@WILD:
I still don’t see the logic here. After Paris fell (June 1940), Japan occupied FIC (Sept 1940) and it fits in the time line. Once you loose your capital your tt should be up for grabs. Hell even UK attacked the French during this time, so why not Japan.
UK attacked the French to keep French assets from falling into Axis hands. The same can’t be said for Japan.
@WILD:
I don’t see any reason why Japan should be penalized for invading FIC. It was a historical action Japan took to cut off aid to China, a power it’s is at war with. I know the game doesn’t include any Vichy type rules, but FIC should be fair game for Japan (along with any other French tt Japan can reach). In global Japan needs something to conquer while it is stalling its full blown attack. It needs to be able to increase its income other then just China (as its enemies will be doing so in the region). I don’t see why you would be considering a Jap NO (bribe), to stall its attacks on the UK/US tt, only to handicap it.
What, exactly, can Japan conquer outside China and the USSR that won’t bring UK/ANZAC and USA into war with them? FIC only. I hardly think that giving Japan 10 IPCs for foregoing 2 can be considered a penalty.
@WILD:
With this thinking before we know it a Jap invasion of FIC will bring the US into the war early (which it obviously should not do), so why would it take away its proposed NO involving war with UK/US.
Obviously not, since as Calvin pointed out the US cut off trade with Japan when FIC was invaded, but it did not declare war. To the US, this invasion represented an expansion of Japan’s war beyond China, involving a European power in a conflict which had previously been confined to Asia. The trade embargo was invoked to curtail Japan’s imperial ambitions. Ironically, this is what led Japan to the necessity of capturing the Dutch East Indies to get the raw materials to continue its war effort and its attack on the US to protect those interests.
In essence, this NO is similar in nature to the one Germany gets for not being at war with the Soviet Union. It represents the benefit of an economic relationship that will become broken under certain conditions.