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Empire of Japan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/japan_flagedit.png
Official Name: Empire of Japan
Ruling Party: Kokutai
Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchynote 

    General Tropes 
  • Allohistorical Allusion:
    • The Heisei Democracy is somewhat similar to the Taisho Democracy, so much so that some of the party names are based on political parties of that era.
    • It's implied that Nikai signs a treaty similar to that of the OTL Treaty of Peace and Friendship, with the voice clip from his superevent being taken from a news report on that event.
    • The Meiji Shrine Incident of 1987, where students were cut down by the IJA and finished off with bayonets, is based on the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
      • In fact, Japan had not one, but two Tiananmens. It's implied there was a similar incident in the late 1950s.
    • The Great East Japan Earthquake still happened in this timeline. Here, the government response and reconstruction efforts were much slower, forcing local communities to band together and help each other. The event had a deep impact on the people of Tōhoku, and fostered disdain toward the government.
    • Unintentionally, MTNO's Japan mirrors OTL Russia, with the Fourth Sino-Japanese War echoing the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
  • Civil War: In the 80s, Japan nearly fell into a civil war between the autocratic military government and Pro-Democracy elements, but Akihito's intervention put an end to the crisis. If Ishihara's invasion of China fails and his government collapses, Japan falls into a brutal civil war, ironically under the same conditions as before.
  • Crapsack World: Japan is doing much worse in this timeline, with the scars of the Yasuda Crisis, the Great Asian War, and the Economic Depression of the 1980s being felt several decades later. Living conditions are comparable to that of OTL Eastern European countries, and Japan's relative political stability simply does not exist.
  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: In TNO, Japan is a massive Empire spanning from Calcutta to the ports of San Francisco. In MTNO, their sphere of influence was taken over by the Chinese following the Great Asian War, and all that remains of the "Empire" is Korea, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands.
  • Meaningful Rename: In TNO, Japan's name according to the game is in Japanese; a non-Anglophone country is accorded the special privilege of bearing its name in its native language by the developers to signal that it is a superpower capable of asserting its interests worldwide. In Modern TNO, their name was changed to English, symbolizing their downfall from superpower status.

The Emperor

    Akihito 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akihito_6.png
Role: Emperor of Japan
Party: Kokutai
Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchynote 

  • Abdicate the Throne: With decades of direct governance impacting his health, Akihito will abdicate from the throne in 2015, handing power to the Prime Minister and completing the transition to democratic governance.
  • Internal Reformist: Akihito organized various liberal reforms in an attempt to finally bring democracy to Japan.
  • Pragmatic Hero: He is convinced that he must water down some of his political reforms and abandon social reform outright, viewing this stance as necessary to maintain social stability.
  • Requisite Royal Regalia: Like the rest of the Imperial Family, Akihito is subject to a lavish lifestyle.
  • Universally Beloved Leader: Akihito is adored by the people of Japan, and his compromising attitudes earned the respect of both liberals and conservatives.

Prime Ministers (2017 Elections)

    Yukio Edano 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_yukio_edano.png
Role: Member of the Diet, Prime Ministernote  (2017 election)
Party: Minshutōnote 
Ideology: Liberalism
Biography Click to Show 

  • Allohistorical Allusion: In real life, Edano, while Chief Cabinet Secretary, was the face of the government response in the wake of the 2011 earthquake, and became famous and respected for providing updates on the situation so regularly as to risk losing sleep. The exact same thing happens in the MTNOTL, but with Edano as Minister of the Economy, and the less effective government response than in OTL presumably leading to less sleep (and even more popularity) for Edano.
  • Internal Reformist: Edano wants to reform Japanese democracy as much as possible.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Edano is willing to cooperate with the opposition in fixing Japan's problems, even though they promise to obstruct his legislation.
  • We ARE Struggling Together: As a last ditch resort, Edano's party can form a united front with the Labor-Farmer Mass Party and other minor parties in an attempt to stop Ishihara from taking power.

    Sadakazu Tanigaki 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_sadakazu_tanigaki.png
Role: Member of the Diet, Prime Ministernote  (2017 election)
Party: Rikken Jiyūtō - Shin Honryūnote 
Ideology: Free-Market Conservatismnote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Everyone Has Standards: Tanigaki secretly views Japan's military crusades as the cause of unnecessary suffering, and instead wants to spread Japanese influence through peaceful means.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Tanigaki ignores the rise of far-right extremism for the sake of political convenience, potentially opening the doors to something much worse down the line.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He is one of the most balanced candidates for Japan, and will rule as a moderate.

    Toshihiro Nikai 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_toshihiro_nikai.png
Role: Member of the Diet, Prime Ministernote  (2017 election)
Party: Rikken Jiyūtō - Hanshuryūhanote 
Ideology: Liberal Conservatism
Biography Click to Show 

  • Boring, but Practical: Nikai is one of the least remarkable candidates, but his premiership will see Japan normalize relations with former foes and bring democracy to the rest of the Empire.
  • Realpolitik: Nikai recognizes the importance of China in East Asia and the world, and views anti-Chinese foreign policy as futile and harmful to Japan.

    Tetsuzo Fuwa 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_tetsuzo_fuwa.png
Role: Member of the Diet, Prime Ministernote  (2017 election)
Party: Taishū Ronōtō - Kaikaku-hanote 
Ideology: Popular Frontnote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Being Good Sucks: Fuwa seeks to implement egalitarian social reforms and expand democracy, but knows he will have to compromise and water down his policies if he wants to get anything done.
  • Dark Horse Victory: The left is clearly on the back foot in Japan, with severe limitations imposed upon them. So, Fuwa's victory is all the more surprising.
  • Defector from Decadence: Fuwa was originally a loyal communist, who was exiled to the Soviet Union and helped to reestablish the Japanese Communist Party, but grew disillusioned with Communism and eventually returned home.
  • Internal Reformist: He is a democratic socialist who wants to improve the livelihoods of the common man and implement political reforms.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Ishihara wins the elections, he flees the country for good and distances himself from politics, abandoning his party.
  • We ARE Struggling Together: Fuwa can only take power if his party forms a coalition with the liberals, in which case, it will become a popular front of liberals, social democrats, socialists, and centrists.

    Fukushiro Nukaga 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_fukushiro_nukaga.png
Role: Member of the Diet, Prime Ministernote  (2017 election)
Party: Rikken Jiyūtō - Seitōkyōginote 
Ideology: Anocracynote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Corrupt Politician: Nukaga is the most corrupt out of all potential candidates, so much so that his own election is a scheme to empower his group and dominate Japanese politics for good.
  • Status Quo Is God: Nukaga and his allies are the face of the Heisei establishment, and will only empower it further if they manage to be elected.

    Shintarō Ishihara 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_shintaro_ishihara.png
Role: Member of the Diet, Prime Ministernote  (2017 election)
Party: Teikoku Ishin no Kai - Kyokuunote 
Ideology: Ultranationalism
Biography Click to Show 

  • Dystopia Is Hard:
    • Ishihara succeeds in taking power, eroding Japanese democracy, and restoring one-party rule. But after invading China and failing miserably, he destroys the Empire, and plunges Japan into chaos.
    • After the Labor-Farmer Mass Party is dissolved thanks to him, its' members become disillusioned with reformist politics and instead flock to the revolutionaries of the Japanese Communist Party.
    • He meddles in the high command of the Imperial Japanese Army and tries to fill it with yesmen to ensure the military is loyal to him. As it turns out, the IJA is plagued by poor leadership during the Fourth Sino-Japanese War, and the military turns against him.
  • Evil Old Folks: Ishihara is a leading Japanese ultranationalist who is 84 years old by 2017.
  • Fish out of Water: Zig-Zagged. Ishihara realizes governing a country is not the same as making grandiose promises, but he easily implements his agenda thanks to useful political allies and widespread support by parts of the Japanese establishment.
  • Glorious Leader: He uses populist and nationalist rhetoric to rally his supporters, playing into anti-Chinese resentments caused by the Great Asian War. When that brings him to power, he rapidly erodes Japan's nascent democracy.
  • Hypocrite: He blames Japan's defeat on the high command of the Imperial Japanese Army, when he sidelined useful officers for political reasons and threw them into a pointless war in the first place.
  • Let No Crisis Go to Waste: If China has collapsed by 2017, Ishihara will prepare a year-long mobilization and try to invade China during the chaos.
  • Patriotic Fervor: Ishihara is a known ultranationalist hardliner, and so are his supporters.
  • Red Scare: One of his first acts is to destroy the Labor-Farmer Mass Party, accusing Fuwa and his supporters of being Comintern agents.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After losing the war against China, he will resign and retire from politics completely, citing his health as the primary cause.
  • Succession Crisis: His sudden resignation takes his party by surprise, and, without a clear successor, the government is thrown into chaos.
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm: As soon as the results come in and Ishihara is named as the victor, the world knows Japan's democracy will not last long.
  • Warhawk: Ishihara believes Japan will rise to superpower status once more by beating China in open combat.
  • Wicked Cultured: Before entering politics as the imperialist far-right's preferred candidate, Ishihara made his name as an acclaimed author.

