Resignation rather than confidence drove Japan toward war

Many Japanese leaders opposed war with the United States or avoided the confrontation, while the dominant faction accepted conflict as an increasingly unavoidable fate rather than an assured victory.

Question

How many Japanese politicians and officers favored war with the United States by late 1941?

Short answer

Many opposed it and others stayed silent; even the dominant group often accepted war fatalistically rather than actively seeking it with confidence.

Notes

The political and military leadership was not united in enthusiasm for war with the United States. A substantial group argued strongly against it, while others remained frightened and tried not to enter the struggle between factions. Those who prevailed had often resigned themselves to war rather than concluded that it offered a favorable strategic choice. That distinction helps explain a decision process driven by fatalism, institutional pressure, and shrinking alternatives rather than simple confidence.