Political will for a limited naval war

Would British caution about Europe and American isolationism prevent either country from making a serious commitment against Japan?

Britain could prefer a distant naval war and use it to justify rearmament, while the United States could present participation as a limited fleet campaign shaped by existing hostility after incidents such as Panay.

The British government could prefer fighting in the Far East to facing a war close to home, and hostilities would justify a large naval buildup beyond peacetime treaty limits. For the United States, joining a fleet campaign did not require sending a mass expeditionary army. A limited naval war could be presented as a relatively low-cost way to support Britain, while Congress already viewed Japan with hostility after incidents such as the attack on Panay. The answer rejects claims that Roosevelt deliberately permitted the attack on Pearl Harbor and argues that another Japanese attack could create a public case for war from tensions that already existed.