Was there a time during the spectacular Japanese advances, where Britain was worried about Japan attacking the Pitcairn Islands or even the Falklands?
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From my understanding neither was ever considered by the Japanese as neither had any strategic importance and would of been a waste of Japanese resources to try and occupy.
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In the book âFrozen Empiresâ by Adrian John Howkins tels that Britain did strengthen the garrison of the Falkland Islands in 1942. Britain was also worried about Argentinian claims to the Falklands as well as Argentine âincroachment in British claimed Antarctica (Falkland Islands Dependencies).
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And 40 years later⌠tensions exploded 
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It made some sense to worry about it. The Japanese also took the extremely remote islands of Attu and Kiska at the tail end of the Aleutians. The could have done a âcome and get meâ in the Falklands and South Georgia. Attu and Kiska were a road to nowhere for anyone with even just a cursory knowledge of Alaska but it was a big irritant and distraction for the USAâŚ
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Wasent the Alaska attack thought out, only as a diversion to the Midway attack? And the Japanese knew it would had som symbolic value to US as you describe, so they coukld hope US would respond with ressources out of proportion with the strategic value.
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Hi, That was what I and everyone else in the West assumed before âShattered Swordâ, including me.
The Japanese Navy and Army did have a massive ongoing conflict over power and resources and no âMarshallâ (as in the name not the title 
) to allocate resources sensibly.
The Aleutians were an Army invasion with relatively small support from Carriers, Midway was a Navy action. So actually the whole thing was a compromise and a division of forces. The Midway Aleutian plan then became wildly complicated.
I think the Diversion attack became popular because it would make sense but ignored Japanese politicking.
In the end it did cost the Allies disproportionate resources to take the Islands back. On the other hand, the Japanese started losing ships to the aggressive US bombing in incredibly bad weather. Even in July planes were not flying when I was there, and on my boat to Kodiak some passengers got really scared. (I have a boating license so wasnât too worried).
The Japanese could hop to the other Islands as the US started building up defenses.
Ironically the Soviet Invasion of Japan ended up being planned from Cold Bay in the Aleutians. Project Hula involved training Soviet forces to invade the Kuriles. (Which could be bombed from Alaska by eg the PV2D Harpoon).
This book gives a detailed description of this part of history and the role of the Aleutians
USA Project.Hula.Secret.Soviet-American.Cooperation.WWII.pdf (ibiblio.org)
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I think they would have first been more worried about the Germans occupying the Falklands than the Japanese. There was a German U-boat (I canât remember the name) that got sunk off the coast if Uruguay and the Captain took refuge in the country. The Japanese had a small community in Peru, but the Germans had more of a presence in South America than the Japanese did. I canât really remember the Italian extent in South America though.
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