Diplomats in Washington came close to agreements on a couple of occasions, but pro-Chinese sentiments in the United States made it difficult to reach any resolution that would not involve a Japanese withdrawal from China, and such a condition was unacceptable to Japan’s military leaders.
从日本全面侵华开始，美国就逐步开始对日本进行制裁（没错，就是“搞制裁”），钢铁，铜，最后发展到全面石油禁运，冻结日本海外资产，这些都是在珍珠港和美国参战之前。
石油禁运后，日本国内石油储备只够用不到一年半，当时离日本最近的石油在印尼，是荷兰流亡政府的属地，去往印尼的海路要经过美国控制的菲律宾，英国的马拉，新加坡。日本人说自己要被ABCD困死，America, Britain, China, Dutch，所以才搞出打残美国太平洋舰队，为自己争取一年时间在东南亚站住脚，然后利用整个东南亚的资源和美国抗衡的计划，偷袭珍珠港，同时进攻菲律宾马来新加坡。
日本在准备轰炸珍珠港的同时，还一直在跟美国谈判。日本声称占领中国是因为中国处在无政府状态，他们需要保护日商利益，说自己25年后等中国局势稳定，可以撤出，美国要求日本马上无条件撤出中国、、、
Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations - Office of the Historian (state.gov)
Diplomats in Washington came close to agreements on a couple of occasions, but pro-Chinese sentiments in the United States made it difficult to reach any resolution that would not involve a Japanese withdrawal from China, and such a condition was unacceptable to Japan’s military leaders.