In Reply to: It's not clear that Japan was planning war with the US. posted by mh on February 17, 2026 at 16:17:39
As a Japanese American, I can say that it’s better for the world that Japan never took over Southeast Asia. Their conquests were brutal.
Cutting off 80% of the oil supply to their war machine helped create a world that is not only morally better but strategically safer for the U.S. Our relationships with the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and others have been shaped by that history. Would an Australia under Japanese rule have been a better ally or made the world a better place? Certainly not.
Japan showed no intention of stopping its invasions voluntarily. Even before World War II, they were aggressively expanding into China, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, and numerous Pacific islands. Their expansionist drive had to be forcibly halted.
At the very least, start with denying them a core resource so your war wouldn't last as long with them. The only reason why the war in the Pacific lasted so long was because the US was focused on Europe.