Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the third largest and most powerful Superpower in the world, behind the German Empire and Hindustan Empire. It is the most powerful nation in the Pacific Ocean as it has a vast navy and it is the only nation to ever have a navy in the Pacific since America's destruction due to the Blackout.

## History

### Before Blackout

Japan has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period (30,000 BC), though the first written mention of the archipelago appears in a Chinese chronicle finished in the 2nd century AD. Between the 4th and 9th centuries, the kingdoms of Japan became unified under an emperor and the imperial court based in Heian-kyō. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators (*shōgun*) and feudal lords (*daimyō*), and enforced by a class of warrior nobility (*samurai*). After a century-long period of civil war, the country was reunified in 1603 under the Tokugawa shogunate, which enacted an isolationist foreign policy. In 1854, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western-modeled constitution and pursued a program of industrialization and modernization. In 1937, Japan invaded China; in 1941, it entered World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under a seven-year Allied occupation, during which it adopted a new constitution. Under the 1947 constitution, Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet.

Japan is a great power and a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations (since 1956), the OECD, and the Group of Seven. Although it has renounced its right to declare war, the country maintains Self-Defense Forces that rank as one of the world's strongest militaries. After World War II, Japan experienced record growth in an economic miracle, becoming the second-largest economy in the world by 1990.

### Blackout

The Blackout did not affect Japan that much as they were able to adapt quickly to their new environment without electronics as they were once Feudal for 200 years in isolation. Japan had created 3 of the Twelve Pendants to power their technology in Tokyo and Military Technology.

### After Blackout

Japan was able to centralize it's nation quickly since it was an archipelago. It was hard at first but they did it quickly for 5 years and they were able to rebuild their civilization and still be a naval power without technology. Japan then waged war on China as they tried to annex Manchuria which is a threat to Korea which is in a civil war with communists, Japan gave aid to Manchu Rebels who wanted freedom from the Communist regime of Mainland China as they fought the Chinese communists.

Japan gained a victory against China as it created two Puppet States known as the Kingdom of Korea ruled by Yi Won and the Qing Empire ruled by Aisin-Gioro Husheng. The Japanese created the Russian Empire as a Puppet State located in Primorsky Krai and the Khabarovsk Krai due to Russia not being able to recover from the Blackout and being ousted by former soldiers of the now defunct Soviet Union who was able to restore itself back to power.

Japan has also created the Kingdom of Vietnam and Kingdom of Laos as Puppet States and annexed the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand as Puppet States to prevent Chinese expansion in Southeast Asia after the People's Republic of China annexed Myannmar as a province in place of Tibet.

## Government

### Executive Branch

Japan is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role. Executive power is instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet, whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people. Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan, having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.

### Legislative Branch

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament. It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors with 245 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices. The prime minister as the head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State, and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet. Elected in the 2020 Japanese prime minister election, Yoshihide Suga is Japan's prime minister.

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as *Kujikata Osadamegaki*. Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. In 1896, Japan established a civil code based on the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, which remains in effect with post–World War II modifications. The Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, is the oldest unamended constitution in the world. Statutory law originates in the legislature, and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation. The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the Six Codes. Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts.

## Military

The **Japan Self-Defense Forces** (Japanese: 自衛隊, romanized: *Jieitai*; abbreviated **JSDF**), also known as the **Self-Defense Forces** (**SDF**) or **Japanese Armed Forces**, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established by the Self-Defense Forces Law in 1954. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense, with the Prime Minister as commander-in-chief. The Prime Minister is the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Military authority runs from the Prime Minister to the cabinet-level Minister of Defense of the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense are advised by the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff (統合幕僚長, *Tōgō Bakuryō-chō*) (currently Kōji Yamazaki, 山崎幸二), who heads the Joint Staff (統合幕僚監部, *Tōgō Bakuryō Kanbu*). The Joint Staff includes a Senior Enlisted Advisor to the *Chief of Staff, Joint Staff*, the Vice Chief of Staff, Joint Staff (currently Yutaka Masuko), an Administrative Vice Chief of Staff, as well as numerous departments and special staffs. Each service branch is headed by their respective Chiefs of Staff; the Chief of Staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) (currently Gorō Yuasa), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) (currently Hiroshi Yamamura), and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) (currently Yoshinari Marumo).

The *Chief of Staff, Joint Staff*, a four star Admiral or General, is the highest-ranking military officer in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and is the head of the Operational Authority over the Japan Self-Defense Forces, executing orders of the Minister of Defense with directions from the Prime Minister. The *Chief of Staff, Joint Staff* supervises the service branches operations, and would assume command in the event of a war, but his or her powers are limited to policy formation and defense coordination during peacetime.

### Service branches

* Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
* Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
* Japan Air Self-Defense Force

### Service units

* Five armies
* Five maritime districts
* Four air defense forces

## Economy

Japan despite being advanced still uses Bicycles and Horse carts instead of cars due to the blackout making electronics useless, however they use their technology to create entertainment as their army has the same communication system as Imperial Japan. The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the total country's GDP as of 2018. Only 11.5% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Because of this lack of arable land, a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas. This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% as of 2018. Japan's small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected. There has been a growing concern about farming as farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors.

Japan ranked seventh in the world in tonnage of fish caught and captured 3,167,610 metric tons of fish in 2016, down from an annual average of 4,000,000 tons over the previous decade. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch, prompting critiques that Japan's fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna. Japan has sparked controversy by supporting commercial whaling.

Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the "largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods". This (other than having 3 of the twelve pendants) makes Japan the most unique superpower of the post blackout war.

## Culture

Japan's culture is among one of the oldest in the world, the Japanese imperial family in particular being the oldest unbroken line of succession dating back to the Kingdom of Yamato in 660 BC. Among their arts include calligraphy of "Kanji" (China's language carried over), "Ukiyo-e" paintings on tapestry or woodblocks, the "origami" paper-folding technique and the extravagant "Kabuki" or masked "Noh" theater performances

Japan however, is experiencing a cultural identity crisis, torn between the sacred traditions built up over thousands of years, or the rapid westernization set in motion by the Meiji Restoration. The country's state religion is Shinto, though a large percentage of the population practises both it and Buddhism simultaneously despite the Meiji government's attempts to separate the two.

An idea carried over from the days of the samurai is the concept of "Bushido" (Way of the Warrior), where a warrior must remain unquestioningly loyal to their lord and face their death with honor & dignity.