Analysis: Fourteen-Part Message from Japan to the United States and Secretary Hull's Response.

In 1941, the governments of the United States and Japan exchanged a series of messages that contained proposals for the cessation of hostilities in China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific region. On December 7, 1941, Japan's ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura delivered this message to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. In the communication, Japan accused the United States of fueling conflict in the region by supporting Japan's enemies (specifically, the government of Chiang Kai-shek in China) and of intransigence in American policy. Furthermore, the Japanese accused the United States and its allies (particularly Great Britain) of conspiring against Japan. Therefore, the document concluded, the United States and Japan could no longer settle their differences through peaceful negotiations. At nearly the same time that Hull was entertaining the Japanese ambassador, Japanese fighter planes attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II.