatening Japan's military and industrial capabilities. Japan also perceived the U.S. Pacific Fleet, stationed at Pearl Harbor, as a significant obstacle to its expansionist ambitions and believed that a preemptive strike would neutralize American naval power, giving Japan time to consolidate gains in Asia. Japan aimed to deliver a decisive blow to delay or prevent U.S. interference in its conquests and hoped the attack might demoralize the U.S. into negotiating peace, although this proved mistaken. In summary, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was driven by Japan's need to secure resources, circumvent economic restrictions, pursue imperial expansion, and its strategic calculation to weaken U.S. naval power in the Pacific before full-scale war erupted.