You should have paid attention in history class then. When in fact, the very opposite was true. We saw ourselves as being vastly superior to the Japanese. In regards to Germany, we knew almost nothing about them because we assumed that they would never become a military threat again after the Treaty of Versailles, and WW1 ended. And, it was because of that superiority illusion that we nearly lost WW2. The attack at Pearl Harbor was what woke us up to the fact that the Japanese were far more advanced and capable than we surmised. We especially learned that lesson the hard way, after we tried to dogfight their superior aircraft. The reason that both the Axis powers eventually lost was, they spread themselves out way too fast and could not maintain the vast regions they had conquered. They also lost because we finally woke up and retooled our weaponry, but we did so, based on the fact that they had greatly advanced beyond our arrogant limitations we had so predetermined. Our Military Commanders like Patton, were also well schooled in how to defeat a World Empire after it had advanced well beyond it's capacity and capability.......Sort of like the USA is today.......
Were you asleep during the 90’s when Japan was supposed to take over the US and send us back where we belong.