What was the purpose of the U.S. oil embargo against Japan?

The United States imposed an oil embargo on Japan primarily to check Japanese expansion in Asia and to pressure the Japanese government to withdraw its military forces from China and Indochina.123

Following Japan's occupation of northern Indochina in 1940 and its subsequent move into southern Indochina in July 1941, the U.S. responded by freezing Japanese assets and halting petroleum exports. Because Japan had inadequate oil stockpiles and lacked alternative sources of supply, the embargo was intended to cripple the Japanese war machine and force a diplomatic resolution.1324

Ultimately, the embargo presented Japan with a critical choice: either withdraw from its occupied territories to secure the resumption of trade or seize the oil-rich colonies of the Dutch East Indies to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Faced with these alternatives, Japanese leadership decided to pursue a military solution, which included the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet while forces moved to secure vital resources in Southeast Asia.123