They, like their allies, the Germans, were successful until about 1943. They both were clearly losing the war by then.
Because
Gawd-Zilla
tora,tora
Okinawa
Almost all of the Japanese fought to their deaths.
Japanese
D. All of the above for apex
Aircraft carriers
The breaking of Japanese Naval codes gave the Americans first hand knowledge of Japanese intentions as far as targets and times of attack which gave the US Navy time to counter Japanese tactics and strategy .
It was a surprise attack, before a declration of war, on a Sunday morning against a nation at peace.
Among other reasons, Japanese cars tend to be smaller and more fuel efficient.
Japan and Germany had prepared for war. The rest of the world had to "react" to it and were not as prepared as they should have been.