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Japan is a Tier VI Island nation located in East Asia 
and the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by the Sea of Okhotsk to the north, the Sea of Japan to the west, the East China Sea to the south, and shares maritime boundaries with 
China, 
South Korea, 
North Korea, 
Russia, and 
Taiwan. It is the 5th most populated starting nation.
As one of the few starting democracies and an important Asian power, Japan is a densely populated and highly developed nation with a powerhouse economy, but suffers from a lack of resources and military disarmament.
However, through steadily and patiently reforming the country and skillfully playing the diplomatic game, Japan can secure the technological and military superiority needed to overcome their Asian neighbors and build a lasting continental empire. Japan, if played right, can contend with major powers such as the 
US, 
India, and China.
Background
Japan is a nation that has undergone much history, and although having not been united for most of its history, it has faced many periods of turmoil, imperialism, and finally peace.
|
Home to the oldest monarchy in the world, the Japanese realm has been under the unbroken rule of the Yamato dynasty for over a thousand years, and the Imperial House forms a core part of the Japanese state and identity of the Japanese as a nation. However, since the 10th century the Imperial family had held no real power, and political power shifted to influential feudal lords and their clans and later a series of military dictatorships under the shoguns. Transitions of power often plunged the nation into periods of violent civil war, such as the famous Sengoku era of medieval Japan, blurring the boundaries between the military and aristocracy and leading to the rise of the samurai, a unique class of military nobility. During the 17th to 19th centuries, Japan tried to isolate themselves from growing western influence in Asia. A military expedition to Tokyo by the Japan entered World War II on the side of the Axis after attacking Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in |
Base Statistics
Economy
The Japanese economy is the fourth largest in the world. Despite its relatively smaller size, Japan's large population and democratic starting ideology allows it to punch above its weight, surpassing nations with comparable populations like 
Indonesia, Russia and 
Brazil.
Its capital, Tokyo. is the single largest city in the world, with a whopping 30 million population. It accounts for a quarter of the Japanese economy, which is magnified by the extra tier of development given to capital cities at the start of the game.
Japan has a base income of $10,484,837. $10,276,440 from tax and $208,397 from resources.
Resources
Japan's main weakness is its lack of resources, the only resources present in Japan are 
Gold and 
Copper, which are the materials needed for electronic factories, 
Titanium, needed for steel and aircraft factories, and 
Oil. All except Titanium are very small in number compared to many nations.
Military
Japan starts out stronger than its neighbours except Russia and China which outmatch it in terms of manpower. It has 500,000 soldiers as its home-guard and Japan gains around 2,895 manpower. Japan also starts out as Disarmed.
| Base Manpower Capacity of Japan per Conscription Law | |
|---|---|
| The following columns below present the manpower capacity from lowest (Disarmed) to highest (Required). RP stands for "Recruitable Population". | |
| Disarmed [1% RP] |
|
| Volunteer [2% RP] |
|
| Limited [5% RP] |
|
| Extensive [10% RP] |
|
| Required [25% RP] |
|
Geography
Terrain
Virtually the entirety of Japan is covered in Hilly terrain, with only the Kanto, Kushiro, Osaka plains lacking any terrain. Alongside this, the prefectures of Gifu, Nagano, Toyama and Yamanashi are Semi-Mountainous.
Biome
From December to January, Hokkaido is covered in Mild Winter. During the rest of the year, Japan has no biome.
Cities
Japan has a total of 86 cities. Of these cities, more than half of the population is located in the two largest cities Tokyo and Osaka, both of whom have over 10 million each, with roughly 8 million more people in their direct vicinity, and their important contribution to the Japanese economy makes them strategically vital locations. Like many majors, Japan's population is heavily urbanized, and most cities are over 100,000 people, with the ones below 100,000 people mostly being located on the islands not part of the main five. It has many ports due to it being an island nation.
Japan has 11 cities above 1 million people at start, which make up the vast majority of its population, with 2 others easily reaching 1 million by 2021.
Politics
Formables
Japan has only 1 formable, the 
Empire of Japan which unlike most other formables requires its occupations as well as directly controlled land.
Releasables
Japan has 8 releasables: 
Ainu-Mosir, 
Chubu, 
Chugoku, 
Kansai, 
Kyushu, 
Ryukyu, 
Shikoku, and 
Tohoku.
Threats
Japan is not usually in the hotspot for invasion by its neighboring countries, however there are threats to its expansion and a few who desire its lands for themselves.
