It’s not readily apparent when looking at a map of the US, because they just add Hawaii and Alaska in the corners which makes them look closer than they really are, but Hawaii is about halfway between Japan and the USA – perhaps a bit closer to the US than Japan though.
Which means that a) the USA had no business being there in the first place of course (there’s a legal argument they are actually occupying Hawaii and as such under the Geneva convention the laws of the occupied country should apply, not US law) and b) it’s a great jumpoff point towards Asia.
It’s not readily apparent when looking at a map of the US, because they just add Hawaii and Alaska in the corners which makes them look closer than they really are, but Hawaii is about halfway between Japan and the USA – perhaps a bit closer to the US than Japan though.
Which means that a) the USA had no business being there in the first place of course (there’s a legal argument they are actually occupying Hawaii and as such under the Geneva convention the laws of the occupied country should apply, not US law) and b) it’s a great jumpoff point towards Asia.