Japanese Civil War (Stage I)

    Japanese Opposition 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jpopposit.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan 
Official Name: Japanese Opposition, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Hantai Undōnote 
Ideology: Provisional Governmentnote 

  • The Alliance: The Opposition is composed of the vast majority of pro-democracy groups, with the help of the far-left.
  • We ARE Struggling Together: The pact between the liberal and socialist parts of the opposition, while strong at the immediate outset, is not without tension and may collapse if Naoto's government proves unable to bring the war to a conclusion.

Naoto Kan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_naoto_kan.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Hantai Undō - Jiyūshugishanote , Minshutōnote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Provisional Governmentnote , Liberalism (Post-war)
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • The Atoner: Naoto wants to make up for two scandals that afflicted him while a minister, which led to him losing credibility with progressives. He also wants to regain the trust lost to his Cooperation Gambit.
  • Cooperation Gambit: Naoto collaborated with the Ishihara government in order to subvert it and eventually enable him to launch The Coup that started the Civil War.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: If the Opposition fails to win the civil war in the first stage and begins to crumble, Naoto will be ousted by his closest friend and political ally, Ozawa.
  • Historical Hero Upgrade: Naoto will manage to create a strong democracy in Japan post-war, compared to OTL where Naoto Kan resigned from his position as Prime Minister in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
  • Pacifism Backfire: Downplayed. After reunifying Japan, Naoto defangs the IJA and demobilizes the liberal democratic militias, even though their leftist counterparts don't follow suit. However, they're still far from a major threat to the democratic government, and moderation still reigns.
  • Rebel Leader: Naoto is the initial leader of the democratic resistance to the southern Japanese junta.

Ichirō Ozawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_ichiro_ozawa.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State (Civil War Stage II), Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Hantai Undō - Shukyuuhanote , Minshutō - Kyōken-tekinote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Civilian Dictatorshipnote , Controlled Democracynote  (Post-war)
Biography (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers) Click to Show 
Biography (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers) (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Cincinnatus: Ozawa believes in transforming Japan into a liberal democracy, but only after a temporary period of constitutional authoritarianism to rebuild and ensure radical ideologies will never take power again.
  • The Coup: He was the co-leader of the attempted pro-democracy coup that started the Civil War and established Opposition control in northern Japan along with Naoto. Ozawa will launch another one if the conflict drags on for too long, which also causes the Opposition's communists to defect.
  • Cynicism Catalyst: The defection of the communists and the inability of the Opposition coalition to win the war are this for Ozawa.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: As much as it pains him to do so, Ozawa views his coup against Naoto's government and degradation of civil liberties as necessary to guarantee the survival of Japanese democracy in the long term.
  • Jade-Colored Glasses: Naoto's failure to manage the Opposition and the war effort in such a way as to prevent the Civil War from lasting long enough for the communists to defect leads fellow democrat Ozawa to take over the government and institute authoritarian "constructive democracy".
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Ozawa is not exactly wrong about the Japanese people being the ones responsible for voting in the ultranationalists, and thus also responsible for the tragedies that happened afterwards.
  • Red Baron: Like in real life, Ozawa's acumen as a backroom politician has led to him being dubbed the "Shadow Shōgun".

    IJA Government Forces 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ijawarflag.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan 
Official Name: Imperial Japanese Army Government Forces, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Gunji Seiken - Hoshukeikainote 
Ideology: Military Juntanote 

  • Defector from Decadence: The Kyoto junta was originally formed after its future leaders, who watched as they were replaced with ultranationalist sycophants, forced Ishihara's resignation and took over the government in his place.

Kōji Yamazaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_koji_yamazaki.png
Role: Head of State
Party: Gunji Seiken - Hoshukeikainote 
Ideology: Military Juntanote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Cincinnatus: Downplayed. Yamazaki is a military man, not a politician, and will step down after winning the civil war... to be replaced by Otsuji, an ex-military politician just as anti-democratic as Yamazaki, who will ensure the IJA will dominate Japanese society.
  • The Dissenter Is Always Right: The Yamazaki clique's concerns about Ishihara's military plans were easily proven right, prompting Ishihara's embarrassed resignation and the military takeover.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Yamazaki is many things - mainly "anti-democratic military strongman" - but ultranationalist is not one of them. He is the leader of a moderate clique in the military that held just as much disdain for Ishihara as it did for the liberals.
  • Ignored Expert: Yamazaki was sidelined in the run-up to the war with China in favor of Yes-Men.

Hidehisa Otsuji

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_hidehisa_otsuji.png
Role: Chairman of the House of Representatives (Ishihara cabinet), Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Kokubō Kyōkai - Antei Seisakukainote 
Ideology: Oligarchynote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Evil Reactionary: Otsuji longs for the Mutō days, when the IJA enjoyed paramount influence in Japanese society.
  • Status Quo Is God: He wants to cement the IJA's role in Japanese society for good.

    Imperial Court 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_the_japanese_emperorsvg.png
Flag of His Imperial Majesty's Supreme Government 
Flag of the Imperial Court in Tokyo (Matsudaira) 
Flag of the Empire of Japan (Naruhito/Katsutoshi) 
Official Name: Imperial Court in Tokyo, His Imperial Majesty's Supreme Government (IJN coup), Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Kyūtei - Ten'nōnote 
Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchynote 

  • Art Shift: The Imperial Court is one of the only statelets that uses non-photographic artwork for its reunification image, let alone for all of its three paths, reflecting their Meiji-esque spirit.
  • Choosing Neutrality: The Kantō region, and by extension Tokyo, is (at the start of the Civil War) voluntarily neutral in the conflict between the IJA and Opposition forces.
  • Driven to Suicide: The superevent audio that accompanies the Kazoku taking over the Court and then Japan has an unidentified person commit Seppuku, with an agent of the Kazoku presumably supervising to ensure that it is done.
  • Neutral No Longer: One way or another, the Imperial Court will break its neutrality either through submission to a non-republican government and the installation of Naruhito as its figurehead or by fighting outright.
  • Praetorian Guard: While the IJN handles the task of fighting for the Court largely independently, the Imperial Guard answers directly to the Emperor alone - even if the Emperor himself answers to someone else.
  • Semper Fi: With the near-entirety of the IJA fighting under the southern Japanese junta and Japan's farthest-flung Pacific territories under Imperial control, it is Navy troops that serve as the Imperial Court's main fighting force, though the Court still retains control of the Imperial Guard.
  • Standard Royal Court: Without Yokusankai-type particrats or (as many as usual) military men constraining them, Naruhito's and the Kazoku aristocrats' powers are stronger than usual in Kantō, leading to this trope being played straight for the first time since the Meiji Restoration.

Naruhito

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_naruhito.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Emperornote 
Party: Kyūtei - Ten'nōnote , Teikoku Saiken Iinkainote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Semi-Constitutional Monarchynote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Gilded Cage: Like his grandfather before him, the Emperor Shōwa (and his great-great-great-grandfather before him, the Emperor Kōmei), Naruhito after Matsudaira's soft coup will be, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner in his own Palace and a living rubber stamp for a renewed Tokugawa shogunate.
  • The Good King: If Naruhito manages to reunify Japan himself, he will begin finish what his father started and bring democracy to Japan - and without old age, Shōwa Statists, or CLP hangers-on to plague him, he can do so without compromising this time.
  • Internal Reformist: After visiting the monarchies of Europe, Naruhito was inspired to follow their example and used his position to speak out in favor of reforming Japan as a constitutional monarchy.
  • Puppet King: Of course, this does happen to a degree if any government not led by Naruhito himself takes over Japan and doesn't get rid of the monarchy, but this is especially apparent if the Kazoku take over.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Ever since his father managed to break the isolation of the Imperial Family, Naruhito has been trying to build a constitutional monarchy where all of Japan's people can enjoy the freedom he briefly enjoyed until the Heisei establishment emerged.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: Naruhito's portrait shows him in his traditional attire as Emperor, but after winning the civil war it will change to one of him wearing a simpler suit. This reflects him managing to finish what his father started, bringing democracy to Japan and finally ruling along with his subjects instead of merely ruling over them.

