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At the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the Empire of Japan was allowed to annex the entire island of Karafuto (formerly known as Sakhalin) from the Russian Empire. The 600-mile island north of Hokkaido was treated as a prefecture rather than a colony, as more and more Japanese moved onto it. Small oil reserves were found off the coast, and during the Second Sino-Japanese and the Pacific Wars, these reserves helped fuel the Japanese war machine. Eventually, however, Japan was forced to surrender due to the nuking of Hiroshima and Kokura and the Soviet declaration of war. The Soviets initially tried to regain Karafuto as well as the Kurile Islands, however the Soviet navy was unable to land on Karafuto, and without it, it was impossible to invade the Kuriles. They were able to take the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, as well as the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Because almost all of the people on Karafuto were Japanese, and the fact that the Soviets were unable to invade, Karafuto was allowed to remain part of Japan, while the Kuriles, along with Okinawa, were temporarily taken by the US. Over time, the population on Karafuto grew larger, especially as more coal and oil reserves were discovered. Eventually in 1972, the US gave the Kuriles and Okinawa back to the Japanese. Today, Karafuto is one of the wealthiest prefectures in Japan, with the largest city being the capital of Toyohara.

But what if this didn't happen? What if Japan was only able to receive half of the island, split at the 50th parallel? From what I remember, the island was either going to remain Russian, or Japan would only get the southern half. How would World War II be changed if Karafuto was split between the Russian and Japanese empires? Would the Soviets be able to retake all of the island as well as the Kuriles after they declare war?
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