Pearl Harbor and Japan's short-war strategy

Japanese doctrine envisaged wearing down an advancing fleet, winning a decisive battle near Japan and then negotiating from strength. The underlying judgment was that Japan could not sustain a long war against American or British imperial resources. A short, successful conflict was therefore the hoped-for route to acceptable terms. The proposed explanation of Pearl Harbor's early form is a raid intended to anger the Americans into advancing despite attrition. American war games had already examined the alternative of pausing for reinforcements instead of continuing with a depleted force. The criticism is that the Japanese strategy depended on the enemy following a narrow preferred sequence, with little prospect of success if it refused.