Katsutoshi Kawano

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_katsutoshi_kawano.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Military Advisor, Head of State (Civil War Stage II), Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigunnote , Zenkoku Minshutō - Tekidonote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Military Juntanote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Full-Circle Revolution: Kawano's big-tent "National Democratic Party" is implied to be little stabler than the very Yokusankai of old the military once toppled, with his Moderates risking losing power to the Reformers and Hardliners.
  • Internal Reformist: Invokes this trope often in reference to himself and the IJN when dealing with the public and the Emperor, but ultimately subverts it.
  • Inter-Service Rivalry: Kawano defangs the IJA after taking over Japan, giving the IJN the last laugh in one of the most brutal and longest-running examples of this trope in the world.
  • Mythology Gag: Kawano's post-war bio indicates the onset of a "familiar story" of a power struggle between Hardliners, the ruling Moderates, and Reformers, much as with a good number of undemocratic political struggles (e.g. in Germany and Japan) in TNO proper.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Rejecting the trappings of a traditional Japanese junta, Kawano instead opts to bring democracy to the Empire - albeit merely to legitimize his rule; democracy is completely dominated by the National Democratic Party, which is the Navy's political vehicle.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: Kawano trades his military uniform for a civilian suit after winning the civil war, representing the shift to a civilian façade for military rule.
  • Take That!: One leveled at a common trope in media regarding Imperial Japan where if the IJA is acknowledged as being at fault, the IJN is a moral or strategic paragon; admirals and their underlings are usually depicted as Internal Reformists, or the Only Sane Men in a room full of Generals Ripper or Failure. While the IJN certainly had its Yamamotos or Yonais and Navy personnel did indeed tend to be the saner people in the room, this distracts from the compliance of the Navy as a whole in an ultranationalist war machine, its own fair share of war crimes (when it had the chance to commit any, usually with prisoners captured at sea) and the influence of simply self-serving men like Kawano - who, indeed, feigns political reform to preserve his own power - within it.

Munetoshi Matsudaira

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_munetoshi_matsudaira0.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Political Advisor, Chief Advisornote  (Civil War Stage II) (Kazoku coup)
Party: Kyūtei - Kanpakunote , Kokutai - Matsudaira-shinote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Aristocratic Conservatismnote 
Biography (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers) Click to Show 
Biography (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers) (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Aristocrats Are Evil: By restoring the power of the Kazoku aristocrats, Matsudaira effectively undoes all the political development Japan has undergone since Emperor Meiji died. The Matsudaira-Tokugawas eventually become so powerful - and their rule so feudalistic - that they undo everything since Meiji reclaimed power from them.
  • The Chessmaster: An influential nobleman with a long history of manipulating Emperors still finding their political feet, Matsudaira manipulates the Imperial Guard into shutting down the IJN's brewing coup, allowing him to establish rule by the courtiers and the Tokugawa clan with grateful reformists and Imperial loyalists out of the way.
  • Evil Chancellor: After leading a soft putsch of the Kazoku aristocratic families, Matsudaira - ostensibly just Naruhito's "Chief Advisor" - rules Japan as its de facto Shōgun with the Emperor as his puppet, isolated from the rest of Japan Hirohito-style.
  • Evil Reactionary: Matsudaira returns Japan to pre-Taishō stratification, with the Tokugawa clan restored and all challenges to the "Emperor"'s reign being ruthlessly put down. The fact that his title is "Kanpaku" hearkens back as far as the Heian period, when the traditional holders of that title, members of the Fujiwara clan, were at their strongest in terms of using that position to act as The Men Behind The Men.
  • Feudal Future: Matsudaira drags Japanese society back into the Edō era, complete with isolation (of the Emperor from the country and the country from the world), rule of the Tokugawa, and one's clan (if any) determining where one will go in life.
  • Hidden Elf Village: Downplayed. While Matsudaira hearkens back to the Meiji and Tokugawa eras in most areas and does embrace isolationism, his foreign policy is still a far cry from puritanical Sakoku and is more based on mutual non-interference.
  • Historical Villain Upgrade: The real-life Matsudaira is someone who's main claim to fame is heading an aristocratic club, certainly not someone who tried to become an aristocratic puppet-master.
  • The Man Behind the Man: Matsudaira exploits Naruhito's inexperience to effectively become Japan's shadow ruler while the Emperor is moved away from the public eye.
  • Ominous Latin Chanting: Well, Ominous Japanese Chanting, anyway. This accompanies the superevent that marks what is ostensibly the "Reiwa Restoration".
  • Red Baron: Matsudaira is known as the "Invisible Regent" for his backstage control of the supposedly absolute monarchy.
  • Taking Up the Mantle: A member of the closely related Tokugawa and Matsudaira clans, Matsudaira follows in the footsteps of his forefathers to essentially become a modern Shōgun, with Naruhito as his Puppet King.

    Karafuto Prefecture 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_karafuto_prefecturesvg.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan 
Official Name: Karafuto Prefecture, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Karafuto Kenritsu Seifunote 
Ideology: Civilian Dictatorshipnote 

  • Butt-Monkey: Karafuto as a whole has been this for a long time. Its many prewar woes have ranged from apathy from the central government to abysmal employment brought about by the Zaibatsus being free to exploit cheap Korean labor (and the few Karafuto locals they do employ). Things were looking up during Tatsuya Hori's governorship until the civil war broke out and the Soviet Union took advantage of the situation to try and reclaim Sakhalin.
  • Dark Horse Victory: Forced to foot it alone by dint of distance and suffering persistent military harassment by the Soviet Union, few expect the insignificant (though not tiny) prefectural government of Karafuto to establish control over all of Japan.
  • David Versus Goliath: Karafuto is a quite small island compared to the massive Soviet Union eager to take advantage of the civil war and reclaim Sakhalin.
  • Dirty Communists: From the outbreak of the Civil War, Karafuto is plagued with Soviet attacks and military operations launched with the goal of subsuming Sakhalin. This comes back to bite the Soviet Union if Karafuto unifies Japan, implementing highly intense anti-communist foreign policy.

Tatsuya Hori

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_tatsuya_hori.png
Role: Governor of Karafutonote 
Party: Karafuto Kenritsu Seifunote 
Ideology: Civilian Dictatorshipnote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Fish out of Water: Hori's biggest problems as Karafuto's governor went from unemployment and dealing with Tokyo's standard corruption to having to fend off the Soviet Union completely alone while all of Japan south of his prefecture is in chaos.
  • Hope Spot: Just as two decades of Hori working hard for the common Karafuto citizen were going to pay off, Japan collapsed.
  • Internal Reformist: Hori has been this since he became the Governor, working for many years to bring the level of development seen virtually everywhere else in the Home Islands to Karafuto.
  • Passing the Torch: If the Karafuto governments successfully takes over Japan, Hori has his protégé and successor as Governor, Kosei Nakajima, appointed Prime Minister.
  • Reluctant Ruler: It's not like Hori accidentally became the governor of Karafuto - indeed, he actively pursued the governorship for Karafuto's sake, and has held it since 2002 - but he never expected to have to rule it independently.
  • Ultimate Authority Mayor: Was thrusted into this role with the outbreak of the Civil War.

Kōsei Nakajima

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_kosei_nakajima.png
Role: Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Nihon Han'eitō - Hattenkainote 
Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatismnote 
Biography Click to Show 

  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Since 1995, when Nakajima became Toyohara's mayor, Nakajima and Hori have been inseparable.
  • Number Two: Nakajima has been this to Hori for a long time, going from mayor of the biggest city on Karafuto to his deputy and successor.
  • Taking Up the Mantle: After being made Prime Minister by Hori, Nakajima implements Hori's policies on the national level.

