If you were Japan after Pearl Harbor would you still launch the attack on Midway or consider another campaign?

Answer 1

yes because USA had 8 million army heading to us. And Japanese only had 4 million. there was no hope to Japan with out attack of pearl horbor or consider campaign

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Do you mean that you wouldn't launch the Midway attack and if so what would be your other campaign?

How about an attack on New Guinea or Australia?

Yes. It was a sound plan, and it should have worked, but the IJN had no way of knowing that 1) The USN had recently broken their radio code, and knew that the Aleutians were a feint, 2) that USS Yorktown would be in the battle after being damaged so badly at Coral Sea, 3) that the floatplane to locate the American task force would be delayed in taking off. And remember that planes from Midway and carrier-based torpedo bombers scored no hits on the Japanese ships, and the carrier-based dive bombers located them as they were about to turn back from lack of fuel. The US victory at Midway was nothing short of miraculous.

In the Pacific, the size of an army is insignificant without domination of the sea. Even if the Japanese had concentrated on the Australia-New Guinea area, it would have done nothing to prevent the launching of the new Essex-class carriers, fast battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Time was running out for Japan. The USN already had the advantage in quality, and was soon to gain the quantitative advantage even if Midway had not been fought. Admiral Yamamoto was well aware of this fact, so he took the best gamble that he had and lost it. If the US carriers had been wiped out between Pearl Harbor and Midway, Japanese battleships would have destroyed the Allied navies as they did at Java Sea.

Best

The reason for Japan's move against Midway at this point in the Pacific war was all due to the Doolittle Raid in April 1942. It was this attack, albeit with little militarysignificance, that "brought the war to the home islands of Japan". It demonstrated to the Japanese military leaders that the home islands were vulnerable to air attack. Therefore, their sphere of influence in the Pacific would need to be enlarged to prevent further bombing of the home islands.

The Battle of the Coral Sea, in the southern Pacific, was an attempt to enlarge the sphere of influence in the South Pacific. Although the Japanese sank more gross tonnage in this battle, the Americans halted the expansion of the Japanese as Port Moresby did not fall to Japan has Japan had as an objective in this engagement.

The next two objectives would be Midway in the Central Pacific and Dutch Harbor in the Northern Pacific. The Japanese did not know that the Doolittle raiders sortied from Pearl Harbor and quite possibly could have departed from the Aleutians. Therefore, Japan had a choice of Midway Atoll or the Aleutians as its next objective.

Since the Soviet Union was not involved in the Pacific Theater at this point, the Aleutians seemed less a threat than Midway (The Americans would require assistance from the Soviet airbases for returning bombers to refuel to get back to the Aleutians if departed from Dutch Harbor and bombing Japan). Midway, known as "Pearl Harbor's Centurion", was much more appealing to the Japanese as it could be supplied easier from the west, as well as providing an air base for future bombings of Pearl Harbor.

With Midway captured, there would be no way an American carrier group would risk navigating across the Pacific to bomb the home islands of Japan.

At this point in the war, Midway was a logical objective for the Japanese. How they went about that objective is another story, however hindsight is always 20/20.