Azur Lane: Leipzig Missile Cruiser Class

Interlude III: Asian Honor and Confusion

How it began...

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To fully understand the situation of how the previous chapter went from glorious expectation to disastrous reality, and how the Sakurans (Japanese) were able to commission so many ships with Kansen, we must also look at each Asian country.

One of the more obvious things that many countries suffer from is the availability of resources. While the Benelux East Indies (Insulandia/Indonesia), Oceania and the Dragon Empire had many resources, such as bauxite (needed for aluminum), oil deposits (especially for heavy oil), rubber, coal, and much more, the Sakuran Empire was not so lucky in that it was poor in resources.

The Sakuran Empire was entirely dependent on imports, which basically forced them to take on huge amounts of debt, inflating their economy to such an extent that the value of the yen outside the borders of their home island was less than worthless. This also meant that industry suffered greatly.

Another thing that really hurt them was the unequal treaties they had signed with many of the pre-1910 superpowers, including the newly formed Ironblood Empire and the declining Spanish Empire. Only Portugal and the Mexican Republic considered them equals.

The Japanese also had the problem of being surrounded by various archenemies, such as the Dragon Empire and the Tsarist Empire, who could easily overwhelm them with superior numbers if given the chance. Another problem was manpower and the relationship between tradition and honor.

Since 1890, the Navy had always lacked the proper officers to coordinate a large number of sailors while at the same time captaining the ships. This was easily seen as they sought assistance in coordination from the masters of the waves, the British Empire and its Royal Navy. This led them to form the Anglo-Sakuran Alliance.

The other problem was material shortages. With all-metal ships and their 12-inch (305mm) guns, the huge wooden ships of the line became obsolete overnight. The problem, however, was that the Sakuran Peninsula had little to no iron metal deposits that could easily cover the cost. Also, the shipbuilding industry wasn't fully developed yet and could only cover the issue of escorts, such as gunboats and the newly issued torpedo boats, although the latter had problems to build a torpedo properly without pre-detonating it (factories fly sky high).

It was decided by Diet decree to issue bonds to pay for the cost of foreign shipyards, mostly in the British Empire, in order to have a formidable naval force against the perceived enemies. This was a good decision, as their will and stance against foreign influence near their sphere was challenged in the Boxer Rebellion, where their and European embassies and consulates were besieged by Christianized Chinese and slowly succumbed to numerically superior irregular forces, and in the Russo-Sakuran War, resulting in Sakuran favor each time, especially the latter.

Unfortunately, the scheme of buying foreign war bonds and paying for them with war reparations failed miserably. The Russians had the last laugh, even with the loss of Port Arthur and two fleets worth of warships (even though one wasn't really built for such long voyages and almost gave everyone an unequal amount of heart attacks), because they had found out about the stagnant economic situation of the Sakuran, which they wanted to revive with war bonds, bought with stronger foreign currency, and war reparations, and leaked it to every observer nation. They were so furious that the Sakuran Empire had to relinquish their rights for reparations as to appease the foreign nations.

This has led to an inflationary crisis and the subsequent resignation of the government, creating a vacuum large enough to allow the military, both Navy and Army, to essentially have wide latitude to install their own pro-Navy / pro-Army officials in the newly formed government. This becomes an issue with the ongoing and almost chaotic assassinations of prime ministers.