Goncharov lists Greater Europeans' grievances against Japan: butchered Christians, imprisonment of captives, humiliation of envoys, and overall arrogance.
Aemilius made the same demands the envoys had previously, with the added inducement of ravaging Tarentine territory to show how serious the matter was.
Several ancient sources claim that the Tarantines were drunk and disrespectful, mocking the Roman ambassadors' accents when they attempted to speak Greek, and impulsively decided on an attack.