Coloradostoneman t1_iy5ojmt wrote on November 28, 2022 at 10:55 PM

Reply to comment by TakeBeerBenchinHilux in On April 2, 1941, a Japanese foreign minister asked Pope Pius XII to speak to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, so as to avert "a war of mutual destruction” by marketrent

no, It did not end well and they pretty much knew they were screwed when the carriers were not there. It was a long shot, but they did not feel that they had a choice.

TakeBeerBenchinHilux t1_iy6u5lm wrote on November 29, 2022 at 4:19 AM

Yes, no choice. No choice but to rape through China, Southeast Asia, blitz Pearl Harbor and occupy the Aluetians. Manchuria, Taiwan and Korea wasn't enough resources. Hail Mary through the Philippines, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia, Malysia, northern Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia and even Papua New Guinea for some reason, right?

Coloradostoneman t1_iy76y79 wrote on November 29, 2022 at 6:32 AM

Notice I said "they did not FEEL that they had a choice" not that they didn't.

All I said they had no real choice on was attacking pearl harbor. And given that the other option was packing it all in because they had no oil, which was culturally and politically untenable, no, they did not really have a choice in their mind.

Were there technically other options? Yes, there usually are. Was there any chance they would be taken? No. In the Japan of the time ending the war was literally death for the commanders.