On June 28, 1942 -- more than seven months after the U. S. Congress declared war on Japan and Germany, formally initiating the country's involvement in World War II -- a German U-701 submarine attacked the 554-foot-long SS William Rockefeller as part of Operation Drumbeat, an Axis effort to attack U.

Partly, the reaction is linked to the crucial security and economic role that the U. S. plays for Japan, its top ally in the region.

GUANGZHOU, China, Jan.