In 1959, the Daqing oil field in Manchuria was discovered. It is now China's largest oil field.
In WW2, Japan did not have this knowledge. What if they discovered the reserves in 1939? Japan would now have less of a need to attack European holdings in SE Asia, and could a war with the US be avoided? Perhaps a limited, but undefeated Japanese empire, holding Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan would exist today, provided they didn't try anything stupid like attacking the USSR?
In WW2, Japan did not have this knowledge. What if they discovered the reserves in 1939? Japan would now have less of a need to attack European holdings in SE Asia, and could a war with the US be avoided? Perhaps a limited, but undefeated Japanese empire, holding Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan would exist today, provided they didn't try anything stupid like attacking the USSR?