Originally Posted by Shangas

At the outbreak of WWII, the British had the largest empire of all the European Greats. I think it would have been impossible for Japan to carry out it's expansionist dreams without stepping on a proverbial landmine and waking up the Brits. England just had too many colonies for the Japs NOT to be able to ignore them and still carry out their plans.

But let's think about this...

Okay, Britain doesn't enter WWII, or makes peace with the Nazis. The Japs and the US fight it out. With Hawaii taken, the Yanks must find somewhere else close-ish to Japan from which they can base their operations. Australia is a natural choice. It's close, but not too close. It's with a friendly country, and the Americans DID make bases in Australia during WWII.

The Japs get wise to the bases in Australia. Now in *real life*, the Japs bombed the Northern Territory capital city of Darwin TWICE (at least), to drive out the Yanks, who had airplane bases there. Apart from destroying an American base, that would be an attack on the Commonwealth of Australia and on the British Empire - I refer you back to my previous point - that the Japs would not be able to carry out their plans without in some way tripping over a British Crown Colony in the Pacific region.