The Flag of the Empire of Japan
External Security
Most Secret
Bureau of Foreign Military Affairs
East Asia Analysis Task Force
March 22, 2046
The Flag of the Empire of Japan
Japan was heavily damaged in the nuclear exchange of 1985. Many major cities were obliterated by Soviet and/or Chinese nuclear missile strikes. The Imperial Family had been sent into a secure location. With the loss of the world oil market, Japan, who was completely without any oil of its own, with limited arable land that couldn’t support the large population still alive after the bombs fell, suffered severe depopulation, with only about 12 million people still alive by the end of the winter of 1985-86.
Japan found itself isolated from the world, with its export-based economy destroyed and with food riots and civil disorder threatening the downfall of the Japanese government, an alliance of nationalists and military officials, the senior of whom had been junior WWII era military officers, were able to regain influence in the Diet by manipulating the already existing anti-US, anti-Western, and anti-Chinese feeling of the population, allowing them the popular support needed to restore order within Japan. By the end of the winter of 1986-1987 the governments nationalist leadership, who had ensured popular support, had gained full control of the Japanese government. With the fear of an invasion by hordes of starving Chinese and Koreans, the Japanese public, who only three years before were adamantly opposed to rearmament, now called upon the government for a military build-up and by the end of that year, the government, skillfully orchestrated by the nationalist politicians, had reestablished a Meiji era "genro" oligarchy dominated by a military dictatorship of a new Imperial Japan. As one of its first acts was the denouncement of the 1952 US-Japanese Peace Treaty as well as enacting a new constitution although many elements of the 1947 Constitution were kept. Once in power Japan began to rebuild its military in an extensive program for nearly two decades including the establishment of Saigo Military Academy in Kagoshima from which its graduating cadets would become the first generation of Japan's future elite officer corps.
By 1990 Japan had begun occupying the Kuril and Ryuku Is. and, with its newly graduated cadets, establishing naval bases. In the mid-1990's Japan began expanding outside the Sea of Japan and as a result encountered the other dominant powers of Indonesia and Fiji of which it would establish friendly relations that would last to the present day. Japan would continue consolidating its territory until early 2005 when scouts reported the situation in Alaskan States where it was decided upon invasion of Alaska by the Japanese High Command. While Japan prepared for a major invasion however a Japanese reconnaissance ship was captured off Kodiak by a Sitka privateer crew and, the crew boasting of the imminent invasion, were killed by the privateers. Unaware that their element of surprise now gone the Alaskan states were able to organize before the invasion however the Japanese are able to defeat Kodiak on September 29 before winter began. The following spring Japan would invade Homer, Kenai, and Anchorage in June. The advance into Whittier was halted by fierce mountain warfare by the Alaska League with the Japanese suffering over 10,000 casualties including many of its experienced officers. With the Japanese now on the defensive Alaska League forces launched a counter attack on August 28 in the Battle of Blackstone Bay and, while the battle was inclusive, Japan decided to halt future offensives to focus on Korea.
Japan invaded Korea in 2004 and while what passed for a Korean regular army was promptly destroyed, the Japanese ended up fighting a particularly vicious guerrilla war which distracted Japan from properly support its Alaska campaign, to the extent that it allowed the Alaska League's naval forces the opportunity to destroy the remaining Japanese naval forces at Kodiak in 2007. Continuing for almost a decade the Korean guerrilla war, combined with the losses from the Alaskan campaign, would see Japan lose much of its cadet officer corps, allowing privileged soldiers from influential families to dominate the officer corps in later years, while potential cadets from more modest backgrounds were forced into the enlisted ranks, rather than being allowed the opportunity to advance in society.
In the early 2010's saw a great deal of cooperation with Indonesia and Fiji as the Great Indian Wars broke out with Japan hiring out mercenary troops and, with Fiji, selling to both sides. The much needed boost in the economy would assist them in industrializing, primarily in weapons manufacturing, as the continued to build up their military forces however being blocked by the largely unknown Mongol Empire and Chinese Kingdoms to the east and allies Indonesia and Fiji to the south they found that the raw materials which they desperately needed were nowhere to be found.