Japanese Civil War (Stage II)

    Revolutionary Japan 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/revolutionaryjapanflag.png
Flag of the Japanese People's Republic 
Flag of the Proletarian State of Japan 
Flag of the Democratic Republic of Japan 
Official Name: Revolutionary Japan, Japanese People's Republic (Shirai/Kasai, Post-war), Proletarian State of Japan (Karatani, Post-war), Democratic Republic of Japan (Shigenobu, Post-war)
Ruling Party: Nihon Kyōsan-tō - Rōnō-hanote 
Ideology: Communism

  • Bilingual Bonus: The text on Revolutionary Japan's flag reads "Long live the Japanese Communist Party! Long live the revolution!"
  • Defector from Decadence: The communists split from the Opposition if the Civil War war drags on past 2023.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The JCP isn't the most unified political entity. Its leaders span the full gamut of democrats and authoritarians, all squabbling over the best path in which to take the party and Japan.

Satoshi Shirai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_satoshi_shirai.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Chairmannote  (Post-war)
Party: Nihon Kyōsan-tō - Rōnō-hanote 
Ideology: Communism
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Shirai essentially advocates a synthesis of the Ultra-Leftists' ideas on governance with standard Leninism and some elements of Bukharinist economics, and Word of God confirms that Shirai is simply the middle path between the two.
  • Chummy Commies: Shirai is the leader of a faction of the JCP that rejects authoritarianism and embraces a truly free worker's democracy.
  • Defector from Decadence: Other than being one of the many leftists who split from an Opposition unable to quickly defeat the government forces, Shirai also broke ties with the USSR out of dissilusionment with orthodox Leninism and Bukharinism.
  • The Golden Rule: While an adherent to Lenin's ideas to an extent, Shirai tolerates independents raising genuine opposition to JCP policies as Rosa Luxemburg instructed: "Freedom only for the supporters of the government, only for the members of one party – however numerous they may be – is no freedom at all."
  • Mythology Gag: The focus for Shirai after founding the Japanese People's Republic is called "The Unthinkable", in reference to the starting focus for Japan's Communist subtree in vanilla HOI4 ("The Unthinkable Option").
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Embodying a compromise between Ultra-Leftist commitment to democracy and the existing success of Leninism, Shirai works to bring the Japanese people freedom from above.

Kojin Karatani

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_kojin_karatani.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State (JCP election), Chairmannote  (Post-war)
Party: Nihon Kyōsan-tō - Sai Sayokunote , Chūōrōdō-sha Gikai - Sayokunote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Left Communismnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Chummy Commies: Karatani is a hardline left communist who seeks to radically implement direct democracy and negate statism, culminating in the JCP's outright dissolution.
  • Dark Horse Victory: Karatani's victory in the leadership election of the JCP is the unlikeliest result as he is a mere intellectual with no political background and much less influence than Shirai's or Kasai's faction.
  • Defector from Decadence: Even more so than Shirai. Karatani also moved into self-imposed exile in the Soviet Union after Mutō's coup, but became disgusted by Marxism-Leninism after witnessing the evils of the Akhromoyev dictatorship.
  • Good Is Not Soft:
    • Karatani's disdain for reformist socialism stems from the failure of peaceful methods to counter the Mutō dictatorship and from his disregard for Japanese leftist "passivity".
    • Karatani's Japan founds the East Asian Worker's Pact to forcefully challenge both the West and the authoritarian Soviet Union.
  • The Good King: Invokes this in criticism of Shirai. Karatani shares Shirai's goal of building a true communist democracy, but wants no one man or even the JCP to act as its paternalistic protector; he wants to give power directly to the workers.
  • Passing the Torch: Explicitly stated in his bio. After setting Japan on its first steps towards liberating all of Asia "from Capitalist and Soviet imperialism", Karatani will allow his mentee, Kohei Saito, to take his place.

Akira Kasai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_akira_kasai.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Chairmannote  (Post-war)
Party: Nihon Kyōsan-tō - Mosukuwahanote 
Ideology: Bolshevismnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Heel Realization: After reuniting Japan under an authoritarian, Soviet-esque, and Soviet-dependent system for the supposed betterment of Japan, Kasai realizes that he's little more than a tool for Soviet interests and starts to work to minimize their influence on his country.
  • The Mole: Was one for the Comintern.
  • History Repeats: Kasai's ban on factions and meddling within the councils in service of "stability and unity" as he implements his Leninist agenda echoes the Soviet Union's own descent into authoritarianism.
  • The Puppet Cuts His Strings: Starts to try working towards this after realizing he's just a Soviet stooge.
  • Puppet King: Part of a faction of Japanese communists who not only gained prominence in the Soviet Union but also stuck with it and didn't move to Taiwan, Akira is the primary representation of Soviet and Comintern interests in the JCP.

Fusako Shigenobu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_fusako_shigenobu.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State (Coup), Chairwomannote  (Post-war)
Party: Nihon Kyōsan-tō - ZANCHŪKYOKUnote , Nihon Kyōsantō - Mou-hanote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Mao Zedong Thoughtnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Army of Thieves and Whores: Shigenobu's Japanese Red Army and later the Mountain Village Operation Units.
  • Dirty Commies: A Shigenobu government is more or less the worst ending for Revolutionary Japan, with Red Guard-esque "Mountain Village Operation Units" purging dissidents to enforce Maoism on Japan.
  • The Dreaded: Shigenobu is known as the "Empress of Terror", and not just because of her past as a Maoist terrorist.
  • Evil Old Folks: She is, in her late 70s, the oldest and most brutal potential leader of the JCP.
  • Old Soldier: Shigenobu is a veteran of the left-wing volunteers during the Oil Crisis.
  • Visionary Villain: Shigenobu commits her atrocities in the name of realizing the Maoist revolution in Japan.

    Hokkaido Government 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hokkaidoflag_7.png
Flag of the State of Japan/Empire of Japan 
Flag of the Republic of Japan 
Official Name: Hokkaido Government, State of Japan (Fukushima, Post-war), Republic of Japan (Inoue, Post-war), Empire of Japan (Suzuki/Koike, Post-war)
Ruling Party: Yotōrenritsu - Josei Shinpotōnote 
Ideology: Progressivism
A secessionist state from the Japanese Opposition in the later stages of the Civil War, with Progressives, Liberals, Conservatives and Nationalists vying for control not by blood, but by vote.
  • The Alliance: Just like the erstwhile Opposition, the Hokkaido Government is a coalition of liberal democrats vying to restore democracy, although they lack communist or anocratic elements for the same reasons they seceded in the first place.
  • Defector from Decadence: Constitutes the last remnants of those advocating for liberal democracy after Ichirō Ozawa's coup against Naoto Kan collapses the Opposition.

Mizuho Fukushima

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_mizuho_fukushima.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Prime Ministernote 
Party: Yotōrenritsu - Josei Shinpotōnote 
Ideology: Progressivism
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Breaking the Glass Ceiling: If she is victorious, Mizuho Fukushima becomes the first female Prime Minister of Japan.
  • Housewife: Subverted. Her mother educated her to become a "Good Wife, Wise Mother" as is expected of women in her society but she found her calling as an activist for democracy and women's rights.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em: After Ishihara's election, Fukushima withdrew from politics, saving her strength for the future.

Tatsuo Inoue

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_tatsuo_inoue.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Prime Ministernote  (Election), Presidentnote  (Post-war)
Party: Nihon Jiyūtōnote 
Ideology: Classical Liberalismnote , Liberal Radicalismnote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Gracefully Demoted: Part of Inoue's rationale for abolishing the monarchy is that a Republican system actually helps Naruhito and the Imperial family, whom he sees as victims of isolation and being forced to Reluctantly Rule.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: After winning the civil war, Inoue changes from his simple shirt to a suit, representing his ascension from a pro-democracy activist to President of all of Japan.

