[drgondog]

Rich - you are right. The Japanese had to have oil. Period. Had to neutralize the Brit and American Navy to secure it in SE Asia... and had to have secure supply to finish China, much less attack Russia.

Had the Japanese negotiated a favorable settlement with US and Britain, then Russia could have been next... but not until the energy issue was solved.

Another interesting question would have been armor and anti armor against the Soviets. The Germans didn't fare well and they had the best of both categories

Last but not least is the incredible supply chain issue to support their troops should they have tackled Soviet Union from SE.. bad move all around.