I know there has occasionally been talk about Japan, but there's never been a thread about it, so I thought I might start one here. How badly hit would Japan have been in the war?
Myself, I think that Japan would get plastered for a variety of reasons:
1) Presence of US forces. US bases would be automatically targeted.
2) Political, economic and military reasons. Japan, a US ally, is the 2nd largest economy in the world and a nation of 120 million in 1984. That's too big for comfort for whatever would remain of the USSR after a nuclear war. Also, though the JSDF is limited by the Japanese constitution, it is a formidable body, particularly the Maritime Self-Defense Force. I could see JMSDF bases being particularly targeted. Also, Japan would be able to construct its own nuclear weapon relatively quickly, and the Soviets would want to prevent that.
3) Historical reasons. The Russo-Japanese War, the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 and the occupation of the Kuriles. The Soviets would see Japan as a historical foe and a potential danger.
So all of this would lead the Soviets to allocate a sufficient amount of nukes against the Japanese, I think. China would have similar issues as well, and I'm sure they'd lob a few as well, but since their nuclear arsenal is much smaller the Soviets would do most of the nuking. As it is, the majority of Japan's population is packed into a relatively small area, making the targeting that much easier for the Soviets.
Myself, I think that Japan would get plastered for a variety of reasons:
1) Presence of US forces. US bases would be automatically targeted.
2) Political, economic and military reasons. Japan, a US ally, is the 2nd largest economy in the world and a nation of 120 million in 1984. That's too big for comfort for whatever would remain of the USSR after a nuclear war. Also, though the JSDF is limited by the Japanese constitution, it is a formidable body, particularly the Maritime Self-Defense Force. I could see JMSDF bases being particularly targeted. Also, Japan would be able to construct its own nuclear weapon relatively quickly, and the Soviets would want to prevent that.
3) Historical reasons. The Russo-Japanese War, the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 and the occupation of the Kuriles. The Soviets would see Japan as a historical foe and a potential danger.
So all of this would lead the Soviets to allocate a sufficient amount of nukes against the Japanese, I think. China would have similar issues as well, and I'm sure they'd lob a few as well, but since their nuclear arsenal is much smaller the Soviets would do most of the nuking. As it is, the majority of Japan's population is packed into a relatively small area, making the targeting that much easier for the Soviets.