Muneo Suzuki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_muneo_suzuki_3.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Prime Ministernote  (Election)
Party: Jinmin Seikatsu tōnote 
Ideology: Green Conservatismnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Blackmail: Muneo keeps his potential rivals in check by having them participate in his corruption and then threatening to reveal their part in it if they do not support his policies.
  • Corrupt Politician: Muneo's entire political career has been filled to the brim of corruption scandals. Even when becoming Prime Minister, he was able to keep his position in secure by involving his political rivals in his scandals, in order to keep their mouths shut.
  • Nepotism: As he was making his bid to become Governor of Hokkaido, Muneo left his seat in the House to his daughter.
  • Pet the Dog: Muneo is a very corrupt man who nonetheless uses his ill-gotten power to pass environmental policy and give the oppressed Ainu people more rights.
  • Realpolitik: Muneo seeks a closer relationship with China and the USSR for opportunistic reasons.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Muneo got away with only 3 years of house arrest despite his pivotal role in the corruption throught the Bureau of Public Works.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Interestingly enough, Muneo isn't this in opposition to corrupt politicians. He is the corrupt politician, but uses his illicit activities to secure genuinely good policies in the face of any opposition.

Yuriko Koike

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_yuriko_koike.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Minister of Foreign Affairsnote  (Ishihara cabinet), Prime Ministernote  (Election)
Party: Zenkoku Kaikakutōnote 
Ideology: Right-Wing Populismnote , Dominant-Party Democracynote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Yuriko Koike becomes the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs as part of Shintaro Ishihara's cabinet and can become the first female Prime Minister of Japan if she is elected and wins the war.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: Koike sided with the opposition only because the military coup overthrew Ishihara, she doesn't believe in their cause for liberal democracy.
  • Pet the Dog: Koike will turn Japan into a dominant-party system but she also brings genuine reforms for environmental causes and women's rights.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Yuriko Koike has the only authoritarian path of the Hokkaido Government by installing a dominant-party system in Japan.

    Chūgoku Clique 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chugokuflag.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan 
Official Name: Chūgoku Clique, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Kokumin-teki Kakumei-hanote 
Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalismnote 

  • A Lighter Shade of Black: Masahisa Satō and his Chūgoku Clique are fascistic and militarist nationalists but they are not as extreme as the ultramilitarists of Toshio Tamogami's Kyushu Clique, whom Satō considers to be an "egotistical fanatic".

Masahisa Satō

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_masahisa_sato0.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Daigensuinote  (Post-war)
Party: Kokumin-teki Kakumei-hanote , Kakumeigo Kensetsu Undōnote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Revolutionary Nationalismnote 
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Defector from Decadence: Satō became disgusted with Japanese politics, seeing them as decadent and dominated by businessmen and bureaucrats.
  • Pragmatic Villainy:
    • After reunifying Japan, Satō would tone down the state's suppression on its dissidents, less oppressive when compared to his rule in the early stages of the Chūgoku Clique, albeit still being authoritarian.
    • Satō would replace the war economy after reunification in favour of an economic system similar to Corporatism; granting a little economic freedom to its citizens, in order to encourage economic growth.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: After winning the civil war, his portrait changes from a military uniform to a civilian suit.
  • Visionary Villain: Satō's ambition is to remake Japan through a "National Revolution", which would turn the country into a militarist fascist state exalting nationalism.

    Kyushu Clique 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyushuflag.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan 
Official Name: Kyushu Clique, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Kyokujitsu no Gunnote 
Ideology: Ultramilitarismnote 

Toshio Tomogami

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_toshio_tamogami.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Minister of Defensenote  (Ishihara cabinet), Head of State, Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Kyokujitsu no Gunnote , Sensō Kaiginote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Ultramilitarismnote 
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Blood Knight: Japan's defeat in the Great Asian War has led to Tamogami becoming a fanatical militarist hell-bent on bending all of Asia to Japan's will.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: In spite of his ultranationalist inclinations, Tamogami refused to help Ishihara purge the IJA's conservatives, and joined the Kōji junta.
  • It's All About Me: Tamogami views himself as the greatest man in Japan's history.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: After winning the civil war, his portrait changes from a military uniform to a civilian suit.
  • Visionary Villain: Tamogami thinks transforming Japan through totalitarian militarism and expansionism will rid it from the corruption he believes to exist within the country, he vows a cult to the Japanese Empire and its destined global supremacy.

Tropes pertaining to the rework

Role: Minister of War (Nishida cabinet), Warlord (Japanese Civil War)

  • Warhawk: Tamogami is a hardline Japanese nationalist who believes the only way to fix Japan's troubles is to reassert Japan's military power through open conflict.
  • General Ripper: If China falls to civil war and Japan is let by Nishida, Tamogami and his like-minded allies in the Imperial Japanese Army will stage a terrorist attack and pin the blame on a supposed Chinese terrorist group, in hopes that doing so will convince Nishida to wage war with China.

    Kyoto Emergency Government 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyotoemergencygovernmentflag.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan (Kishi/Abe) 
Official Name: Kyoto Emergency Government, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Shūgiin - Kishi-hanote 
Ideology: Reform Bureaucracynote 

  • Commie Nazis: The reform bureaucrats' economic system blends Nazi corporatism and Soviet economic planning.
  • Retcon: Kishi's Reform Bureaucracy is classified as National Socialism in the video, to simulate the syncretic national project merging Corporatism, Soviet-inspired economic planning, and Speer-esque reforms advocated by its' followers. Long after the video was uploaded, Sov retconned Reform Bureaucracy back to Fascism, where third-position ideologies are kept.
  • Sibling Rivalry: Nobuo Kishi and Shinzō Abe are brothers and rivals for power in Kyoto and Japan.

Nobuo Kishi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_nobuo_kishi.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Prime Ministernote 
Party: Shūgiin - Kishi-hanote , Han'ei Kyōkai - Kanryounote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Reform Bureaucracynote , Managerial Statenote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Be Careful What You Wish For: If Kishi wins the Civil War, he will realize too late that his whole political career has empowered a managerial caste that can dispose of him at any moment. His bio states that he is likely to be assassinated soon, with his death covered up as a suicide.
  • The Coup: If the Civil War enters its second stage, Kishi will lead a coup against the IJA Junta and restore the pre-Civil War Diet with him as Prime Minister.
  • People's Republic of Tyranny: Under Kishi Japan presents itself as a democracy but in reality is controlled by scheming bureaucrats behind the scenes.
  • Puppet King: Downplayed. Kishi's postwar bio compares him more to a Caesar surrounded by conspirators than a puppet king. However, it's also clear that he is unable to do anything about what is going on around him anymore.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When it became clear that Ishihara wasn't being an effective dictator, Kishi and his clique in the Diet disassociated themselves from Ishihara before the IJA's coup, allowing him to survive politically under Yamazaki's junta.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Kishi is popular amongst right-wing media for his anti-liberal views, and single-handedly contributed to the revival of the Reform Bureaucrats.
    • However, his attempts at diplomacy after the war are less successful, as Japan's neighbors distrust him and suspect that it may be an attempt to influence them into the unofficial Tokyo Sphere.

Shinzō Abe

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_shinzo_abe.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Speaker of the House of Representativesnote  (Anti-Kishi coup), Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Shūgiin - Abe-hanote , Kokka Hijō Jitai Seifunote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Civilian Dictatorshipnote , Authoritarian Conservatismnote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • The Coup: Abe can lead a coup against his brother to take power from the reform bureaucrats for himself.
  • Emergency Authority: Even after winning the civil war, Abe doesn't end the state of emergency and instead solidifies his dictatorship.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Is a wily political operator almost on par with Nobusuke Kishi, his grandfather. From the moment Kishi followed Abe into the Diet, Abe has distrusted him as naive and easily exploited.
  • Visionary Villain: Shinzō Abe dreams of turning Japan into a prosperous nation using a mix of liberal and nationalist economics and knows the future of his rule rests on the success of his grand plans.

    Hiroshima Prefecture 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hiroshimaprefectureflag.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan (Murai) 
Official Name: Hiroshima Prefecture, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Heisei Minshu Shugi-shanote 
Ideology: Neoconservatismnote 

Yoshihiro Murai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_yoshihiro_murai.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Governor of Hiroshimanote , Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Heisei Minshu Shugi-shanote , Jiyū Ishin-tōnote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Neoconservatismnote 
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Enemy Mine: Murai will ally himself to the OFN because he sees China and Russia as the greater enemies. This alliance is not meant to last however.
  • Self-Made Man: Yoshihiro Murai prides himself on being a political self-made man.

