Absolutely not Japan was in no condition to start another war with Russia as it was already moving to strike at the US and European Pacific colonies. By the start of Battle of Moscow, Japan was planning its attack on the US and to wipe out the Pacific Fleet. Japan was by this time starved of resources, the US, UK, and Dutch started an embargo on exports to Japan in 1940. They relied heavily on imports for things like iron, copper, rubber and especially oil, oil from the US made up about 80% of Japan’s import of oil.

This embargo was due to Japan’s aggressive expansion in China and its annexation of French Indochina. The west was scared that the Japanese would eventually invade into their colonies, so to prevent further expansion they embargoed Japan. The terms were that Japan would pull out of China and French Indochina and stop its aggressive actions. But this would be disastrous for the Japanese. If Japan would pull out, this would let the Chinese regroup and recover from its war with Japan. China would not let the years of rape, pillaging, and murder across their country go unanswered and they would attack the Japanese.

However the Japanese could not further its advances in China as it would run out of resources. It needs to ship supplies and men on ships to the mainland, while also ship resources back to the home islands. Alongside of fueling its massive navy and its army the Japanese would use up the rest of its resources in a matter of months and would have no choice but to fall back or be stuck in a hostile China surrounded by Chinese forces.

The last option was to take the Dutch East Indies and British Malaya and its vast resources that would fuel the Japanese war effort. However the big threat was the US fleet as any attack on these territories would force the US to attack the Japanese. So Japan planned its attack on the Pacific fleet on Pearl Harbor and knock out the fleet. With that Japan had a free hand for now in the Pacific.

Now you might ask what does this have to do with Japan not attacking Russia during the Moscow campaign? Well that’s just it, it’s already planning an invasion of the Dutch Indies and British Malaya, alongside a fleet attack on Pearl Harbor, not to mention its ongoing war in China, it does not have enough troops and resources to be everywhere. If it attacks Russia would it benefit the Japanese? No, it needs resources that Russia does have on the other side of the country. But there was no way Japan could even get 1/4 of the way there. It would also have to pull troops from China and its other fronts to cover a front that wide. So Japan would gain almost nothing from this invasions, have no resources and would still be in its same situation like before but even worse, and holding a wide front in some inhabitable lands. Japan gained nothing and would never go for attacking Russia. That and it already faced Russia in its disastrous border skirmish in Mongolia.

Japan in 1939 started a border conflict with Russia in Mongolia around Khalkin Gil and Lake Khasan. The Japanese army faced down the Red Army and was completely humiliated. In 1941, Japan would sign a neutrality pact with Russia, this was meant so Japan could focus its attention to the south and the US. It shows how outclassed the Japanese Army was compared to an actual army. Japan was prepared to fight the Chinese, other Asian armies and European garrison troops. These troops are usually not well trained, not well equipped, and lack heavy equipment like tanks and heavy artillery. And much of the European troops would be reliant on supplies and reinforcements from the home countries that would have to be shipped by sea. Seas that would be controlled by the Japanese navy that would be the dominant naval power in that area. The Japanese Army while well trained and well equipped were not ready for a well trained European or US army. Any and all supplies needed to be shipped across the ocean to troops in mainland Asia or any of the Pacific islands. This meant every ton counts and having 40-50 ton tanks being shipped across the water was a huge waste, having lighter tanks saved space to ship more of them across, but in doing so cut down on firepower and armor. Or shipping heavier and longer artillery pieces would take up too much space and fewer could be sent to the troops, while lighter guns could be easily shipped and be brought up in sand without sinking. The US also had this problem when designing weapons, but had better designs and infrastructure to support its merchant ships. The Japanese compensated the lack of heavy weapons in their infantry divisions by having more men in them than an average US or German division. I’d like to mention that the Japanese were fighting in Asia and not Central Europe or France, they were prepared to fight here and not prepped up to fight in the open steppes of Russia or the freezing ground of Siberia.

Japan has no desire to attack Russia during the attack on Moscow. While it did have plans to attack Russia if it fell into complete chaos, Russia never collapse, not even at the height of Moscow campaign. Japan knew it was no match for them, and so pursued its own objectives for it’s survival. And even if it did attack Russia, when Russia recovered and was at full strength, it would beat the overstretches and undersupplied Japanese back to Manchuria and push them back to the Home Islands.

Sources:

Mawdsley, Evan, et al. The Cambridge History of the Second World War. Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Drea, Edward J. In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. University of Nebraska Press, 2003.