The declaration of war

War

War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

 by the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 on the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

document was released on December 8, 1941 (Japan time, December 7 in the United States) after the attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 was executed pre-emptively

Pre-Emptive Strike

Pre-Emptive Strike is the first release by Five Finger Death Punch on July 10, 2007. It was only released as a digital download to the American iTunes Music Store. The live version of "The Devil's Own" was recorded at a performance in Las Vegas, Nevada....

. The declaration of war was printed on the front page of all newspapers in Japan in the evening edition on December 8. The document was subsequently printed again on the eighth day of each month throughout the war (until Japan surrendered in 1945), to re-affirm the resolve for the war.

Text of the document

Below is the text to the declaration of the war with the boldened texts released in the name of the Emperor of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

:

Historical context

The document declares the war against the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

, discusses their presumed disruptive actions against Empire of Japan's foreign policy and states that all avenues for averting war have been exhausted from the Government of Japan

Government of Japan

The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...

. Japan had invaded much of East Asia to create what they called the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It represented the desire to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers"...

", now largely viewed as a pretext for imperialism. In response, the U.S. imposed an oil embargo

Oil embargo

Oil embargo may refer to:*The 1967 Oil Embargo*The 1973 oil crisis*The 1979 energy crisis*The oil embargo placed on Japan by China, the United States, Britain, and the Dutch during the Sino-Japanese War, preceding World War II...

on Japan in August 1941 to preserve their control in Asia and to contain their actions, which Japan saw as an unfriendly act and prompted it to retaliate with the bombing and declare war on the two countries.