Diplomatic contact becomes negotiation only when each side identifies what it is prepared to give up. Japan and the United States continued talking, but both held to positions that sought nearly everything and conceded almost nothing. Unlike an ordinary commercial bargain, neither government could replace the other party, which made reciprocal movement essential. American leaders had also grown accustomed to earlier outcomes going their way and underestimated the resentment that accumulated in Japan. The failed bargaining explains why cordial meetings could not bridge incompatible aims and prepares the later close reading of the Hull Note.
Notable Point · 6:50-9:39
Why the U.S.-Japan talks produced no bargain
Both governments kept demanding their preferred outcome without identifying concessions, so months of talks never became genuine bargaining.