Reply #34: There are lots of differences between then and now

[Art_from_Ark]

Then (1930s):
Western powers and Japan have empires

There is a worldwide economic depression

Japan has few friends in the world; anti-Japanese sentiment is high in the US

Widespread hardship, large peasant class, unquestioned devotion to the emperor and the state religion characterize Japanese society.

China is weakened by years of foreign intervention, incompetent leaders and civil war. Technologically speaking, Japan is light years ahead of China.

Now
Most empires have been broken up

The Japanese economy, while not exactly "gangbusters", is still enough to provide the vast majority of people with a comfortable living.

Japan has made a tremendous effort to be accepted by the rest of the world. Most Japanese are concerned with how the rest of the world views their country.

Most Japanese are living comfortable lives, there is a large middle class, there is no state religion, and no one considers the emperor to be a god.

China has nuclear weapons.

Thus, while China might have resources, the cost of invading China, including lives lost in China and the possibility of another nuclear attack on the home front, would be far too high for all but the most rabid right-wingers to consider.