Japanese Civil War (Stage III)

    Ainu Moshiri 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ainuflag_0.png
Flag of the Japanese Federation 
Official Name: Ainu Moshiri, Japanese Federation (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Ekashinote 
Ideology: Tribal Chiefdomnote  (Post-war)

Haruzou Urakawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_haruzou_urakawa.png
Role: Chiefnote 
Party: Ekashinote 
Ideology: Tribal Chiefdomnote 
Biography Click to show 

  • Passing the Torch: Upon their victory, Haruzou hands over supreme power to his sister Shizue and chooses to become a merely symbolic figure for the Ainu people.
  • Reluctant Ruler: Haruzou was reluctant to enter politics with his sister, and only became Ekashi of the Ainu Moshiri to make sure that his people can survive the madness of the civil war.
  • Turn to Religion: Haruzou begins to frequents Buddhist temples after the death of his father.

Shizue Ukaji

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_shizue_ukaji.png
Role: Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Hokubu Minzokutōnote 
Ideology: Left-Wing Indigenismnote 
Biography Click to show 

  • Foil: Serves as one to the EAAJAF's Hisaichi Ugaji. Shizue grew up ashamed of her own Ainu identity thanks to being pressured into assimilation, while Hisaichi only become obsessed with Anti-Japanese thought due to witnessing a workers' strike being brutally put down. Shizue became an activist and poet to preserve the Ainu's customs, while Hisaichi joined the EAAJAF and became a ruthless terrorist in his quest to make the Japanese pay for their crimes. In the end, Shizue establishes a stable democratic federation where the Ainu can finally find peace and avoid extinction while Hisaichi's genocidal crusade against his own people results in a living hell for most of the population.

    Northern District Army Tank Brigades 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/northtankbrigadeflag.png
Flag of the Empire of Japan (Taura) 
Official Name: Northern District Army Tank Brigades, Empire of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Sensha Dai-ni Shidannote 
Ideology: Warlordismnote 

  • Elite Army: Taura's troops are the most experienced forces of the Hokkaido Government.

Masato Taura

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_masato_taura.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Commander of the Northern District Armynote , Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Sensha Dai-ni Shidannote , Kokuritsu Tōgō Seifunote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Warlordismnote , Stratocracynote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • A Father to His Men: Taura's main concern throughout the Fourth Sino-Japanese War was to keep his men alive.
  • Four-Star Badass: Taura's performance during the Fourth Sino-Japanese War won him the Order of the Rising Sun and a promotion to command of the Northern District Army. He is put in command of Hokkaido's army after its separation from the Opposition because he is the most experienced officer.
  • Neutrality Backlash: Taura refuses to pick any sides when the civil war begins, resulting in the failure of the coup in northern Japan and placing under the jurisdiction of the Opposition, for which he holds no sympathy.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: Taura is forced to fight for the Opposition and would aid the separation of Hokkaido because of the communists' own revolt rather than any genuine attachment to the government's cause.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: After winning the civil war, his portrait changes from a battlefield uniform to a dress uniform.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Taura's requisition of resources and impressement of civilians into his army worsens the famine touching northern Japan but he believes it to be justified to defeat the EAAJAF.

    Tōhoku Soviet Republic 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tohokusrflag.png
Flag of the Japanese Soviet Republic 
Official Name: Tōhoku Soviet Republic, Japanese Soviet Republic (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Jinmin Kakumei-tōnote 
Ideology: Stalinismnote 

  • Commie Land: Tōhoku is a Stalinist totalitarian dictatorship where any deviation from the party line is suppressed, dissidents and enemies are branded parasites, counterrevolutionaries and traitors and sent to labor camps or executed, all must praise Comrade Shiomi, the Lenin of the East.
  • Dirty Communists: Tōhoku's Stalinists do not tolerate any position different from their own and resort to deportation to labor camps and summary executions to suppress dissent.

Takaya Shiomi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_takaya_shiomi.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Chairmannote 
Party: Jinmin Kakumei-tōnote 
Ideology: Stalinismnote 
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Commie Nazis: Takaya Shiomi incresingly mixes Stalinism with Japanese nationalism.
  • Cult of Personality: As befitting of a Stalinist, Shiomi creates a cult of personality around himself, praising him as the "Lenin of the East".
  • Defector from Decadence: Shiomi splits from the JCP and the rest of the Japanese communists because he sees them as Soviet puppets, bourgeois reformists, and ultra-left revisionists.
  • The Dreaded: Shiomi is feared among the Japanese Left for his brutal Stalinist ideals and unending hate for the "revisionist" Comintern, which is proven right when Shiomi revolts against the JCP should they fail to win the civil war in time.

    East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eaajafflag.png
Flag of the Ainu-Lewchewan Soviet Republic 
Flag of the Japanese Anarchist Front 
Flag of the Japanese Fraternity League 
Flag of the Japanese Communal Armies 
Flag of the Japanese Democratic Federation 
Official Name: East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, Ainu-Lewchewan Soviet Republic (Isonash, Post-war), Japanese Anarchist Front (Toyama), Japanese Fraternity League (Toyama, Post-war), Japanese Communal Armies (Kurihara), Japanese Democratic Federation (Kurihara, Post-war)
Ruling Party: EAAJAF - Sasori Saibōnote 
Ideology: Anti-Japaneseismnote 

  • Army of Thieves and Whores: The EAAJAF initially consists of Anarchists, Anti-Japaneseists, and other leftists, but as Ugajin consolidates his control and purges the other cells, the front becomes a hub for criminals, rapists, and infuriated Burakumin, Zainichi and Ainu minorities looking to enact their revenge.
  • Battle Trophy: Under the EAAJAF, the skulls of the exterminated Japanese are used as trophies.
  • Boomerang Bigot: The EAAJAF's end goal is the annihilation of the culture, nation, and people of Japan, despite being made up of a good number of Japanese people itself.
  • Historical Badass Upgrade: In real life, the EAAJAF existed for a mere three years and managed to kill only eight people in the single attack it successfully carried out under that name. In this timeline, it has the ability to take over the entirety of Japan and fulfill its insane goals.
  • Redemption Equals Death: On the national level. According to the EAAJAF, the only way for any Japanese person to "purify" themselves of their ancestor's misdeeds is to abandon all ties to Japanese culture and join the EAAJAF in exterminating their own people.
  • The Remnant: Before the civil war, the Scorpion Cell was the only surviving cell of the EAAJAF after the repression brought by the success of Operation Rainbow, the assassination of Prince Naruhiko.
  • Revolving Door Revolution: The EAAJAF can undergo two coups in a row, first Toyama against the Scorpion Cell, then Kurihara against Toyama.

Hisaichi Ugajin/Isonash

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_hisaichi_ugajin.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State
Party: EAAJAF - Sasori Saibōnote , Sekai Kakumei Rōninnote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Anti-Japaneseismnote 
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Abhorrent Admirer: After the EAAJAF's anti-Japanese genocide kicks into full swing, Hisaichi embraces Ainu and Ryukuan culture and takes the Ainu name "Isonash". This stands in stark contrast to the Ainu Moshiri, which is actually run by Ainu but is infinitely more inclusive than the EAAJAF.
  • Boomerang Bigot: Hisaichi wants to wipe the Japanese off the face of the earth, despite being Japanese himself.
  • Downer Ending: The EAAJAF Scorpion cell is one of the worst endings that Japan can find itself in, as the EAAJAF will conduct a complete genocide against the Japanese.
  • Genocide from the Inside: Hisaichi is a Japanese terrorist who wants to destroy every last vestige of the Japanese people.
  • Hunter of His Own Kind: Literally. After gaining control of all of Japan, Hisaichi takes an Ainu name that translates to "great hunter".
  • Knight Templar: Hisaichi has a noble goal of amending for Japan's litany of past crimes, but is also under the impression that exterminating every trace of the Japanese people is a productive or acceptable way to do this.
  • Meaningful Rename: After conquering Japan, Hisaichi changes his name to "Isonash" ("great hunter" in Ainu) to signify how he mercilessly hunts down anyone who displays Japanese "national consciousness".
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: After winning the civil war "Isonash" adopts Ainu clothing in his portrait.

