The article points out that the Japanese leadership knew full well what they were taking on. But in their opinion, accpeting our diplomatic demands regarding China was tantamount to surrender and acceptance of permanent status as a second-rate power. Rather than accept that fate willingly, they chose the course that we force it upon them at tremendous cost. Another way of looking at it is that you can’t win if you don’t play the game. Sure, they were 24 point underdogs, but they were hoping to pull off the upset.
What I don’t think they realized was the magnitude of destruction the United States could rain down on their homeland. Even as LeMay burned out their cities and their people starved, it just didn’t seem real to them. It took two atomic bombs to make them realize just how badly they had miscalculated.
I suppose it was another face thing. Better to engage in a war against impossible odds than for the nation to lose face.