[Captain Kirk]

An embargo is an act of war. Who “started” that?

[rightwingextremist1776]

So is invading other countries...which they did BEFORE any embargo’s were in place. GO READ A REAL HISTORY BOOK.

[NeverForgetBataan]

An embargo is NOT an act of war.

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931.
Japan signed a tri-party pact with Italy and Germany.
Japan ignored in place treaties on Naval battleship tonnage.

Japan has NOBODY to blame, but herself.

[americanophile]

Oh please. First off embargo is a misnomer, since we weren't blockading their harbors, etc. It's far more akin to sanctions, which are routine and not an act of war. If we don't want to sell Japan oil or metal for their imperial war effort, we damn sure don't have to. By the time the sanctions were imposed, Japan had already been fighting an aggressive imperial war for almost 4 years against the Chinese Republic - a war that cost the lives of millions. To argue that the U.S. started this war is absolutely pathetic.