Answer:
In 1941, Japan had a chance to prevent war with the US. First, they could have refrained from assaulting the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. Theoretically, they could have restricted their assaults to the Dutch East Indies, Burma, and Malaya. In any case, these were their true objectives:
• They desired the food, tin, rubber, and petroleum that these regions promised a conqueror.
• They assumed probably correctly that the US would not remain passive if they launched the aforementioned attacks.
•To give themselves a free hand in these other areas, they chose to attempt and put our navy out of commission.
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