>>17808396
Japan signed a neutrality pact with the USSR two months before Germany invaded. Not only were they were completely blindsided by Barbarossa, but they actually had some reservations about reneging on a diplomatic agreement. This is also why they didn't take this as a chance to leave the tripartite pact. They knew that fighting the Soviets would go poorly from firsthand experience as well.

>>17808409
American cartoons were already popular in Japan long before the occupation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bf8y3v1BvU