| |||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Tokyo | ||
| Language official |
Japanese | ||
| others | Ainu, Chinese, Korean, Okinawan, Formosan languages | ||
| Demonym | Japanese | ||
Japan is a nation in North Asia. It does not border any nations by land but it has maritime borders with Russia, Korea, China and the Philippines. It is largely considered to be a failed state due to widespread poverty, piracy, natural disasters, civil war and a dictatorial government. Most of these problems are the result of the 1947 revolution.
History[]
After the Meiji restoration the new imperial government signed conscription laws. This angered the Samurai, who had an exclusive right to bear arms. All their fleets were combined into the Imperial Japanese navy. Many Samurai eventually became officers of the new regime, their skill and discipline, combined with modern weapons created the strongest non-colonial military in Asia.
The former shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu revolted after he was stripped of his land and titles. After a year the imperial army achieved victory in the Boshin war.
The abolition of feudalism allowed millions of people to choose were they will live and what they will do as work. Railways and telegraph and telephone systems were made. Shipyards and factories opened, these factories made munitions, glass, textiles and chemicals.
A revolt by Samurai in Satsuma was crushed in 1877.
Japan also started to expand, taking the Ryuku and Bonin islands. Japan also fought the Chinese, were they gained Korea and Taiwan. After the Russo-Japanese war Japan payed war reparations and became isolationist. Conservative elements in the military called for a holy race war that would conquer the European colonies and restore honour to Japan. The Ultranationalists cause got their chance when Russia collapsed into civil war in 1917. Without Russia to defend Korea, Japan decided to invade. They took the nation easily. They killed any anti-Japanese, non-Japanese, non-Koreans, non-Shinto, non-Buddhists, intellectuals, criminals and anyone who had connections to the former regime. This became known as the Pain of Korea. Anywhere from 200,000 to 900,000 people were killed.
Manchuria had been growing for some time, it had conquered several Chinese warlord states to its south, it was fighting for the Czar and had supported Korea against Japan. Now that the two had a land border the Manchus feared a Japanese attack. Japan wanted to conquer Manchuria before it became too powerful, and before anyone won in Russia, as they knew whoever won would want to retaliate against Japan. So the plan was to invade Manchuria and then take defensive positions to halt any Russian counterattack.
Manchuria wanted to cut this plan off at the root. They build a series of trenches, bunkers, watchtowers and forts along the border with Japan. It was manned by almost 2 million troops with Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, as well as new Armoured and Air forces. Machine guns, cannons and mortars were aimed at Japan.
Japan attacked, starting the Manchu-Japanese war (1919-1922). The war quickly devolved into savage, trench warfare. The Imperial Japanese army threw everything they had at the Manchu defenses, but to no avail. In 1921 the Japanese numbers had been thinned by Brutal combat as well as the harsh winter, those who remained were demoralized, cold, starving and sick. The Manchu counterattack annihilated the Japanese lines, but they became bogged down as they were now out of their element. They were used to fighting defensively. When the Bolsheviks won the Russian civil war the USSR declared war on Japan. The Japanese asked for peace talks and a ceasefire. Over 3 million had died in the war, and for nothing, the borders returned to normal.
At the same time as the second world war in Europe, Koreans began to think about independence from Japan. Once the Korean war of independence started in 1943 Japan was able to keep control of the cities. With Manchu support the state of Korea was made as an independent protectorate of Manchuria.
Japan also tried to conquer the Philippines from 1944-1947. In 1947 a group of Japanese nationalists launched a coup that overthrew the monarchy. They wanted to create a new Shogunate. Instead the nation collapsed into civil war. The conflict is still ongoing to this day (2021).
Geography[]
Economy[]
Government[]
Demographics[]
The Yamato people, more commonly referred to as Japanese people, are the majority of Japan's population.
Ainus are the majority in northern regions of Hokkaido, they are indigenous to this area and neighbouring regions of Russia. Currently they have their own autonomous Republic in the People's Republic of Japan.
Nivkh are the native people of Sakhalin. Many were relocated to Honshu at the end of the Russo-Japanese war as the region was passing to Russian rule. Ainu and Orok people exprienced this as well.
Chinese people have lived in Japan since antiquity, although many have faced persecution during the Civil war. Leading to most fleeing the country. Chinese Japanese once numbered at nearly a million, now there are less than 10,000, mostly in Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki.
Koreans were oppressed by Japanese colonial rule from 1895-1907 and again from 1917-1947. Many were forced to work as slaves or prostitutes in Japan. Most Koreans in Japan are unaware of their heritage.
Russians had contact with Hokkaido since the 1600's, but only had contact with Japan Proper in 1861. Some White émigrés fled To Tokyo and Yokohama. Since then most have returned to Russia due to the civil war, but some Soviets went to Japan to support the Japanese communists.
Thousands of Tatars and Bashkirs fled Russia for Japan during the Russian Civil war. They constructed a Mosque in Tokyo. Like most other groups they have mostly fled Japan.
One of the few groups that remained untouched by war are the Bonin islanders. They are the descendants of British, Croatian, Danish and Hawaiian settlers who moved to the islands when they were under British rule. Japan seized them but mostly left the islanders to themselves.