Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan, in Japanese as Dai Nippon Teikoku, 大日本帝国 or shortened to simply Japan, is a country in East Asia. A proud and traditional nation, Japan came out of the Great War alongside the likes of the United Kingdom and France as the official victors, ushering in an age of prosperity of Asian supremacy for the country. The current Emperor of Japan since December 1926 is Hirohito, a young and ambitious yet impressionable Emperor.

Japan is currently in a period of international prestige. It has a strong economy, unregulated and largely unrestrained influence in Asia and a strong naval power, as well as an accepted member of the Council of Allies. The current Prime Minister is Wakatsuki Reijirō of the Rikken Minseitō, a centrist conservative and liberal progressive party. There are, however, tensions between Japan's party politics and its military, with some in the military believing that Japan should make use of its unregulated power in Asia to expand its horizons even further.

Japan: Bulwark of Asia
The Empire of Japan reaped the benefits of the Great War and came out as one of the victors. With the United States pursuing a strongly isolationist ideal, and with strong support from Britain and France, Japan realised its potentially unrestricted access to their bulwark position in Asia.

They agreed to maintain the vested interests of the other colonial powers, and in August 1922, Japan accepted an invitation to join the Council of Allies as a result, the new forming international alliance created as a reaction to the rise of socialism and communism in the Soviet Union and Germany. Japan used this opportunity to make its mark on the area and spread their influence further into China, specifically in the Manchurian area without much resistance from the Chinese there.

Hirohito and Political Tensions
In December 1926, Hirohito became Emperor of Japan. He entered in at a time of economic prosperity, military power and naval supremacy in Asia. The new Emperor, however, was young and ambitious but easily swayed to the advantages of party politics, but also the military who sought continued expansion of Japan into Chinese and Mongolian lands. While many celebrated the rise of their new divine Emperor, those of political prestige began to realise that with Hirohito in power, their ideals could be advantageously implemented.

Specifically, Hirohito's ambition to bring greatness to Japan pitted the Japanese government, who sought out the need for Japan to reaffirm its position on the world stage, into tensions with the military, who believed honour in Japan was through imperial expansion. Hirohito was often pulled side to side as the rope in a tug of war of power between the government and the military.

The two major political parties, the Rikken Minseitō (centrists) and the Rikken Seiyūkai (conservatives) believed that control over Hirohito in swaying his mind would be advantageous for keeping the Japanese military below the will of the government. This became the key aim of the new Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō of the Minseitō to ensure that Hirohito would not become a lapdog to the military.

With an upcoming election between the Minseitō and the Seiyūkai, and tensions between the government and the military, Japan rests in Asia with a false sense of security; one wrong turn could pit the government against the military and destabilise the Empire, and the Emperor himself may have to step in and regulate the damage.

Way Forward
There are four major paths that the Japan player can go down.

Democracy Supreme
The 1932 elections result in either a win for the Minseitō under Wakatsuki Reijirō or the Seiyūkai under Inukai Tsuyoshi, and the government manages to contain militaristic efforts to destabilise Japan. Japan remains a bulwark of Asian dominance and might eventually join the Council of Allies in war against the Soviet Union on an Asian front.

Military Shogunate
Democracy lasts but only temporarily, before the military coup the government and install their own regime as a de facto Shogunate. Japanese imperialism and militarism takes hold and it seeks to expand its influence even further into Asia, which may prompt response from the Council of Allies or the United States. The military may also seek the implementation of Ashida Hitoshi as the new leader of a militarist National Bloc Japan, to finally oust Western imperialism and to make Asia for the Japanese only.

The Emperor Intervenes
With the government and the military causing the destabilisation of Japan and pushing the country into potential civil war, Emperor Hirohito himself may have to step in, and establish a direct rule from the divine monarchy to settle the conflicts. Japan must not fall into chaos if it is to remain the bulwark of Asia.

The Unthinkable Option
Japan has since enjoyed a period of democratic freedom and one of the most prosperous ages of its life. But if democracy were to lead to Japan's downfall, then she may need more radical alternatives. Abe Isoo, a democratic socialist, has been a faithful member of the Minseitō for quite some time, but his rumoured connections to the Japanese communist movement have left him shrouded in mystery. At a time where Japan sees economic turmoil and old traditions may have to be forsaken, Abe Isoo may be the one to step up to the plate.