In this interpretation, American policy did not simply force Japan into war, yet both sides struggled to understand how the other communicated. American demands could read as reasonable in retrospect while sounding unacceptable in their contemporary Japanese framing. Japanese proposals left room for face-saving interpretation, while the Americans wanted clear demarcation; neither style produced terms the other side could accept. Both governments needed more people who understood the other country's language, assumptions, and political culture. Japanese naval and civil-service personnel had more experience in America than an army leadership shaped heavily by German training, making interservice experience part of the diplomatic problem.
Chapter · 9:08-14:10
Diplomacy shaped by incompatible communication
A discussion of prewar diplomacy argues that American directness and Japanese face-saving language repeatedly failed to meet each other.