The bombing of Yawata (Yahata kūshū) on the night of 15–16 June 1944 marked the beginning of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese home islands during the Pacific War and was the first such raid to employ strategic bombers. The raid was undertaken by 75 Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers staging from bases in China. Only 47 of these aircraft dropped bombs near the raid's primary target, the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata in northern Kyūshū, and little damage was caused. Five B-29s were lost in accidents during the operation and two were destroyed by Japanese aircraft.

While the raid did not achieve its aims, it raised Japanese civilians' awareness that their country was being defeated and received positive media coverage in the United States. Intelligence gathered by the B-29s also revealed weaknesses in Japan's air defenses and the raid was the second of many on Japan. Yawata was attacked again by B-29s operating from China on 20 August 1944 and much of the city was destroyed in a firebombing raid conducted by B-29s based in the Mariana Islands on 8 August 1945.

The first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) raid on Japan took place on 18 April 1942 when 16 North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers flying from an aircraft carrier attacked several cities during the Doolittle Raid. Although this raid caused little damage, it boosted morale in the United States. The Japanese government responded to the attack by both increasing the number of fighter units based in the home islands and conducting an offensive in the Pacific Ocean which ended in defeat during the Battle of Midway. The USAAF could not mount further attacks on the Japanese home islands after this raid until the B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber entered service, as none of its other combat aircraft had sufficient range to reach this area from bases in China or the Pacific.

The B-29 Superfortress had a difficult introduction into service. Work began on designing the bomber in early 1940, and the first prototype flew on 21 September 1942. The Superfortress was the largest combat aircraft of World War II and boasted a heavy maximum bomb load, long range, and powerful defensive armament. The B-29 also incorporated a number of new features, such as a pressurized cabin and remote-controlled turrets. While 1,664 B-29s had been ordered by the USAAF before the aircraft first flew, its development was set back by several months when the second prototype crashed on 18 February 1943 and problems with the design were gradually solved. The 58th Bombardment Wing was formed in June 1943 to operate the USAAF's first B-29s, but it did not begin receiving these aircraft until October. The slow delivery of B-29s and mechanical problems with the aircraft meant that the wing lagged behind its training schedule and only became capable of deployment in March 1944, after the so-called "Battle of Kansas" program began to produce combat-ready aircraft.

In late 1943, the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff approved a proposal to begin a strategic air campaign against the Japanese home islands and East Asia by basing B-29s in India and establishing forward airfields in areas of China. This strategy, which was designated Operation Matterhorn, required the construction of large airstrips near Chengdu in inland China which would be supplied by Allied cargo aircraft and be used to refuel B-29s traveling from bases in Bengal en route to bombing targets in Japan. XX Bomber Command was assigned responsibility for this effort, and its ground crew began to leave the United States for India by sea in December 1943. The Twentieth Air Force was formed in April 1944 to oversee all B-29 operations. In an unprecedented move, the commander of the USAAF, General Henry H. Arnold, took personal command of this unit and ran it from the Pentagon. The 58th Bombardment Wing was XX Bomber Command's main combat unit, and its movement from Kansas to India took place from April to mid-May. While the wing had not completed training at the time that it left for India, its combat groups were more experienced than most newly deployed USAAF bomber units.

After establishing itself in India, XX Bomber Command under the command of Brigadier General Kenneth B. Wolfe undertook various tasks to prepare for raids against Japan. Foremost among these was stockpiling fuel at the airfields in China. Until late 1944, USAAF Air Transport Command aircraft did not transport fuel for XX Bomber Command, and this task was instead undertaken by the B-29s. This arrangement proved inefficient, however, as 12 B-29 sorties between India and China were needed to transport enough fuel and other supplies to enable one of the heavy bombers to fly a round trip between China and Japan. As a result, it took longer than expected to build up sufficient stockpiles in China to allow B-29 operations to commence. Moreover, continued technical problems with the Superfortress, and particularly their Wright R-3350 engines, resulted in many of XX Bomber Command's aircraft being unserviceable and in need of modification at all times.

XX Bomber Command conducted its first combat operation on 5 June 1944. On this day, 98 B-29s were dispatched from bases in India to attack targets in Bangkok, Thailand, as a 'dress rehearsal' for more ambitious operations against Japan and targets in South East Asia. Although little damage was done and five B-29s were lost to flying accidents and technical faults, the operation was rated a success by XX Bomber Command, as it provided useful combat experience for the bomber crews, as well as data on how the B-29 performed in action.

On 6 June, Wolfe received a message from Arnold informing him that the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted a raid to be conducted against Japan as soon as possible. The goals of this operation were to relieve pressure on Chinese forces which were being attacked by the Japanese and to support the invasion of Saipan. Arnold's message also asked how many B-29s could be dispatched on 15 and 20 June. At the time, the first raid on Japan was tentatively scheduled for 23 June, when sufficient supplies were expected to be available in China to support 100 B-29 sorties. Wolfe replied, stating that 50 B-29s could be used on 15 June and 55 if the operation was conducted on the 20th of the month. Arnold regarded these numbers as too low and directed that a raid by at least 70 B-29s be conducted against Japan on 15 June. Following this order, XX Bomber Command's B-29s and transport aircraft embarked on an intensive effort to move fuel to China. Further fuel supplies were made available to the heavy bombers by reducing the activities of USAAF fighter units based in China. During the same period, the command's ground crews reconditioned as many B-29s as possible to improve their reliability.