>>212019991On July 26, 1939, as anti-Japanese public opinion was growing, the Roosevelt administration notified Japan of the abolishment of the Treaty of Commerce between the US and Japan. Japan depends on the United States for supplies of such important materials as iron, steel and oil, which could deal a fatal blow to the Japanese economy.
In March 1940, the United States announced military assistance of $20 million to the Chiang Kai-shek administration, clarifying their anti-Japan pro-China policy.
In March 1941, President Roosevelt dispatched presidential advisor Lauchlin Currie to China, discussing full-scale military assistance to China.
In April 1941, Currie drafted a plan to carry out air strikes on the Japanese mainland using 500 fighter-bombers.
On July 23, Roosevelt signed his approval for the Japanese air raid plan, called "JB 355." More than 4 months before the Pearl Harbor attack, Roosevelt ordered the bombing of Japan.
On July 26, at the suggestion of Harry Dexter White, Japanese assets in the United States were frozen, Japanese financial assets became worthless, and Japan was forced into a virtual bankruptcy. That's not all. Harry drew up a draft of "Hal Note" which was in effect an ultimatum to Japan, and drove the Tojo Cabinet into war against the United States.
(According to "Bankrupting the Enemy: The U.S. Financial Siege of Japan Before Pearl Harbor" by Edward Miller)
20/20: FDR's Planned Preemptive Attack on Japan (July 1941) - Full
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pCnJR0gLP4