WI: Japan Goes for USSR instead of USA + some more pods.

Sure. But if the Soviets are coming to Central Europe, Japan may receive access to a very popularly priced credits to maintain their forces in Siberia. Sort of a Land/Lease?

If we go with this POD, much of the 20th century as we know it changed. We've got a Japanese "ally" in Siberia, and probably Mongolia. I think the Japanese will still make a play for Manchuria, they'd undoubtedly have a heavier presence there if they're in the Soviet Far East.
 

CalBear

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The easiest part would be ridding Japanese of the "oil curse". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daqing Oil Field has more than enough dino juice to cover Japanese needs, it is within territories Japan controlled from 1920s, it can be developed using pre-WWII tech. They just need to know where to look.

The tech is often more difficult to deploy than the discovery, not that the discovery would be easy. There is a reason the field wasn't located until 1959. The Japanese had control of half a dozen significant modern fields including Liaohe and Shengli.
 

CalBear

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I like to think there's POD out there where Japan figures the USSR is a bigger threat than China and doesn't get involved with the quagmire down there and avoids the embargo.

There are plenty of POD. They mainly involve the Empire actually accepting that the Chinese are not simply a resource to expend.
 
There are plenty of POD. They mainly involve the Empire actually accepting that the Chinese are not simply a resource to expend.

You need a POD where the USSR is more of an existential threat. Otherwise you'll wind up with exactly that, a China that exists solely to be conquered by Japan.
 
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