One of the things we love more than anything else in the entire universe is the Olympics. Between awe-inspiring opening ceremonies; super-cool events we didn't even know were sports; and the loves, hugs, and smiles being shared by athletes all around the world; we simply can't get enough.

Summer or winter, when the Olympics start, consider us glued to our TV for the duration. We wish it happened every year.

But if there was ever anything that was, essentially, the complete opposite of the Olympics, it was the 1930s–'40s here on Planet Earth.

Instead of opening ceremonies, we had angry speeches and declarations of war. (Though maybe a declaration of war counts as an opening ceremony of sorts…but not really the kind that leaves us all warm and fuzzy inside.)

Instead of skeet shooting and snowboarding, we had basic training and air raid drills. Instead of international cooperation and camaraderie, we had cliques and alliances and squabbles and death and destruction and lots of hurt feelings.

And for the United States, it was Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii that dragged it into this whole commotion.

The "Infamy Speech," delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt the day after that sneak attack, pretty much sums up how America as a whole was feeling about what had gone down the day before: angry, betrayed, still a little shocked, and totally ready to fight back.

This speech set off a chain of events that completely changed the World War II game…and ended up completely changing Japan, the United States, and the entire world order in the process.

It's no Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony, but we still say this speech launched some fireworks of its own.

Which was good, because the Olympics themselves were canceled for the duration of the war, not resuming until the London games in 1948.

War: what is it good for?

Definitely not the Olympics.

Japan and the United States: like two peas in a pod?

Uh, no, not really. Maybe more like two very different vegetables inhabiting the same salad, each bringing their own unique je ne sais quoi to the dish.

Japan and the United States: like cucumbers and jalapenos? Those veggies work pretty well together.

And so do Japan and the US of A—ever since the end of World War II.

Sure, there have been steps forward here, and steps backward there, but overall, those cucumbers and jalapenos have done a bang-up job of navigating the world as friends despite their differences.

But…how?

How did these two international VIPs get past their dissimilarities and get to the point where they could be in a salad together?

Well, strangely enough, it all started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Japan and the U.S. had had a relationship before December 7, 1941. It just wasn't a very good one. Not that they hated each other or anything, but they had some serious communication issues and, really, they were just coming from different places (literally and figuratively) every time they tried to have a serious conversation.

But Pearl Harbor changed all that. And not in a good way at first, as one might imagine.

But as the war dragged on, and Japanese and American troops went at each other's throats, and bombs were dropped and harsh words were said, the seeds for future cooperation were being planted.

And when that war ended and the U.S. went from Angry Bomb Dropper to Benevolent Occupier, those seeds eventually blossomed into beautiful flowers of friendship.

But we can't understand how this relationship came to be where it is today, without looking at where it's been. And we can't understand where it's been without taking a good, long look at the attack on Pearl Harbor and the rest of the Pacific War.

Luckily, when it comes to understanding complex and complicated topics that have evolved over the last, like, hundred-plus years, Shmoop is here to save the day. This guide will provide you with everything you've ever wanted to know (and more, of course) about the relationship between Japan and the United States…and how a guy we call FDR set the wheels in motion for the two to hate each other, love each other, and make beautiful salads together.