Japan's short-war assumption drew on experience against China and Russia and on participation in the First World War. Those precedents appeared to show that winning the key battle could end a short war at the negotiating table. The expectation therefore followed a recognizable reading of Japan's recent wars rather than an absence of strategic thought. The Pacific War confronted Japan with opponents whose political response to defeat was fundamentally different.
Notable Point · 1:39:04-1:40:06
Japan's expectation of battle followed by negotiation
Japan's earlier wars encouraged an expectation that a major victory would produce a negotiated settlement, an assumption that failed against the Allies.