What was Japan's motive behind dropping the bomb on Pearl Harbor?

By making a premptive attack the Japanese hoped to cripple the American Navy. They believed that they could not win the War without the element of surprise. I'd say this backfired on them, since the the US not only entered the War but also dropped a bomb on Japan

Japan wanted to deplete the U. S. Navy's forces, so they wouldn't have such a hold on the Pacific. The reason why they attacked was kind of out of spite for the U. S. because Japan and China were fighting a war and the U. S. supported China and refused to give Japan any oil and placed a trade embargo on them.