I teach World History at a private high school in Japan. In 10th grade, we covered World War II, and the students also learned about it in their Japanese history classes. My class is a bit different because the students are preparing for the IB Program in 11th grade, where most of their subjects will be in English.
When we talk about Pearl Harbor, we discuss how the attack made the U.S. join the war. Japan's plan was to damage the U.S. fleet to give them time to expand in the Pacific and later negotiate from a position of strength. However, they didn’t manage to destroy the American aircraft carriers, which hurt their plan. They also didn’t expect how angry the U.S. would be, leading to a desire for revenge.
If the question is whether Japan treats Pearl Harbor as a big win and celebrates the planners, the answer is no.
In my 11th-grade IB class, we go deeper into Japan’s expansion and its alliances with Germany and Italy. The students get a clearer understanding of Pearl Harbor and its impact.
Like someone else said, Japanese high school students often focus more on history before the Meiji Restoration in 1868 than on modern events. So, most Japanese 16- or 17-year-olds probably know basic facts about Pearl Harbor—that it was a Japanese attack on the U.S. military and it led the U.S. to join the war. This is likely similar to what most American high school students know, unless they have family in the military
Credit: Jason Harris (Quora)
