Reply to the subject line of the topic at hand…
Yes… when playing as if AA50 is Revised, in a straight all out KGF, Japan dominates.
A solution I’m playtesting with some success right now in multiple games - start buying one bomber per turn from US1 on, fly to Britain for a concentrated pummeling of (mostly) German and (some) Italian factory production. Get a shuck of one transport (two total under the protection of heavy British naval purchases UK1 & 2) and a couple infantry per round up and running. If possible take Norway with US, build an IC. Start producing a maddening trickle of US infantry flowing into Russia, with bomber support.
Now the Pacific. Build and keep the pressure on with the rest of your American IPCs (20-30 per turn, depending on progress in Europe). You easily have 2 CVs + 4 ftrs quickly for a base; destroyers and subs (and a small land threat) to follow. Then it becomes a game of opportunity… can’t tell you what to do from there, but opportunities will present themselves. The main idea is to harass, play the Pacific NO game, keep the Japanese player uncomfortable.
A nice thing about the steady buildup of bombers in Britain (despite the unavoidable loss now and then) is the ability to have some or all of them in the Pacific theater quickly, giving a nice set of fangs to the relatively defensive navy growing on the West Coast of the US. No Japanese player likes the sight of 2 CVs/4ftr/3 dest/4 subs/couple of loaded trannies/3 bombers around turn 4. Makes you shift in your seat as Japan… and purchase units that aren’t hurting Russia…
The UK and Russia have to keep up steady aggressive pressure, screening vs. Japan while assaulting Germany with all they have (a Germany reduced somewhat from bombing damage), and waiting for the US to get in gear. The US is the key… the basic tenet here is to replicate (to some extent) the role of America in WWII.