Prelude to the Second Weltkrieg - Part 6: Japan

Part 1

NOTES FOR NON KAISERREICH PLAYERS: Of all the countries that participated in the Weltkrieg, Japan may have been impacted the least. Just like in our timeline, Japan joined with the Entente during the war and used the opportunity to conquer a number of German territories and islands. However, when the Entente lost the war, Germany eventually came around and forced Japan to return the territory. Overall though, Japan ended the war in much the same position as it had entered it - as the largest power in Asia, with a divided China at its doorstep, Korea and Taiwan under its direct control, and overall positive relations with most other colonial powers. Since then, Japan has continued industrializing and modernizing, importing and improving on western technologies. It's easiest to imagine Japan in most ways being very similar to the one that eventually fought in World War 2 in our timeline.

Except politically. Unlike in our timeline, Japan's raucous early years of democratic politics did not fall away into outright nationalism. Instead, Japan mostly stayed on its pre-Weltkrieg political path, slowly reforming where needed while maintaining a conservative and cohesive society. The Diet legislature continued to gain power, and importantly reformed the political process (with the Emperor's blessing) so that the military reported to civilian political leaders, at least in theory. In practice low-level officers were still prone to taking matters into their own hands for their own ideals, and in May 1936 the Prime Minister was assassinated by a socialist-leaning soldier. The same thing happened again in November 1936 as well. Carefully balancing the need to remove this threat from the political process and freedom of thought and association, the Diet passed a national security law that allowed arrests of suspected terrorists. This successfully reduced the terrorist threat, while the Emperor declared that elections would continue to be held, with one scheduled in late February 1937.

Internationally Japan maintains mostly good relations with all powers. In addition to their colonies in Korea and China, they are one of the voting members of the Legation Cities: a series of Chinese port cities captured by various colonial powers over the decades and then politically connected to act as trading hubs through which those colonial powers can execute their unfair treaties on the Chinese population. They also have very close ties with the United States of America, who is their largest non-Asian trade partner.

Most importantly though, Japan remains a nation only starting to realize its potential, with a dizzying array of options open to its future. What direction that future will take is firmly in the hands of its people.

February 3, 1937 – Between Shanghai and Nagasaki

"Kazuhiro, would you get rid of that grin, please!"

Kazuhiro had no intention of getting rid of his grin, his smile, his smirk, his delighted expression, or any of the other ways his co-pilot Shota had described his face that afternoon. Instead of replying, Kazuhiro just turned to face Shota and smiled wider.

"Stop!" Shota pleaded. "It's scaring the passengers!"

Kazuhiro knew Shota was exaggerating. If anything the passengers had seemed extra pleased to have their pilot greet them with a warm smile that afternoon. And, quite simply, Kazuhiro had no reason to stop smiling.

"Do you know what day it is today?" Kazuhiro asked for the third time that flight.

"Yes!" Shota replied, exasperated.

"It's February third."

"I know!"

"February third," Kazuhiro replied to himself under his breath, not even hearing Shota's confirmation.

February 3, 1937 was going to be the best day of his life.

The plane – just hitting its cruising speed at 11,000 feet above the East China Sea – rocked into a gust of turbulence, grabbing Kazuhiro's attention away from the best day of his life but doing absolutely nothing to dim the smile on his face. He pulled the yoke back just slightly to slip out of the angry pocket of air, then calmly set his adjustments to level the plane out, soaring towards the sunny skies that awaited him just ahead.