- Chinese players vary and most do not go for Japan, however, some Chinese players may invade the Korean peninsula, and if they do so, they may expand eastern into the Japanese home islands.
- North Korea seems very weak and seemingly not enough to be a threat to Japan compared to South Korea, however most North Korea players deviate from South Korea players, and if there is a skilled North Korea player, they can pose a very hard challenge for Japan.
- South Korea may occasionally also build up similarly to North Korea players and pose a possibly greater threat for Japan.
- Many Southeast Asian players often take over Southeast Asia and can be a thorn in your side.
Strategies
Advance the Government
Political Power Spending
- Tax Reform (For the 25% Tax Boost)
- Improve Infrastructure (For the 10% Tax Boost and Development Cost)
- Military Service Act (For the 20% manpower increase and -10% military upkeep.)
- Advance the Research Bureau (For more research points)
- Volunteer Conscription (For more manpower)
Tips for War
Expansion
If you have tabbed to this section because you want to be a proud imperial soldier then congratulations, you must learn the responsibilities that Japan has in the Asian Theater. You must accept that you're not the star of the show at the start of a game, nor you should attempt to gain attention but rather silently develop your economy. Your economy may start behind the two Asian superpowers India and China , but your economy will eventually overpass both of them due to your much bigger expansion capabilities.
Immediately justify on South Korea and North Korea, you start as a democracy, so you gain +75% justification time, so it's important for you to justify as soon as possible to prevent neighboring countries from grabbing the land (particularly China) from grabbing the land before you. Your next justifications should be on south-east Asian countries. Below is a simple order you should justify upon loading in your country.
War Justifications Order
- North Korea and South Korea
Vietnam and the 
Philippines
Laos and 
Malaysia
Cambodia and 
Thailand
Burma and Indonesia- (Optional)
Australia, 
Papua New Guinea, and 
New Zealand
By this point you would have most of Southeast Asia , so feel free to justify on any country as you please and wish to expand, you may be limited to expansion due to other players taking over those first. Doesn't matter, move on to your next target and come back to them later.
Taking over the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia
Your conquests should be short and quick as you start as a democracy, and you should probably keep it that way due to the insane economy buff it gets. The one big disadvantage of a democracy is it stacks up war exhaustion rather quickly. As a result, you would want to minimize both the duration and the losses of your war. Before your justifications of South Korea and North Korea end, you should have produced at least 1 sub and 2,200 tanks for your invasion of the Peninsula. Declare on South Korea and send 10k of your starting army to the Island of Jeju. The AI will then charge it's 180k troops to the island attempting to recapture the island, but instead, the troop transport shop will sail straight into the sub you made before the war and will get sunk. Land 170k troops in Seoul and split your tanks in the Sea to 11 units and auto-capture South Korea. South Korea should be easy toast but remember to use your 170k troops to assist capturing any cities that your tanks struggle to capture. Declare on North Korea once your Stability is back at 48%. (You should really have consumers by this time you know). Auto-capture North Korean cites and capture Pyongyang with your 180k troops along with Nampo. The other small North Korean cities should be toast with your tanks.
But what if a player decides to be either of the Koreas?
In a scenario against South Korea, you must be prepared before you issue a declaration of war as South Korea starts with 32 million population, with a decent economy and a stockpile of manpower. The player is therefore able to pump out large amounts of artillery, troops, as well as a navy if she decides to challenge your fleet. Before the declaration of war against South Korea, you must prepare a Base Fleet of 2 battleships, 3 destroyers, and 1 submarine, as along with 2,200 tanks. Why do you have to make such a Base Fleet, you may ask. South Korea is a coastal country and is extremely vulnerable to shore bombardment. The 2 battleships serve as shore bombardment and can reduce troops to dust in seconds. In the starting game with no research, artillery does little to no damage to battleships, but battleships reduce the number of artillery per division to 20. You should have 3 destroyers, destroyers serve as a convoy escort and taking out submarines.
You should have:
- 1 destroyer placed close to your battleships, in that case which they attempt to attack your battleships with submarines.
- 1 destroyer placed for convoy escort to prevent any submarine hoards.
- 1 destroyer as a reserve to quickly fill the loss of a destroyer if he manages to destroy your destroyer with massive amounts of artillery.
- The submarine serves as a protection if they ever attempt to invade you to destroy their troop transports.
