On December 8, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines. The invasion came one day after the Attack on Pearl Harbor that had brought the United States into World War II. Aguinaldo sided with the Japanese, as he had previously supported groups that had demanded the immediate independence of the Philippines, and entrusted that Japan would free the islands of American rule. In a February 6, 1942 radio address, Aguinaldo called upon General Douglas MacArthur and all American and Filipino troops fighting in the Battle of Bataan to surrender to the Japanese.