Without the Pearl Harbor attack the American public would have never stood still for declaring war on Japan if Japan had invaded Britain’s and Holland’s holdings in the far east. The Japanese were incredibly short-sighted in carrying out a sneak attack. They stood no chance in fighting the USA. None. And they managed to do the one thing that would galvanize the American public for war. Idiots.
Hubris.
They were having lots of success so they convinced themselves that they could eliminate the US from the region in one strike.
The cabinet in Japan was a mess with some real madmen at the helm and they prevailed.
Yup. Sounds about right to me.
Keep in mind that, for such a small country, they sure kicked a lot of @$$ in their immediate region.