KellyC

As the Western economies continued toward collapse, Japan moved forward in its desire to reassert dominance in the Far East. In order to force the United States to relinquish its forward bases in the Pacific, the Japanes military moved into action. A naval and air blockade was placed around Okinawa Island.
The US government, backed by strong public opinion, decided to respond with a show of military force. The Japanese, knowing they could not stand toe-to-toe with the US Navy, decided the best option would be to operate within range of their land based aircraft. They hoped that preventing the resupply of Okinawa, and, in the course of maintaining the blockade, inflicting significant losses on the US Navy, would cause the US Government to reconsider their claims on Okinawa.
 
 

The Kuril Islands is the setting for this dispute between Russia and Japan. The Russsians invaded the Kurils near the end of World War II and Japan wants these islands back. Neither side has signed a formal peace treaty following the war because of the Kurils Islands. Whenever negotiations take place, Japan brings up the Kurils in an effort to get them returned. So far, the Russians have not yielded, despite their inability to support the Islands. The economic situation of the Kurils and its native, largely Japanese, population is deterioriating as each day passes. This scenario explores one of the options available to the Japanese Government, should political efforts and negotiations continue to fail.