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Here's a thought: There is no Pacific War, but Japan ends up aligned with the US in the Cold War. Japan opts to go around the US and UK and go straight for the Dutch East Indies in a pursuit of oil for their Chinese War effort. Later, the Soviets bring down the hammer on the Japanese by the late 1940s, capturing South Sakhalin, Manchuria, and North Korea before the Soviets drop a nuclear bomb on a Japanese city in 1949. The Japanese sue for peace and are made to cede the Northern Kurils as well.

Having been soundly defeated and rattled to the core, the Militarist faction is thoroughly discredited (especially after attempting to arrest the Emperor, as they tried OTL) and the Japanese quickly swing diplomatically towards cozying up with the US and UK.

What now?

I cannot see the Japanese allowing US troops in their territory the way they did OTL. We likely wouldn't see the same land and economic reforms as occurred under the US administration OTL.

There'd be no KMT rump regime, but I imagine many whites would end up fleeing to Japan TTL if allowed.

There'd be no Korean War.

Japan-proper probably has a larger population without the Pacific War. Taiwan at the least is going to be a formal home island, as the island became one during WWII OTL. Maybe Japanese Korea would be divided into prefectures similarly. Altogether, Japan-Taiwan-Korea may have ~220million people.

Meanwhile UK prestige will be greater without the defeats in Asia, the European War will have been shorter without the Asian theater, the US and UK financial situations will likely be better, and Subhas Bose likely won't have died in WWII. No loss of Burma would also mean no Bengal Famine.
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