Japan (Sino-Japanese Alliance)

Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nihon), officially the Empire of Japan  (日本の帝国, Nihon No Teikoku), and commonly abbrievated as Japan; is a sovereign state located off the coast of China, although it has overseas territories across Polynesia, East Guinea, and Cochinchina. It is part of the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere or GACPA and has significant influence and historical ties with the Russian Empire, the Korean Empire, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These states make up the "Japanese Sphere" of the GACPA. In addition to the Japanese Sphere, Japan shares a border with Assam and Cambodia as well as sharing Maritime borders with Formosa, China, Alaska, Australia, and Maori.

The Territory of Modern Day Japan was first inhabited during the paleolithic era when a land bridge was formed between Japan and Korea. Japan was inhabited by feudal samurai clans that eventually became united under a shogun. This system would build up Japan's military culture, especially after the Japanese resisted Mongol Invasion. In 1600, Japan, under the Tokugawa Shogunate, closed its borders, and became more and more isolated. This all changed when Britain and the US forced Japan to open up and gave power back to its Emperor, also giving it a constitution, which was known as the Meiji Restoration. After this, Japan began rapid modernization and quickly acquired much territory. In 1920, to prevent European and Communist meddling, the Japanese Emperor met with Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. The two would form the GACPA and become close allies, conquering most of Asia and neutralizing the American threat in the pacific.

Japan is a superpower in the world and has the largest navy and a large GDP. Japan sustains much of its military off of international trade and using supplies from Indonesia. Japan controls virtually all of the pacific and maintains a large military presence in the Pacific Republics and its puppet states. Japan has always been ruled by an emperor, but the Emperor's power slowly diminished in favor of an elected Prime Minister.

Etymology
Nihon, Japan's name in Japanese, means Sunrise Land, hence Japan's sun flag. The word Nihon comes from an ancient Chinese word of the same meaning. The Word Japan possibly derives from a pronunciation of this ancient Chinese Word.

History
Main Articles: History of Japan and Timeline

Interwar Period
In 1920, KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek visited Emperor Hirohito of Japan about an alliance against the "red menace" and the "western imperialists". This would lead to the Treaty of Formosa which would establish the Republic of Formosa with both Japanese and Chinese zones of influence. The KMT and Japan would jointly lead the northern expedition to conquer Beiyang Warlords. Otherwise things went very similarly to our timeline.

War Against the Imperialists
Aside from the war with the communists, the Chinese and Japanese also faced war against the French in Indochina, the Dutch in Indonesia, and the British in India and Burma. The Dutch were quickly defeated by the Japanese and the fascists in Thailand helped the Sino-Japanese Coalition defeat the French. In India, two different rebel groups were supported: The Azad Hind, a Hindu group which sought Independence from Britain by using Japan, and the Hindustanis, muslims who sought to establish a semi-secular republic in India modelled after the Republic of China. In Burma, the State of Burma, a Burmese Statist Regime, was supported by the Chinese, Thai, and Japanese. The Burmese quickly gained power over much of Burma and the Chinese established a state in Kashmir, India as a base of Hindustani Operations. With the British heavily abusing the Indian people to feed soldiers in Europe and Burma, morale was at an all time low. In 1944, an alliance between the Hindustanis and the Azad Hind declared the Republic of Free India in Northern India. The Indians quickly rose up against the British as the British Empire continued to strain. Eventually, a truce was agreed and the Dominion of Dravidia was established by the British in Southern India.

War Against the Americans
America entered the war in 1942 after the Philippine Revolution where the Philippine Republic gained independence as a member of the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. This prompted Japan and her territories in Polynesia to declare war against the Americans. This war was supported by China, who aided Japan as part of the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japan ended up invading Hawaii with the support of the Hawaiian Asian Revolutionaries and successfully took over the islands. After the British left the war, the Sino-Japanese forces continued to gain ground in the pacific, doing bombing raids in Alaska and the West Coast. This would eventually cause the pacific split of California, Cascadia, and Alaska from the USA. The fighting would still continue but would eventually end in 1947.

Nuclear Weapons
The Sino-Japanese Nuclear Program played a large part in the victory of the Eastern Axis during world war 2. Six Nuclear Bombs were dropped in total, to pacify the British Empire and her dominions, the US, and the Soviet Union. This made China and Japan the first to have Nuclear Weapons, although the US and Soviet Union developed them soon later.

Sino-Japanese Split
After the end of World War 2, tensions arose between Japan and China, especially in Siberia and Korea. This was mainly due to Chiang Kai-shek's desire for hegemony within the Co-Prosperity Sphere. This was especially highlighted during the Indian War between the Japanese supported Azad Hind and the Chinese supported Hindustan. Eventually, the two nations came to a compromise as Hindustan and Azad Hind declared a truce. After this, Japan and China were united under the Co-Prosperity Sphere against rising communism and the USA.

Demographics
 Ethnography

 Religion

Language
