I have a theory (tongue in cheek )
When I was in Okinawa, I got invited to come down to the landlord's and drink sake with "the boys". If you knew the Okinawans/Japanese, that is an honor it would be disrespectful to turn down. Especially for a gai jin. So I'm sitting on a tatami mat, drinking sake, not understand most if any of what these guys are saying.
When it was time to go I stood, and found out REAL quick like that if you don't drink sake, you don't sit down and drink it for sure. Took three of those little guys to get me up to my apartment
Point being, I think when the Japanese made the decision to attack the US, they must have been sitting down while drinking their sake