As I understand it, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because they wanted to control the Pacific shipping lanes. They wanted to control the lanes because the US had placed an oil embargo against Japan. The US placed the embargo against Japan in order to force Japan to leave China. Japan had been occupying China for about seven years prior to that time in order to create a buffer against western influence. It may be that the Opium Wars in China had a lot to do with why Japan feared western influence. None of which suggests that Japan wanted the US to enter the war against them. However, they were at least nominal allies with Germany and may have considered the US to be spiritually weak. So, perhaps they just did not consider the US to be a truly significant threat. By the end of the war, I think Japan clearly preferred surrendering to the US allies rather than facing the treat of further A-bombs and a Russian invasion.