I can’t speak to the history but in game terms, I think it is probably better for it to stay the way it is. If Japan can deny that NO by simply moving a sub there it is an easy choice without much risk. The axis just commit one cheap unit.
The way it works now, if Japan declares war it can shut that NO down but at the cost of giving the USSR double the NOs in Persia and Archangel. If the USSR declares war on Japan, it loses the NO in the Pacific without getting the bonuses in the West. This creates an additional complication to weigh when considering attacking eachother directly and in the war in China. Obviously given the value of IPCs at stake, this is not going to be the most significant decision in the game, but I like that it is another decision that has both a payoff and a risk.
@Ichabod:
@Adam514:
Probably Russia and Japan aren’t at war.
Ok…but of course Japan did attempt to interdict all allied shipping, even ones that would just be trade ships once it was at war with the allies, especially US and UK ships even if not at war with russia.
I think if BM3 is updated, having to be at war shouldn’t matter for Japan to block that NO with a sub in sz 5…it would just mean that Russia could get the additional NO money like it currently does when Japan is at war with Russia.