After your preparations are complete, declare war on South Korea. Place 1 battleship near Seoul and 1 battleship on the opposite side. This will ensure his troops are entirely shore bombarded, so they will not be able to sit there and entrench. After he lost a sustainable number of troops, land 1,000 tanks on the coastline, split it in 5 units and auto-capture South Korea. Their troops should be really weak due to shore bombardment and would not be able to push back your naval invasion. After securing the coastal cities, land your 180,000 home guard to take out the rest of the army that’s struggling to survive. Land your remaining tanks on the other side of the coast. This should crumble them entirely as most resources of South Korea would be exhausted by now. Secure the rest of the cities and annex them, along with his sweet treasury.
Oh boy, taking out the Communist upper half of Korea, easy toast if you do it right. North Korea starts with the Communist ideology, with crippling economy, but gets a decent manpower boost. Their manpower increase can be countered by your larger population as well as naval supremacy. Secure Pyongyang with heavy shore bombardment and secure the rest of the 100k cities. Even with lack of skill, North Korea would fall within a month, due to its puny power compared to yours.
Advancing into Russia
Russia's level of difficulty to take varies. The key to invading the large country will mostly depend on Russia's manpower. Get 1 battleship, 3 destroyers, and 3 submarines. Develop your cities for extra income. Remember, you can't invade Russia when they have lots of manpower, because of Siberia. It is one of the most painful places to capture due to its wide and vast geographical extent, and its harsh geography. If Siberia takes a huge toll on you, try to talk Russia into white peace. If he refuses, it is best to retreat from Russia. If Russia spams infantry to take the cities you took, get your navy and bomb Russian troops. Try to force the Russians to cross the water so you can intercept their troops, let Russia lose all their MP, then that's the moment when you spam troops and annex the Siberian region. Send terms to Russia. If Russia doesn't accept, continue to conquer them.
Reclaiming Chinese Lands
Welcome to the hardest part of playing with Japan. It's nearly impossible to stop a Chinese invasion of Japan. So, whatever you do, do not let Chinese military take a step on your land. If that happens, it's likely game over, and China will enjoy the surplus of Japan's multiple megacities. To prevent this, you will need a huge navy and air force. Create artillery and put it on the coasts, create attackers, fighters, and bombers, and create all the ships in the game except for the frigates. Defend your territory with what you have. The artillery will make China lose ships when they are near your coast. Use bombers to destroy Chinese factories, and to bomb its largest cities. Use attackers to bomb Chinese transport ships, use your battleships to fight destroyers and frigates, use your destroyers to fight Chinese subs, and use your subs to intercept Chinese troops and break Chinese battleships. Fight until the end. Make China surrender by destroying their treasury, MP, economy, and stability. If they rage-quit, then it is just a matter of auto-capturing or white peacing.
Because Japan is an island nation, it is highly recommended you make a navy. Buy Oil from other nations and make factories to sustain an economy for a large navy. Your largest threat is mainly China ( Russia will not care much about you). Japan has the capability of a strong navy due to its large economy, and the fact that it is a democracy. For a capable navy, you will need to build:
- 6 submarines
- 5 destroyers
- 10 frigates
- 2-5 battleships
- 1 aircraft carrier (optional)
China, build at least 500 artilleries.
Diplomatic Games
Although Rise of Nations heavily favors territorial expansion and early game rushes to secure formables and resources, as a starting democracy, Japan is one of the few nations optimized for turning your country into a peaceful economic powerhouse rather than expanding. Heavy debuffs are associated with wars for democracies, including a -3% stability hit per offensive war, long justification times, and no war exhaustion reduction bonuses.
Instead, pouring the extra income you get into city development, buying resources, building factories, and most importantly research will give Japan massive advantages that allow them to steamroll far larger countries in the late game. This strategy will focus on faction building, patience, and good nation micromanagement, and will require a minimum of 6–8 years of waiting at best due to the limitations of research output and the high research costs associated with the tech tree. Once you are through, the buffs high tier technologies will add will make you near inevitable and even large formables, like the Empire of Japan, will be easily achievable.
