[dfwgator]

Hitler thought Japan would help him against the Russians.

The Japs weren’t stupid.

[jmacusa]

Yes. The Japanese pretty much played along with Hitler. They probably thought he would eventually screw up. They were almost entirely unconcerned with the ‘’round eyes’’ in the West. They wanted an empire in Asia and America out of what they considered their back yard, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. And you're right, taking on the Russian bear was not part of the plan. Their drubbing at the hands of the Red Army in 1936 taught them that lesson.