anchor: Japan hoped that war in Europe would divert the Soviet Union from interference in East Asia, giving Japan a free hand both in China and, through its alliance with Germany, in French Indochina after the defeat of France.
positive: Japan held onto the idea that a war in the European area would distract the Soviet Union so that they could not spend time and resources in East Asia.
negative: Japan knew that the Soviet Union would not be diverted at all and waited for impending doom.