WI Japan siezes Siberia?

Is it feasible that Japan could have invaded and taken control of parts of eastern Siberia during the Russian Civil war, on the pretext of fighting Communism? If they could do this, it would have greatly helped them later on.
 

Hendryk

Banned
They did, it was called the Far Eastern Republic. But by 1922 they decided it wasn't worth fighting the Bolsheviks over it, and they pulled out. This was during a lull in their imperialist ambitions, when it looked like Japan was going to be a functional parliamentary democracy.

If you find a reason for them to hold on to the place, it would definitely make a difference in the following decade.
 
Part of the reason that the Japanese withdrew was considerable pressure from the US and even Great Britain to a lesser extent to withdraw. If they had remained Japan probably would have had the military muscle in 1922 to hold onto Siberia. It would however be a drain on Japan's resources but would have had a major impact on the Far east situation .
 
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