In 2023, Marshal Tsushima Masaaki kidnapped the emperor's brother and fled to Okinawa. After setting the brother up as emperor, Tsushima lead a revolt that broke the empire into a northern and a southern state. Fighting continued off and on until 2031, when Tsushima died in an air raid. Within two months, army officers had murdered the rebel emperor and reunited the empire. Once the civil war was over, the Japanese could return to their ambitions on the continent of Asia and elsewhere. In May 22, 2032, the Japanese crossed the Korean/Chinese frontier and began the conquest of Manchuria. By April 2033 the local warlords had capitulated to Japanese forces, and on June 13, the Japanese installed a puppet emperor of a new state, Manchukuo.
In 2044, despite the efforts of Indonesia and Fiji, Japan initiated a well planned large scale attack on the remaining Pacific territory of the UKA, Argentina, Columbia, and Taiwan. However, while the attack was skillfully carried out, the officer corps were unable to carry out these orders suffering severe casualties in numerous ultimately useless attempts to break though enemy defenses, particularly in Lahaina, and were decisively defeated in each of these attacks and eventually starved out when supporting naval forces were forced to withdraw from aerial counter attacks by each of the countries despite successes in Alaska, Nicaragua, and Truk Atoll. With their forces decimated and supplies exhausted Japan called for an armistice on November 23 officially surrendering to the UKA, Argentina, Columbia, and Taiwan signing the Treaty of Bandung on December 20. The terms of the treaty included the return of captured territory and reparations payments in the form of warships to the victors. After this defeat the Japanese High Command recognizing the incompetence among its line officers began a restructuring of the military. Its economy in shambles, with Fiji investing heavily in Japan's infrastructure and industries, began to recover after the war. Recent negotiations with the UKA may, perhaps, prove Japan to be a valuable ally in checking Mongol ambitions in the east.
The Japanese have pursued an aggressive policy of expansion since shortly after the nuclear war of 1985. With a culture that emphasizes unity, hard work, and obedience to authority, the Japanese quickly began to rebuild and maintained a high degree of unity that allowed them to recover much faster than many other locations.
Japan's policy of aggressive expansion, done in the name of maintaining control of the raw material that Japan lacks and needs to maintain an advanced society, has brought it in conflict with virtually all of its Pacific Rim neighbors at one time or another over the years. Hence, Japan's only reliable ally is its puppet empire on the Chinese mainland, Manchukuo.
Currently, Japan is at war with the Mongol Khanate of Siberia, and hostile to but at peace with the UKA, Colombia, Chile, Indonesia, Taiwan, Imperial China, Fiji, the People's Republic of New South Wales, and Argentina. It has more friendly relations with Malaysia, the Sultanate of Adana, the Republic of West Australia, the People's Republic of China, the Roman Empire, and the Empire of Vietnam.
Unit for unit, the Japanese have the toughest infantry in the world today. Brave to the point of foolhardiness, superbly disciplined, well trained, and well equipped, they have seen considerable combat against a multitude of foes and have always fought well. However, the leadership of of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) has never lived up to the quality of its men, often losing battle and campaigns through poor logistical management, failure to properly plan movements, poor recon, and sheer operational ineptitude.
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for many years was the most powerful in the Pacific. Cumulative disasters against the UKA in 2044 and Indonesia in 2040 put an end to that condition. The Japanese are now the third most powerful navy in the Pacific after Indonesia and then the UKA. The Japanese shipbuilding industry is working desperately to replace the losses from those misadventures.
Japanese Warships
Imperial Naval Air Force
Commander of the China Expeditionary Army – General Kiga Goro
Commander of the Imperial Home Army - General Adachi Yukimasa
Military Equipment