@221B:
@Dylan:
Then how why did Japan still not think they were weak. Also why was Stalin that scared?
The Japanese had actually fought the Soviets twice in border skirmishes in the late 30’s along the Russian/Manchurian border. Both times, the Japanese were soundly defeated, being saved only by multilateral negotiations between the Russians, Japanese, and the other powers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchuria#Russian_and_Japanese_encroachmentAt the end of the 1930s, Manchuria was a trouble spot with Japan clashing twice with the Soviet Union. These clashes - at Lake Khasan in 1938 and at Khalkhin Gol one year later - resulted in many Japanese casualties. The Soviet Union won these two battles and a peace agreement was signed. However, the regional unrest endured.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Khasan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khalkhin_Gol
Japan made about 5,000 tanks in the whole war, most of which were awful. Their army was very infantry oriented. This means that they could take on China reasonably (thanks to air superiority). In the jungles of south Asia where they fought the british, only small tanks had a chance of getting around, so Japan’s woefully inadequate tanks and AT guns had a chance against the UK’s light armor. But against the onslaught of Russian armor in northern Asia, not a chance. Japan was not part of the tank race that overtook the western war, so by 1945 the Russians were using massive JS tanks with 122mm guns and T-34/85’s. Japan was still using designs that were made to 1939 standards, most with 37-45mm guns.
An interesting tidbit is that Japan only organized its armor into tank divisions half way through the war. Even then, they only had 2. They had no mech inf in practice. In theory, the 2nd tank division had some but it’s not clear that they were ever used. There were 2 types of APC, only a handful of each were made, and not until very late in the war. The 2nd tank division may have had some in Manchuria in 1944 and their records show that they were sent to the Philippinnes with them. But as no American reports of captured Japanese equipment even mentions them, it’s very possible their transport was sunk enroute. There were a few APCs with units in Japan, but these never saw action. These units also had Japan’s only close to modern tank (again only a few were made). No transport was available to send these to Okinawa, despite efforts, so they also saw no action in the war.