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The Second Sino-Japanese war can be compared to the Nazi invasion of the USSR in that it was an invasion of a country, while technologically behind, that had huge amounts of resources to draw upon. The Japanese were put in an endless war in China that they never gained anything from, and arguable could never have one. So, what if the Japanese see the strategic folly of invading China, and stick with Manchuria and Korea. I wonder how this would play out as WWII comes along. With the extra resources that Japan saved from not invading China, would they be more successful against the USSR? There are many Alt-History campaigns that the Japanese could have embarked upon with the extra-manpower, including an invasion of Hawaii or Australia. Then again, the invasion of China was the reason why the USA cut off oil to Japan, so if there is no invasion, then there may be no Pacific War as we know today.

Also, we can't forget China would still be a major player. While there is the issue of Manchuria, the Chinese were very close with Germany until being pushed into the allied camp when they were invaded, so perhaps China could join that axis? I believe before the Japanese invaded, the Nationalists were close to winning the Civil War, and the Nationalists were very anti-communists after the Civil War, so that is another reason that the Chinese Nationalists could have joined the Anti-Comintern Pact. Any thoughts on this scenario?
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