Americans attacked Japanese before Pearl Harbor

Japan attacked to forestall the U.S. Fleet hindering their own expansionary drive in Asia to obtain wartime raw materials. With the U.S. holding the Philippines, just like Britain's holdings in the region, had to be pushed out, and delayed. What else was done or not done, Pearl Harbor was in its sights to destroy the Fleet. The grand objective was clear in the massive attack at Midway, a small island, that followed later. Midway's destruction was critical in defending Japan and its holdings from what was left of U.S. seapower. It was a refueling station for vessels and air recognizance in locating Japanese warships. Their inability to control Midway led to losing the war quicker than planned. The destruction of the Fleet exposed in Pearl Harbor was a critical element in their planning

Robert Urbanek said:

America pilots in American-made planes were conducting “sneak attacks” on the Japanese long before the Japanese launched their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

Then, on July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese War began in earnest . . . Shortly after the official outbreak of hostilities, press reports in China heralded the arrival of more than 100 hotshot American pilots and creation of the 14th Volunteer Bombardment Squadron . . .

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Prior to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, there were several border incidents in 1937 such as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 7 July, the Langfang Incident of 25 July, and the Guang'anmen Incident of 26 July. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Japanese government under Konoe initially declared that it had no intention of expanding the war into China. Konoe stated that he wanted to keep the peace in East Asia and be on good terms with the Great Powers. But the war became unstoppable after the third incident, in which Chinese troops attacked the Japanese army. Judging from this incident, the Japanese army concluded that prospects for a peaceful resolution were over.