Early Game Buildup
As you start the game, you should go to policies, then get Tax Reform and Improve Infrastructure. Then, wait for 350M treasury. As you wait, start trading for resources, such as:
- 4
Iron from 
Algeria - 12 Copper from
Chile (
Zambia is an alternative) - 7
Tungsten - 4 from 
Bolivia and 3 from 
South Africa (buy from 
Uzbekistan if South Africa is a player, but it is very likely your trades with it will get cancelled due to annexation by Russia) - 12 Gold from
Zimbabwe - 11
Phosphate - 10 from 
Tunisia and 1 from 
Saudi Arabia - 1-3 Titanium - Any of the countries that produce Titanium (very likely the country you get your titanium from will be annexed or produces a low amount of Titanium, as it is a highly valued resource)
- 3
Chromium from Zimbabwe - 3
Aluminum from 
Guinea
Once you have all those resources and at least 350M$ in treasury, you should build factories like this pattern in the picture below, the (2) in the labels means that you should build another 3 factories of its kind in the cities. Once the factories are being built, go to economic laws and set taxation law to high, then government spending to maximum and research spending to maximum.
- Sell some consumer goods and
Electronics to countries to increase your income and a faster way to develop your cities. - Get at least an income of 35M$ in 2020 if you correctly sold the
Consumer Goods and Electronics. - Check your political power and if it already reached 55 political power, then scroll down in policies and get Advance the Research Bureau for additional research output, also focus on researching the Research Tree before anything else.
- Once you are set then go to Military tab, make 3 Groups named for your navy, air force and army. After that, go to doctrines and click on the Capital Fleet doctrine and save up military power for a naval leader.
- Once everything is ready just be silent and continue developing your cities and Tokyo and don't ally anybody, just be neutral until you get Tier V cities and Tier VI Tokyo.
A New Economic Miracle
Once you finish your research tech tree you may be tempted to spend all your hard-earned points on the economic tree, but there is something more important to address first. Maximizing political power gain is vital if you want to quickly be switching from socialism to communism and activate its powerful Forced Labor policy, so taking all tiers of the political power boosting techs should be your first focus.
After that, your technology order should be getting tax boosts then upgrading your infantry and armor to the highest level, then improving stability and your ideology effects or further improving your navy, air force, or artillery based on the situation. Only full political power, taxation, and military technologies are required, the others are optional. Once you have saved up 1000 political power, switch to liberalism, then non-aligned, as you are unable to switch to ideologies in another wing immediately, and you will have to move gradually up or down the tree.
Once you get an additional 250 political power, switch to socialism, and then if you gain 500, switch to communism. Get the Forced Labor Act, the policy exclusive to Communism, and fill the other two policy slots you can support with either stability, research, or ideology effect boosting policies. Given the situation, use your resources wisely. For example, if Russia or the United States is angling at invading you and your allies, prepare a strong navy or focus on support technologies to back up the Chinese army. If your ally in China plans on betraying you, research infantry anti-tank first to ensure that you can efficiently counter tank spam.
The Sun Rises Once More
After this long period of inward growth and development, the server should be mostly empty, giving you free rein to expand. Ideally, you should negotiate a peaceful transfer of territory with China, but if that is not an option, prepare for a defensive war as per the guide above.
In any case, securing China first will be much more helpful than rushing the other formable nations and will speed up the process immensely once you get the massive manpower and income pool that China offers. Prioritize 
Kazakhstan or Russia to ensure you have the consumer goods to absorb the massive increase in population that will result from this, and simply work your way down the Asian mainland until you reach Indonesia.
If you can handle it, take over India as well. Once you finish your conquest of Asia and form the Empire of Japan, you should be in control of some of the largest population centers in the world, with mega-cities forming the " Triangle of Pearls" from Karachi to Jakarta to Tokyo, with China inside.
Trivia
- The Japanese name for Japan is Nippon or Nihon (日本国),[1] which literally means "Sun's Origin Country", or as we say in English, "The Land of the Rising Sun".[2] The word Japan itself comes from the Chinese translation of this name as heard by European explorers such as Marco Polo during the 13th century.[3] All are accepted in Japan.
- Some words and most Japanese names are written in kanji, which are borrowed Chinese characters.
- Japan is the only nation starting with the Disarmed conscription law.
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Area is the most populated or 2nd most populated urban area in the world,[4] surpassing the population of
Canada.[5] - The flag associated with its empire (though never officially adopted as the national flag) is still in use presently as the ensign of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force.[6]
- Japan was the first country in Asia to fully industrialize.[7]
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
- ↑ https://www.jluggage.com/blog/japan/why-is-japan-called-land-of-rising-sun/
- ↑ https://apnews.com/article/a5b566c9cfbf2c0f8eb9b1fe589347fd
- ↑ https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J4yXlRHe24
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag
- ↑ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/whp-1750/xcabef9ed3fc7da7b:unit-3-industrialization/xcabef9ed3fc7da7b:3-2-global-industrialization/a/japan-s-industrial-revolution