Anti-Comintern Pact
After August 1939, Japan distanced itself from Germany as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Anti-Comintern Pact was followed by the September 1940 Tripartite Pact, which identified the United States as the primary threat rather than the Soviet Union, however by December 1941 this too was virtually inoperative. The Anti-Comintern Pact was subsequently renewed in November 1941 and saw the entry of several new members into the pact. The Nazi regime saw signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact as a "litmus test of loyalty".