As title says, why were there war hawk elements in the Japanese government in the 1940s if the strategic reality was that they would lose a prolonged war against the industrialized American military? What specific figures/policies/events lead to the declaration of war and the end of diplomatic relations with the U.S.?
hi! just a heads up that this sub is inundated with April Fools content right now, so if your post gets lost in the shuffle and is left unanswered, do resubmit when normal service has been resumed in a couple of days.
Japan didn't know they would lose. They genuinely believed they could win. Some were still convinced very late in the war when their surrender was imminent. The military had been filled with those "war hawk" types and since the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and they implanted themselves into the government in the 1930s. They believed the Western nations were out to get them through imperialism and that a giant decisive military conflict between Japan and those nations was inevitable. They were mostly afraid of the Soviet Union, the nation closest to them. Their fears began extending to America too in the 1920s.
Many of the people of Japan's military after seeing the realities of WWI realized it was necessary to prepare for a war of attrition. However, they were overpowered by those who believed in decisive battles. These military officers believed all that was necessary was one big decisive battle in order to win a war, which may have been true in the past with wars like the Russo-Japanese War but certainly not with modern wars like WWI and WWII. That's how the military officers could keep hope throughout WWII that they still had a chance because all they needed was a decisive victory.
Japan also bombed Pearl Harbor when they did because of course America exacted oil embargoes on Japan, which Japan would need to continue its military exploits in China, so they bombed Pearl Harbor to remove the American naval threat in Southeast Asia so they could subsequently conquer Southeast Asian nations which had many resources they could use back home to continue the war effort. In addition, Japan believed Hitler would be successful in Europe. Japan thought America (as well as the Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa) would be too occupied with Nazi Germany to be able to stop a plan. So Japan clearly had a plan and reasons early on in the war and definitely did not believe at all that they had no chance against America.
And sorry I can't name any specific names right now. I am rusty on that.
Source: Edward Drea, Japan's Imperial Army