The Result of Tension

Question: Why would Japan tempt the United States into the war with the Pearl Harbor (7 Dec. 1941) attack?
Answer: Japan's recent aggression towards neighboring countries had long been troubling to the United States. In 1937, Japan fully invaded China after several years of conflict following its capture of Manchuria. 1940 saw the Japanese occupation of Indochina. This actions did not sit well with the United States, especially not with the president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In reaction and discouragement, FDR stopped trade between the two countries with a series of embargoes, which Japan accused was an "unfriendly act." The truth was, Japan was desperate for American oil - it had no ties in the Middle East and relied greatly upon trade with the U.S. to fuel the very machines that had taken over China. Indeed, without the oil, Japan could not hope to continue to hold China for much longer. As a result of this tension, both countries predicted that Japan would seize American assets in the Far East, which would call the U.S. Navy across the Pacific to help their isolated troops. U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and army Lieutenant General Walter C. expected this and requested further equipment from the government. However, the Japanese saw this possibility and decided to step from the mold with a preemptive strike on Pearl Harbor, completely skipping the seizure of the resources that they needed. They did not see their strategy as a call to arms for Americans, rather as a gambit to defeat the U.S. effort before it was even begun. In short, they hoped to subdue us for the duration of the war. Unluckily for the Japanese, they had completely misread our policy of isolationism, and instead of having the desired effect, the attack on Pearl Harbor succeeded only in kindling American fervor to join the war.