We would have ended the war as it stood, maybe demanding the return of some small occupied islands. Japan would readily agree as long as they could retain the majority of their Asian conquests. It would enable them to concentrate their remaining forces.
Britain and France would be upset at territories they would loose but without U.S. support and war exhaustion, they would acquiesce to whatever token reparations were offered.
As Japan would no longer be a strategic threat we would focus entirely on Europe. The Marshall Plan would be somewhat expanded and we would build a nuclear arsenal to stay ahead of the Soviets. We would not know the horrors of what happens if you actually use an atomic bomb.
Somewhere in the 50's we would court Japan as an ally against Communism, specifically the U.S.S.R. Bygones would be bygones and we would support their efforts to suppress uprisings in China and South East Asia. We would likely attempt to create SEATO including Japan and, in the ultimate irony, assist in rearming Japan with the weapons we fought against them.
Edit history
= new reply since forum marked as read
