Max Sinister
Banned
But David S Poepoe has a point with the Monroe Doctrine... Japan is no European country, but still...
WI: Russia sells Alaska to Japan
- Thread starter Hendryk
- Start date
Going on the assumption that Japan somehow gets Alaska but the resources available aren't able to prevent the attack on WW2 (not enough oil or metal), might the US seize Alaska during the war and make it into a territory post war, if the Russians don't regrab it during the Russo-Japanese war?
It would make a good base against the USSR and keep the Soviets out of N. America, and future resources would line US pockets. Japan would have no chance of keeping it after losing WW2, and would the US really allow a potential soviet puppet in its own backyard?
It would make a good base against the USSR and keep the Soviets out of N. America, and future resources would line US pockets. Japan would have no chance of keeping it after losing WW2, and would the US really allow a potential soviet puppet in its own backyard?
There had been talks of Alaska becoming the Jewish national homeland after World War II in our timeline. I see that as more likely if the Japanese are foolish enough to orchestrate Pearl Harbor ITTL. However, I find the latter prospect unlikely, but it would be helpful if we could prevent U.S. expansion West of Wake Island entirely in a scenario where the Japanese buy Alaska.
This is true as well. I'd expect there to exist more ethnic Japanese worldwide ITTL than existed in ours in 1940.
Alaska was sold but much of Siberia was also offered, including the lands where V I Lenin would be born. If Japan can pick up everything east of Lake Baikal in some sort of mega-deal, could they use it as a springboard to take China and Mongolia? Would Red Russia try to retake the areas after the Russian Civil War or could Japan push even farther into Siberia?
If Japan does buy Alaska, one would think that it would stipulate some sort of treaty over Korea and Manchuria, but neither side would probably really obey anyways.
I really doubt World War 2 (at least in the Pacific) would happen in TTL. If anything, I'm thinking that there might be a more northward approach towards Siberia and northen China. It might be though, that perhaps Japan during the Russian civil war gets even more heavily involved in the conflict with a more northern perspective.
There are likely to be slight border alterations as well. In OTL the Alaska boundary dispute happened because Britain was sucking up to America when Canada thought she had Britain's backing over her aid in The Boer War. In this TL, the British negotiator will probably side with the Canadians.
I really doubt World War 2 (at least in the Pacific) would happen in TTL. If anything, I'm thinking that there might be a more northward approach towards Siberia and northen China. It might be though, that perhaps Japan during the Russian civil war gets even more heavily involved in the conflict with a more northern perspective.
There are likely to be slight border alterations as well. In OTL the Alaska boundary dispute happened because Britain was sucking up to America when Canada thought she had Britain's backing over her aid in The Boer War. In this TL, the British negotiator will probably side with the Canadians.
Hendryk
Banned
Indeed, having Alaska would put the center of gravity of the Japanese empire firmly in the northern Pacific. They may next seek to claim coastal eastern Siberia rather than look south. Manchuria may still interest them, though, especially if they get Korea.
BTW, while I think it wouldn't be technologically feasible to extract oil from northern Alaska (though I may be proved wrong by someone with actual expertise on the topic), there's oil to be found in Sakhalin and Manchuria. If they get hold of those fields by the 1930s, the Japanese may become self-sufficient fuel-wise for the next few decades, removing the incentive for going to war against the US.
Susano
Banned
Well, from the very few I understand of Japanese, Arasuka is just a transcription of Alaska, though. (r for l, and the voiceless u so that it fits into the japanese scripts). More or less, Arasuka would be pronounced like Alaska, except that the l would sound like more like a r, heh.
Hm, was the region already known as Alaska back then? And would Japan take over that name and just transcribe it, or, as then own land, give it maybe an own, Japanese name?
Now thats almost cliche. The PoD is in 1867, and people ask for the ramifications on the world wars
Now, Korea is much more important to Japan then Alaska, of course. Hence, they wouldnt agree to purchasing Alaska, if influence on or possession of Korea was prevented. As the thread does ak for a sucessful Japanese purchase of Alaska, though, that means wed have to find a point in time where Japan can be seriously consided as buyer, without already being too much of a competition to Russia... so, somewhen in the 70s, maybe...
Doctrines are no automatisms, and no laws, either. The USA could still decide on its own wether it wants to followdoctrine in this issue, or not. And as, as was pointed out, already the purchase of the land was criticiszed, a war would have been far too onpopular.
Max Sinister
Banned
I guess that happened before they discovered oil there?
(If you take that into consideration, it doesn't sound too bad... maybe better than the only place in the Middle East where there is no oil, to quote a joke.)
ninebucks
Banned
However, Japanese linguists prior to 1945 really did not like Western loan-words. It is much more likely that they would try to invent their own new term for the territory than to use a corruption of the Russian or English name.
They liked Shina just fine
Point taken though. Are we thinking then something like Shinezo for a name, or Nihonjin Amerika?
Certainly a fascinating idea. The main question I have is the following:
Why does everyone assume Japan will still expand just as easily as OTL? They've forked over a considerable sum to their main potential rival in the region. Even in OTL, if the Russians had kept at the land war a couple months longer the Japanese would have crumbled, especially if the Russians hadn't fed their navy to Japan in bite-size pieces. I'd actually be more interested in a timeline where Japan lost an alternate Russo-Japanese War, as it would mean they would actually pay attention to Alaska.
Why does everyone assume Japan will still expand just as easily as OTL? They've forked over a considerable sum to their main potential rival in the region. Even in OTL, if the Russians had kept at the land war a couple months longer the Japanese would have crumbled, especially if the Russians hadn't fed their navy to Japan in bite-size pieces. I'd actually be more interested in a timeline where Japan lost an alternate Russo-Japanese War, as it would mean they would actually pay attention to Alaska.