Koichi Toyama

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_koichi_toyama.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State (Anti-Scorpion Cell coup), Presidentnote  (Post-war)
Party: Tora Saibōnote , Warewaredannote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Anarcho-Communismnote , Fascist Anarchismnote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Anarchy Is Chaos: Under the rule of Koichi, Japan descends into chaos, with multiple communities clashing with each other and the Dan silencing any dissidents.
  • Anarcho-Tyranny: Koichi grows disillusioned with left-wing anarchism and ends up formulating "fascist anarchism", and executes everyone who opposes him while still organizing Japan along anarchistic principles.
  • Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: The Japanese Anarchist Front consists of bandits and criminals who will implement an anarchist system in Japan.

Yasushi Kurihara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_yasushi_kurihara.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State (Anti-Toyama coup), Presidentnote  (Post-war)
Party: Kyōdō Rikugunnote , Renpō Gikainote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Vanguard Anarchismnote , Anarchist Revisionismnote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to show 

  • Commissar Cap: Kurihara wears a peaked cap and black coat in his portrait and is an elected political commissar before his coup against Toyama.
  • Join or Die: Kurihara agreed to work with the EAAJAF as they would've killed him otherwise.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Kurihara's re-opening of the communes following the Japanese reunification only empowers the corrupt political commissars even more, and they proceed to turn the anarchist experiment into little more than a military-led junta.
  • The Political Officer: Kurihara is elected political commissar of the 12th "Kaihe" Brigade after Toyama's coup and holds this position until his own coup against Toyama.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: Kurihara changes from his commissar uniform to a civilian attire after winning the civil war.
  • Token Good Teammate: Of the possible leaders of the EAAJAF, Kurihara is the only one who doesn't want to be a mass murderer or a tyrant and genuinely wishes to bring freedom to Japan through Anarchism, even if he isn't successful.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Kurihara only shuts down the communes and overthrows Koichi to give Anarchy a chance at survival.

    Yamaguchi Citizen's League 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yclflag.png
Flag of the Federal State of Japan 
Official Name: Yamaguchi Citizen's League, Federal State of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Mintōren - Shuryūnote 
Ideology: Progressive Liberalismnote 

  • Hope Springs Eternal: Even when the Japanese Civil War has deteriorated to the point the people's suffering becomes boundless, and being subjugated of oppression by Japanese despots and militarists, the Japanese-Koreans might manage to liberate themselves from the Chūgoku Clique, in hopes of creating a better future for all.

I Kyonje

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_ri_keisai.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Mintōren - Shuryūnote , Hikari no Tōnote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Progressive Liberalismnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Freakiness Shame: Subverted: Kyonje grew up being ashamed of his Korean identity in a Japanese-dominated society, so he started presenting himself to be more "Japanese" when he was young in an attempt to mask his Korean heritage but to no avail. Seeing pandering to the Japanese to no use, he will instead embrace his Japanese-Korean identity and establish the Mintohren to help the suppressed and disenfranchised minority.
  • Light Is Good: Invoked by the reformist "Party Of the Light" that Kyonje organizes following the civil war, which aids Kyonje in his mission to turn Japan into a progressive country with a federalist system.

    Keihanshin Economic Directorate 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keihanshinflag.png
Flag of the Japanese Directorate 
Flag of the Yamaguchi-gumi/Japanese Syndicate 
Official Name: Keihanshin Economic Directorate, Japanese Directorate (Kubota, Post-war), Yamaguchi-gumi (Tsukasa), Japanese Syndicate (Tsukasa, Post-war)
Ruling Party: Riji-kai - Gyōsei Shimon Iinkai - GYŌSHINKAInote 
Ideology: Corporatocracynote 

  • Neon City: Japan's society changes at a fast pace in the post-war, rapidly turning Japan's cities' infrastructure aesthetic into cities with thousand of advertisement boards and neon lights.
  • One Nation Under Copyright: Japan politics under the directorate are dominated by the "Big Four" Zaibatsus which are - Sony, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Mitsui, while the rest of the major companies play role in politics but are less dominant.
  • Yakuza: Various Yakuza organizations serve as muscle for the Zaibatsus in their corporate wars, the biggest of which is the Mitsubishi-employed Yamaguchi-gumi.

Masakazu Kubota

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_masakazu_kubota.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: President of the Directoratenote 
Party: Riji-kai - Gyōsei Shimon Iinkai - GYŌSHINKAInote 
Ideology: Corporatocracynote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: While not as bloodthirsty as the Zaibatsus he serves as middleman to, Kubota cares little for mistreatment of workers, suppression of smaller businesses, and lack of accessibility for the poorer strata that they've created and mostly just turns a blind eye to the suffering of the people.
  • Team Switzerland: Kubota serves as the impartial leader of the Board of Directors, the middleman between the CEOs who makes sure that their interests can be heard. Kubota also makes sure that the everyday competition between the Zaibatsus doesn't escalate into outright hostility, and he has to play his cards right to make sure that he keeps his position and doesn't get replaced with one of their lackeys.

Shinobu Tsukasa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_kenichi_shinoda.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Supreme Kingpinnote  (Takeover)
Party: Rokudaime Yamaguchi-guminote , Kumichonote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Kleptocracynote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • King of Thieves: Shinobu Tsukasa is the boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest Yakuza organization in Japan.
  • The Purge: How Tsukasa and the Yamaguchi-gumi can potentially take power in Osaka. During one of the bloodiest nights in Japanese history, CEOs and PMC leaders are assassinated one-by-one by Yamaguchi-gumi assassins. This essentially beheads the entire leadership of the Directorate, and Osaka is quickly taken over by the Yakuza.
  • Sinister Shades: Shinobu Tsukasa, ruthless gangster and boss of the biggest criminal organization in Japan, wears a pair of shades in both of his portraits.
  • Villain Team-Up: Various other Yakuza organizations ally with the Yamaguchi-gumi due to the chaos of the civil war.

    Buraku Liberation League 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/burakumin2.png
Flag of the Japanese National Liberation Government/Republic of Japan/State of Japan 
Official Name: Buraku Liberation League, Japanese National Liberation Government (Post-war), Republic of Japan (Redemption path), State of Japan (Corruption path)
Ruling Party: Buraku Kaihō Dōmei - Suiheishanote 
Ideology: Revolutionary Frontnote 

  • A Lighter Shade of Black: The leaders of the BLL may resort to some pretty under-handed tactics to liberate themselves from the IJA Government, but the IJA themselves are much worse and their atrocities are nothing compared to the bayoneting of student protestors during the Meiji Shrine Incident of 1987.

Ryū Matsumoto

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_ryo_matsumoto_constipated.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Prime Ministernote  (Post-war)
Party: Buraku Kaihō Dōmei - Suiheishanote , Kenpō Seitei Kaiginote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Revolutionary Frontnote , Provisional Governmentnote  (Post-war), Personalistic Dictatorshipnote  (Corruption path), Social Radicalismnote  (Redemption path)
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • The Puppet Cuts His Strings: Ryū takes advantage of the dissatisfaction of the people with the disorder brought by the revolutionaries to oust them and solidify his power.
  • Puppet King: After winning the civil war Ryū is controlled by his subordinates, revolutionaries who hoped to dispose of him when the time was right.
  • Two Roads Before You: After winning the civil war, Ryū Matsumoto has the choice between continuing down the path of a corrupt dictator (reflected as his ideology changing to Personalistic Dictatorship) or to seek redemption (reflected as his ideology changing to Social Radicalism).

    Hokkekō no Ran 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hokkekonoranflag.png
Flag of the Great Sacred Domain of Japan 
Official Name: Hokkekō no Ran, Great Sacred Domain of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Hokkekō no Rannote 
Ideology: Theocracynote 

  • The Church: The Hokkekō no Ran is ruled by the Nichiren Shoshu, a branch of Buddhism.
  • Corrupt Church: The Hokkekō no Ran will try to impose its form of Buddhism as the only religion in Japan.
  • The Theocracy: The Hokkekō no Ran is a warlord proto-state controlled by Buddhist monks and will evolve into a theocratic state if it wins the Japanese Civil War.

Nichinyo Shōnin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_nichinyo.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head Temple Taiseki-Jinote 
Party: Hokkekō no Rannote , Sōhonzan Taiseki-jinote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Theocracynote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • High Priest: Nichinyo Shōnin is the leader of the Nichiren Shoshu.

