Like every alternate history timeline, Nihon no heiwa has its point of divergence - in fact, there are also many minor PODs just to make this timeline more interesting.
This alternate timeline also incorporated two of my Cold War-related timelines, Little Crimea and Iron Union.
Main Point of Divergence[]
After World War I, the Western powers see Japan as a potential ally, and are overall more friendly towards Japanese people. This results in the proposed Immigration Act by American nationalists failing to gain support within the US Congress. Japanese prime minister Hara Takashi also enforces pro-Western policies, and also grants Korea independence after the March 1st Movement, which also puts Japan in a more positive light. Japan upkeeps an alliance with the United Kingdom, renewing it in 1923 and onwards. In 1926, an alliance is proposed by President John W. Davis, stating "With the founding of this [potential] alliance, together, the United States of America and the Japanese Empire can and will upkeep the peace within Asia and the Pacific Ocean, as friends and as allies!" After negotiations from 1926 to 1927, a defensive pact called the Honolulu Defense Pact is formed on 19 July 1927, with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance being incorporated in 1928 after an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom. Basically, Taishō democracy does not end with Emperor Taishō's reign in 1926.
A major consequence of Japan not being militaristic is the end result of the Chinese Civil War. Because the Japanese never intervene in China, the Nationalist government lead by the Kuomintang defeat and execute the communists in 1933. This results in China launching an invasion of Tibet in 1937, which is condemned by the majority of world nations. Chinese relations with the United States deteriorate after the invasion. Then when World War II breaks out, China invades and occupies the British, French and Portuguese colonies within East Asia, and goes to war with Korea and Japan, resulting in the USA being involved in the war a year earlier to OTL.
Eventually, allied troops invade Chinese territory, liberating Tibet and establishing an East Turkestan state. A long siege emerges in Beijing, as resistance grows stronger. Eventually, Shanghai is nuked on 15 June 1945, and morale grows lower, resulting in Beijing falling to Allied troops, and the majority of Kuomintang politicians being arrested and imprisoned or sentenced to death in the trials following the war. China is placed under military occupation, while East Turkestan, Tibet and Manchuria are granted independence, while the remainder of China lose some territory to Great Britain, France, Japan, Mongolia, and the Soviet Union, and is placed under occupation that lasts until 1953.
Other PODs[]
As previously mentioned, there are also many other small PODs either relating to the interwar period or the Cold War era.
Crimea manages to keep away from Soviet control...for some time[]
This point of divergence was originally the POD of my other timeline, Little Crimea, but I decided to merge that timeline as a sub-timeline within Nihon no heiwa. In our timeline, there was a White movement in Crimea called the Government of South Russia lead by Pyotr Wrangel. At first, the government had success in defeating the Red army in the Northern Taurida Operation, but ultimately the campaign was in the Red Army's favour - this resulted in Wrangel announcing a major evacuation of the island in November 1920 and Crimea falling to the Soviets.
However, in this alternate timeline, Wrangel manages to secure a full victory in the Northern Taurida Operation, resulting in the Red Army just quitting their campaign in Crimea and redirecting forces to the main event. In 1922, the South Russian government is reorganised into the rump-state Republic of Crimea, with goals to eventually retake all of Russia. The country is a military dictatorship lead by Wrangel, as a purge of communist sympathisers takes place. When World War II breaks out in 1939, Crimea collaborates with Nazi Germany to prepare for Operation Barbarossa, which is slightly more successful but slows down anyway. Then the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union jointly invade the peninsula and Crimea is occupied and admitted to the Soviet Union as a republic.
Arabia is...just a god damn mess[]
Restoration of monarchy in Germany[]
In our timeline, Adolf Hitler didn't really wanna restore Wilhelm II as Emperor of Germany, since he considered the German monarch as one of the reasons why Germany lost World War I. In this alternate timeline, Hitler has a more positive view of the monarchy, therefore allowing Wilhelm to return to Germany with his family, and he is crowned as Emperor on 15 October 1934. He then remains as Emperor until his death in early 1941, and then Wilhelm III comes to the throne.
This wouldn't really change much in Germany except for the fact that Hitler's God-like authority would be challenged by Wilhelm II, since the Emperor would be considered to be directly connected to God himself. I doubt Hitler would really care much, and he'd still be very popular and famous within Germany. The big difference is what happens to Wilhelm III after the German loss in 1945. The British and French have a proposal - to make East Prussia an independent state with the Kaiser as the monarchy. The proposal is accepted, and Wilhelm III is sent to East Prussia to rule over the newly-independent country while Germany itself decides to do a bit of division time.
Speaking of Germany being divided, it's slightly different - the Saarland Protectorate doesn't join West Germany in 1957, and then becomes a fully independent state from France in 1961. Meanwhile, another protectorate is set up in Hanover by the United Kingdom, who then grants the small nation independence in 1967
Spain joins the Axis and Portugal joins the Allies[]
In our own timeline, José Sanjurjo was one of the major leaders of the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War, and was considered a candidate to becoming the leader of a personalist Spanish dictatorship. However, on 20 July 1936 - two months after the beginning of the civil war - Sanjurjo did something rather stupid. When he was returning to Spain from Portugal, he chose a small biplane aircraft flown by Juan Antonio Ansaldo even though he had a lot of luggage. This resulted in the plane crashing on take-off, and the more isolationist Francisco Franco seized power, and then remained neutral during World War II. (Nihon no heiwa)
In this alternate timeline, Sanjurjo is more smart, and decides to take a much bigger plane to carry his luggage, leading to him surviving the flight to Spain. He then proceeds to lead the nationalist faction throughout the civil war, eventually causing the Spanish Republic to collapse by October 1938 due to major different and successful military strategies against the republicans. After the civil war, the Spanish State is established with himself as Caudillo. Sanjurjo then leads Spain to establishing closer ties with Nazi Germany and the other Axis members, ultimately joining the Axis when France is about to fall in May 1940, and then takes Gibraltar and establishes a military occupation in the British territory. When Portugal joins the Allies around the same time because of China, Spain invades Portugal, but struggles. Eventually, Germany sends more troops to Portugal, and eventually the country falls. The country is divided into two occupation zones.
However, eventually Allied troops launch a liberation operation in 1943 around the same time as the invasion of Sicily, and the Allied troops make a push through Spain, eventually making the Sanjurjoist regime collapse and reestablishing the republican regime in its place. Gibraltar is liberated and gains some territory, while some historical territorial disputes between Portugal and Spain are resolved in the aftermath of the war in the Treaty of Lisbon. Spain goes on to become a neutral party in the Cold War, while Portugal remains a one-party republican state until 1974, when the Carnation Revolution takes place. However, after the revolution, the Portuguese monarchy is restored.
Stalin is more reasonable in terms of territory[]
In the conferences between the Big Three in this alternate timeline, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is willing to terminate the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and fully restore Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Polish sovereignty. Stalin also agrees to the creation of an independent imperial East Prussian state with Wilhelm III as head of state on the pretext that the country would remain neutral, which was agreed upon. However, even with Stalin being more generous, in this alternate timeline, he installs socialist governments in Norway, Denmark, and northern Iran which he occupied in OTL 1941. Meanwhile, the Cold War is still in full effect, resulting in the Baltics breaking their neutrality and signing a defense pact with the United States and the United Kingdom called the Baltic National Defense Organisation in 1947, which eventually unites with the Brussels Treaty Organisation and the Honolulu Defense Pact to form the Pacific and Atlantic Treaty 0rganisation in 1950.