AHC: Japan conquers China

Is there any way a unified Japan can conquer at least as much of China as the Northern Jin without it being ASB? Massive PoD's and butterflies are going to be necessary for it to happen, but is it even possible? We'll count it as Japan conquering China even if it gets sinocized a la the Yuan.
 
Is there any way a unified Japan can conquer at least as much of China as the Northern Jin without it being ASB? Massive PoD's and butterflies are going to be necessary for it to happen, but is it even possible? We'll count it as Japan conquering China even if it gets sinocized a la the Yuan.
I think such an idea is understood to be unlikely, but let's operate like it is. I can't think of anything besides a figure in the vein of Hideyoshi sometime during the Ming Dynasty. Even then, he (there's not going to be a woman ruling Japan and invading China unless there is some impressive divergence) would need to get through Korea first. Ironically, Hideyoshi wanted to invade China when it was in a relatively strong state. And the Ming in 1644 weren't as weak as it is made out to be. It had largely lost its legitimacy, but not totally. Thus, I imagine that if Japan were to conquer Northern China by some miraculous means in Ming times, there would probably be a rump Southern Ming state in the south.
 

katchen

Banned
What about earlier? Assume that the Mongols were not defeated by the Kamikaze typhoon, but that the Japanese under the Kamakura Bafuku had to fight very hard to defeat them on Japanese soil--but were able to. Could the Japanese be mobilized and worried enough at that point to send an army through Ezo and Sakhalin to the Mainland, maybe a few years later after Kublai Khan died, to conquer the Yuan when they get a bit weaker and pre-empt the rise of the Ming?
 
Is there any way a unified Japan can conquer at least as much of China as the Northern Jin without it being ASB? Massive PoD's and butterflies are going to be necessary for it to happen, but is it even possible? We'll count it as Japan conquering China even if it gets sinocized a la the Yuan.

Well, the Japan tried in the 1940s, but then they got involved in another war in the Pacific.
 
Is there any way a unified Japan can conquer at least as much of China as the Northern Jin without it being ASB? Massive PoD's and butterflies are going to be necessary for it to happen, but is it even possible? We'll count it as Japan conquering China even if it gets sinocized a la the Yuan.

Asian history is really not my forte so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I don't really see how they could. In the 13th and 14th century, the technology gap is fairly nonexistent between Japan and China. In this period, China knows how to counter Japanese warfare and the Jin's population is much higher than the Japanese. So the Jin can muster larger armies and can take heavier losses than the Japanese can. Also, the Japanese would probably need to secure Goryeo first, giving the Chinese forewarning and enough time to launch a strong defense. If the Japanese were to ally with the Song, they'd have a greater chance to conquer parts of the Jin territory.

What reason would the Japanese have to conquer China in this period?
 
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