re: At full strength who was more powerful in ww2 Germany or US?

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Why did Japan attack US?

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The most well-thought out act of national suicide in history. None of the rational men who planned and executed the attack on Pearl Harbor gave themselves a 1 in 10 chance of actually defeating the U.S. military outright.

They knew they had a huge initial advantage that would quickly evaporate in a prolonged war. They felt they could expand their borders, sue for peace and have a stronger position than status quo ante. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.

Those that survived the war largely conceded that if they had known the U.S. would insist on a relatively total war outcome with no (little) negotiation, they wouldn't have signed off on it.