Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:56:45-1:57:58

Would smaller powers change course after Japan joined?

Japan's choice would matter less to smaller states whose policies were still constrained by nearby threats, access to allies, and regional geography.

FinlandNeutralityPortugalSoviet Union
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Question

Would Japan's entry change the choices of smaller states such as Portugal or Finland?

Short answer

Probably not for Portugal or Finland, whose immediate Spanish and Soviet security problems would still dominate their policies.

Notes

Portugal would still want to help Britain without provoking an invasion from Spain. Finland would still face the Soviet Union next door and need assistance from a power that could actually reach it. Those conditions leave cooperation with Germany plausible even after Japan changes sides. A distant great power's decision does not remove the immediate security problems shaping either country's policy.