    Sōka Gakkai 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sokagakkaiflag.png
Flag of the Humane State of Japan 
Official Name: Sōka Gakkai, Humane State of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Sōka Gakkainote 
Ideology: Theocracynote 

  • People's Republic of Tyranny: Minoru Harada believes Japan under the Sōka Gakkai is a pure Buddhist western-style liberal democracy. In fact the government, controlled by high ranking members of Sōka Gakkai, doesn't tolerate any opposition to its new-found dominance and persecutes Nichiren buddhists.
  • The Theocracy: The religious organization Sōka Gakkai becomes the state one and the same despite some liberal reforms because the government and its politics are dominated by high-ranking members.

Minoru Harada

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_minoru_harada.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: President of Sōka Gakkainote 
Party: Sōka Gakkainote 
Ideology: Theocracynote , Theocratic Democracynote  (Post-war)
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • High Priest: Minoru Harada is the president of the Sōka Gakkai, a Buddhist religious movement
  • Taking Up the Mantle: After Daisaku Ikeda is killed, Minoru Harada took over, leading the organization in accordance with Ikeda's views.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Minoru Harada wants Japan to be a Buddhist democracy, abiding by western ideals of liberal democracy and rule of law, but he ends up creating a theocracy with some liberal reforms.

    National Socialist League 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nslflag.png
Flag of the Shogunate of Japan 
Official Name: National Socialist League, Shogunate of Japan (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Nationalsozialistische Japanische Arbeiterparteinote 
Ideology: Warlordismnote 

  • Dark Horse Victory: The victory of the NSL is described in Kazunari's bio as seemingly impossible.
  • Gratuitous German: The name of the National Socialist Japanese Workers' Party is written in German rather than in Japanese. The same applies to the terrorist group Kazunari was a part of before the civil war, "Der Kreis"note .
  • Skeleton Motif: The NSL's flag is a jolly roger with a skull wearing a hachimaki with a swastika in the sun and two crossed swords.
  • We ARE Struggling Together: After their victory, the NSJAP falls into infighting between extremists and "moderates" over ideological differences.

Yamada Kazunari

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_yamada_kazunari.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Head of State, Shogunnote  (Post-war)
Party: Nationalsozialistische Japanische Arbeiterparteinote , Nationalsozialistische Japanische Arbeiterpartei - Seitō-hanote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Warlordismnote , National Socialism (Post-war)
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • Evil Chancellor: After his victory in the civil war, Kazunari takes the title of Shogun, leaving the Emperor as an entirely symbolic ruler.
  • Face Framed in Shadow: Kazunari's post-war portrait hides half of his face in darkness.
  • Far East Asian Terrorists: Kazunari was a member of "Der Kreis", a secret nine-man terrorist cell.

    Happiness Realization Army 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/happinessrealizationarmyflag.png
Flag of the Empire of the Eternal Sun 
Official Name: Happiness Realization Army, Empire of the Eternal Sun (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Kōfuku no Kagakunote 
Ideology: Cultismnote 

Ryūhō Ōkawa, El Cantare

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/okawa_remade.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Master of Happy Sciencenote , El Cantarenote  (Post-war)
Party: Kōfuku no Kagakunote 
Ideology: Cultismnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

    Aum Shinrikyo (UNMARKED SPOILERS
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aumshinrikyoflag.png
Official Name: Aum Shinrikyo, Realm of the True Dharma (Post-war)
Ruling Party: Oumu Shinrikyōnote 
Ideology: Cultismnote 

  • Allohistorical Allusion: Has an intense rivalry with Aum Shinrikyo, just as in real life; the OTL cultists tried to kill Ryūhō Ōkawa with nerve agent in his car in 1995.
  • Ax-Crazy: The standard approach of Aum Shinrikyo in general. Its view is that if one doesn't outright join, getting murdered will be a virtue.
  • Cult: One centered around the esotericist Messiah claimant Shōkō Asahara, and an unsavory one, at that.
  • Deadly Gas: Aum Shinrikyo is extremely fond of using this (sarin in particular) more or less all the time.
  • Eviler than Thou: No other Japanese warlord state is as deranged or bloodthirsty as that of the Aum Shinrikyo, which actively seeks the nuclear apocalypse.
  • Evil Versus Evil: Aum Shinrikyo is one of the Happiness Realization Army's foremost rivals in the Japanese new religious extremist scene.
  • Obliviously Evil: Terrifyingly enough, Aum Shinrikyo's members truly believe that they're saving every innocent they kill; likewise, they believe that they are saving the world from itself by bringing about Armageddon.
  • Polluted Wasteland: By the time they win the Civil War, Japan has been turned into an "unrecognizable wasteland" by their rampant use of chemical weapons.
  • Yellow/Purple Contrast: To the Happy Science Movement, which has adopted gold as its Color Motif. Particularly appropriate given that purple is associated in Japanese culture with death.

Shōkō Asahara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_japan_shoko_asahara.png
Post-war portrait 
Role: Leader of Aum Shinrikyonote 
Party: Oumu Shinrikyōnote , Oumu Shinrikyō - Shinjanote  (Post-war)
Ideology: Cultismnote 
Biography Click to Show 
Biography (Post-war) Click to Show 

  • A God Am I: In the 90s, Asahara declared himself to be Jesus Christ reborn, and after taking over Japan is all but worshipped as a god.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Shōkō Asahara went from son of a poor family to leader of a murderous apocalyptic cult using chemical weapons with terrifying regularity, and can possibly become the leader of the entirety of Japan and the master of its nuclear stockpile.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: At Asahara's direction, the "Realm of the True Dharma" pursues the reactivation of the nuclear weapons that were disabled upon the outbreak of the Civil War in order to instigate Armageddon.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Ryūhō Ōkawa's Blue. Rather than do as the latter esotericist maniac has done and diversify his cult into politics and business to make it more appealing and influential, Asahara has instead been waging a campaign of terrorism against its enemies since the 90s.
  • Significant Wardrobe Shift: Contrary to Ōkawa, Asahara begins wearing a ceremonial attire from his cult and changes for much simpler clothes after winning the civil war.

Tropes pertaining to the rework

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_japan_borderedsvg.png
Official Name: Empire of Japan

  • Allohistorical Allusion: Japan's seizure of Dalian mirrors Russia's invasion of Crimea.
  • Blatant Lies: Japan claims ownership over Dalian by insisting it was awarded to Japan through legitimate means via the Kwantung Leased Territory, even though the treaty that established it was immediately abolished as part of the peace negotiations at the end of the Great Asian War.
  • Democracy Is Flawed: The Heisei Democracy is one of contradictions and setbacks, with various governments between 1991 and 2017 going back and forth on the issue of reform. Even after the 2017 elections, Japan's record of political freedoms is highly dubious.
  • Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Should a civil war break out in China, some of the more hawkish Japanese Prime Ministers will seize the port city of Dalian.

Potential Prime Ministers

    Shoji Nishida 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nishida_pre_156_3.png
Militarist Puppet 
Role: Prime Ministernote  (2017 Elections)
Ideology: National Conservatismnote , Aristocratic Conservatismnote  (National Security Law)

  • Conspiracy Theorist: Nishida believes Japan lost the Great Asian War due to an international Jewish conspiracy to destroy Japan's position as a global power.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Despite being a Japanese nationalist, Nishida knows that invading China is unfeasible and would lead to hundreds of deaths for Japan, and will only do so if Tamogami's Plot succeeds and gives him no other choice but to invade.
  • Evil Reactionary: Nishida is easily the most traditionalistic out of all potential Japanese prime ministers, holding political positions that are so reactionary they seem alien to the rest of the Japanese right.
  • Plausible Deniability: In the path where Japan loses the war with China and Nishida is overthrown, he is able to deny his role in Japan's saber-rattling and wartime atrocities and instead blame it all on Tamogami and his goons.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Nishida is antisemitic and socially reactionary, blaming all of Japan's faults on the United States, liberalism, and Jews.
  • Puppet King: If Tamogami's plot succeeds and Nishida invades China, Nishida will be forced to make concessions to the Militarists in Tamogami's circle, eventually culminating in him becoming nothing short of a puppet to their interests.
  • Red Scare: Nishida views the fringe left-wing parties in the Japanese political spectrum as "tools of international Marxist jewry" and works to outlaw them after taking power.
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm: Nishida is openly opposed to further liberalizing the Japanese political system, and should he be elected, Japanese democracy will undoubtedly backslide. His rise to power tells the world that something is terribly wrong with Japan.

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