Roosevelt was accused of provoking the Japanese to allow him to enter the war in Europe
Those who accuse FDR of deliberately provoking the Japanese into war ignore several facts inconvenient to their beliefs. For one thing, Japanese aggression in China and East Asia began in 1931, with American diplomatic responses dating from that time. From 1931 to 1941 Japanese aggression continued, growing increasingly worse, and included the Nanking Massacre, an assault on the American ambassador to Japan by a Japanese soldier (Allison Incident), the attack by the Japanese on USS Panay, and other incidents. The Japanese government justified its behavior to its people as liberating Asian peoples from enslaving Europeans and Americans. FDR explained the American response to the people as an attempt to restrain Japanese aggression short of going to war. Encouraged by America Firsters and other isolationists, the Japanese mainly ignored the American responses.
Until the summer of 1940, the United States Pacific Fleet was based on the West Coast, with California anchorages at San Pedro and San Diego. Pearl Harbor served as an advanced base, albeit a large one, with US Army bases supporting troops and aviation units. In May 1940, following the completion of Fleet Problem XXI, which took place in Hawaiian waters, the fleet was ordered to remain in Hawaii. The decision was unpopular with most of the Navy’s leadership (though single sailors loved it). FDR ordered the fleet to Hawaii to deter Japanese incursions into French Indochina. The Japanese protested the American action as a provocation and otherwise ignored it. Admiral James Richardson, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, opposed the relocation vociferously, eventually leading to his dismissal. The Navy began aggressively expanding the fleet support activities in Hawaii, while the Army built defenses for the island bases.