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Quite a dark thought, but...

Japan had a very active bioweapons program in the '30s and '40s, and the horrifying Unit 731 experimented with anthrax. Is it possible that by 1940 or so, Japan could have similar capabilities as the UK in terms of being able to launch their own version of Operation Vegetarian? Given how willing Imperial Japan was to deploy biological weapons against the Chinese, I'd imagine that weaponized anthrax would have been used if it was available. Japan didn't have the same heavy bombing capabilities as the UK though, so would they have been too constrained in their delivery to have much of an impact? However brutal the effects are, it obviously won't win the war for Japan, though I could imagine the Japanese deploying anthrax as a last-ditch effort to deny the US use of certain islands.

Would use of weaponized anthrax in China justify chemical retaliation from the rest of the Allies? Presumably if anthrax is used in any other theater, the gloves come off completely.
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