> Japan wanted to be left alone.

Yeah, left alone to create the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_East_Asia_Co-Prosperit...).

You're welcome to ask the various Asian nations of that region whether they thought that was a good thing but I doubt you'd like the response.

That's after the West pushed it to break isolationism and taught it it had to be ruthless to be respected, not before.

In other words, that's a century later...

Ah, the classic "But he hit me first" argument[0]. Very persuasive. /s

[0] Also known as the "two wrongs make a right" fallacy. See https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFalla...