Why Britain's commerce-war cruisers were absent in 1941

Where were the cruisers meant to raid Japanese commerce when the Pacific war began in 1941?

Most had been drawn into the Atlantic and Mediterranean by the earlier German and Italian wars, with losses and repairs leaving few available when Japan entered.

The sequence in which Britain's enemies entered the war dispersed the intended commerce-war force. The German threat drew Town-class cruisers and other assets into the Atlantic, then Italy's entry pulled Far East and Indian Ocean forces toward the Mediterranean. Combat damage and repair demands compounded those diversions through 1940 and 1941. Japan entered when the Royal Navy's intended commerce-war force was damaged, dispersed, or committed elsewhere.