That's laughable. Are you saying the Japanese had to attack because we were going to attack first???. In the current case, we have a nation (Iraq) helmed by a man who has stated unequivocally that he wishes to see the extermination of Israel and (pie in the sky, yes) America. He has attempted to assassinate a former US president.
The question is not whether Saddam is dangerous, or whether he would attack US interests given the chance. The question is when will he do this. George Will makes good points here that we are flying without precedent, but that does not mean we do not have justification.
I think that the Japanese feared that the reinforced Pacific Fleet combined with our advanced bases (Wake, Guam & the Philippines) would allow us the means to interfere with their activities in China and Southeast Asia. Evidence for this is the fact that the Japanese never followed-up on the Pearl Harbor raid until after it became clear that the US would not capitulate. After Pearl, the Japanese 1st Carrier Group re-deployed to the Indian Ocean. Midway did not happen until after Dolittle's Raid and Coral Sea.
Well, the Japanese Imperial Navy's plan to dominate the entire Pacific Sphere didn't seem so laughable at the time, my friend. The motivations of an irrational dictatorship need not make sense to you in hindsight.
In 1936, the "secret" thesis of a Lieutenant Commander in the Imperial Navy was published in New York called "Japan Must Fight Britain." Like Mein Kampf, it pretty clearly outlined the coming conflicts.
The Japanese saw the US and Britain as likely to interfere in their plans, (such as the July 1941 Oil Embargo to Japan) so they attacked the US fleet before we were able to escalate.