Japan (The Many Nations of North America)

Japan rules a vast colonial and economic empire across the Pacific Rim. Probably the biggest concern of the Japanese state is maintaining control over its mainland Asian territories. Japan’s chief rivals, Britain, Germany and Russia are believed responsible for the funding and covert training of rebel groups throughout Japan’s vast Asian territories. Japan has responded in kind, and serves as the number one backer of Malay and Indonesian nationalists and east African liberation movements. Revolutionary groups have given the Japanese several prominent black eyes since the height of Japan’s glorious 30’s. Japan was forced to recognize the existence of the Russian backed Uighar Sultanate and British backed Yunan Republic and principality of Tibet. Since then Japan has abandoned its hopes of controlling the entirety of china and has propped up a seroes buffer states, the prelates of Guangxi, Hunan, Shaanxi as well as the “empire” of Manchukuo, to safe guard its richer Pacific Rim territories. Japan’s empire consists of the core and periphery territories. The core territories are under the direct rule of the Japanese empire and contain most of the nation’s industry and capital assets. These areas include the Japanese archipelago, the Japanese dominated islands of Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Negros and Bohol, Korea, Taiwan, Nipponese Manchuria, coastal Nanjing, and coastal Guangzhou. The periphery is viewed primarily as source for strategic resources, a market for Japanese goods, and an endless source of cheap labor. The periphery consists of interior china, the Japanese puppet states, Indochina and Mindaro. Economically Japan is one of the world’s four largest economies. Japan’s economy is based centered around the massive industrial concerns known as the Zaibatsu. The Zaibatsu combined control through either direct or indirect means an estimated 55% of the Japanese economy. Politically Japan is a constitutional monarchy but Japanese politics is controlled largely by four political blocs. They consist of the monarchy, the Bureaucracy, the Zaibatsu and the military. Thanks to a series of long standing compromises between the power blocs Japan’s Core has enjoyed enviable stability for the past 50 years, the Periphery much less so. Japan’s military is divided fairly evenly between army, navel and aerial assets. The Japanese navy is Britain’s closest rival while its air force is rumored to be the most advanced in the world. In North America Japan maintains close military, diplomatic and economic ties to Pacifica and California. The critical transfer of Japnese munitions in the darkest days of the Norwest war allowed Pacifica to ultimately triumph over the Russians. Japan is one of the leading arms exporters to the Western North American nations with Deserat’s air force being largely made of Japanese airframes. The Japanese of Zaibatsu had previously held close ties to government of the GLC, but these relations were strained during the GLC’s extensive civil war. Presently the government is pledging 10’s of billions of yen both to assure the GLC’s reconstruction and to keep its remains from falling completely into Britain and Canada’s sphere of influence.