日本

Tokyo

Fascist

Neutral (Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere)

日本 was the leader of the Axis powers in the Pacific Theater. Some consider that World War II actually began with the invasion of 中华民国 by Japan, first by taking Manchuria and installing their puppet the 满洲国 regime. In 1937, after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japan declared war on China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War in which Japan invaded and conquered much of eastern China, installing additional puppet regimes along the way, including 蒙古国 and the "Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China". After invading China, Japan struck southwards, invading and conquering 英属马来亚 and the 荷属东印度 (Indonesia), in hopes of securing their resources, followed by an invasion of the 英属印度.

On August 6, 1945, the 美利坚合众国 dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, flattening the center of the city. Late in the evening of August 8, according to the Yalta agreements, the 苏维埃联盟 declared war on Japan, and shortly after midnight on August 9, attacked Manchukuo and Mengkukuo. Only hours later, the Americans dropped a second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, destroying a small portion of it. The total shock of these events forced Emperor Hirohito to intervene and compel the big six to agree on the terms of ending the war, taken by the Allies in the Potsdam Conference. After several days of backroom negotiations and failed attempts to destroy the stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons of Unit 731 in Manchuria, which were captured by Soviet paratroopers, and the collapse of the Kwantung Army, in August 15, Hirohito addressed the nation by radio and announced the surrender of Japan. The signing ceremony of the Act of Capitulation took place on September 2 aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63).

Geography

Japan is located in the far east of Asia. It is mainly made up of the four major islands: Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido. Japan also owns the Korean peninsular, the city of Quingdao, South Sakhalin and a lot of strategic islands in the pacific including: Taiwan, Okinawa, Saipan, Guam and Iwo Jima. Japan also controls the puppet states of 满洲国 and 蒙古国.

Mainland Japan is dominated by mountains, which run through almost the entire country. It has a couple of urban areas, namely Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. Flat, arable land can be found around the major cities of Japan.

Japan borders with the 苏维埃联盟, both directly through the Sakhalin island and the northern Korean border as well as the northern border of their puppet 满洲国. They also border 中华民国 thorugh Quingdao and their puppet 蒙古国. Mainland Japan is surrounded by sea, with the Sea of Japan to the west, the East China Sea to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

Historical background

After Japan's unification during the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Japanese Empire had undergone a period of rapid westernization and industrialization, with the goal of making Japan a power on par with the other western nations. With its newfound power, Japan sought to make up for its lack of resources by securing them overseas, through invading neighboring nations, starting with its invasion of Korea in 1895, the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895, where Japan conquered Taiwan. Succeeding in this, Japan later fought and won the Russo-Japanese War against the Russian Empire in 1904-1905, cementing itself as one of the world's great powers and first non-European nation to achieve this status. Allying itself with the United Kingdom in 1902, Japan joined World War I on the side of the Entente, conquering Germany's possessions in the Pacific and China.

During the Great Depression, the Japanese government had become increasingly militaristic, leading to the conquest of Manchuria in 1931, creating the puppet state of 满洲国. In 1933, further Chinese border territories were also conquered, leading to further puppet states, like 蒙古国. The Japanese government had begun declaring a campaign of "Asia for the Asians", by which they more or less meant "Asia for the Japanese", claiming a series of wars of "liberation" that were in reality further grabs for land and resources.

The government of Japan is still not satisfied, however, and seeks to further expand Japan's dominion in East Asia, its "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" at the expense of all caught in its way. Japan has countless plans drawn up for its conquest of Asia, some involve an invasion of the Chinese mainland and splitting up 中华民国 into loyal puppets, others calling for an invasion of 英属印度 and others involve invading European possessions in Indonesia and Indochina. Even more tenuous plans call for an invasion of Soviet Siberia, to claim its vast resources and wealth, another plan involves targeting 澳大利亚 and 新西兰 with Japan's biggest ambition being the concept of an invasion of the 美利坚合众国 in order to secure the nation's resources and industry and to topple Japan's perhaps biggest rival in the Pacific.

The Japanese Empire stands as the greatest power in East Asia, ready to raze anyone that gets in its way.

Events

主条目：Japanese events

National focus

Japanese national focus tree.

主条目：Japanese national focus tree

日本, as one of the seven major powers, has a unique national focus tree.

The Japanese national focus tree can be divided into 7 branches:

未曾設想的道路: The Communist branch and is organized around the idea of establishing a Communist state in Japan with the possibility of either joining the Soviets or forming a faction with the Chinese Communists. It requires 唤醒勇虎.

Purge the Kodoha Faction Branch: The historical Fascist tree, it focuses around the aggressive conquest of China, Indochina, Indonesia and the Philippines and an alliance with Siam.

National Mobilization Law/ National Defense State Sub-branches: Two Sub-branches that is used for both the Purge the Kodoha Faction Branch and the Support the Kodoha Faction Branch. It Increases economy law and allows Kamikaze Strikes.

Support the Kodoha Faction Branch: The Non-Aligned Branch is focused on building up to a war with the 苏维埃联盟 and joining the 德意志国's faction.

Strengthen the Civilian Government Branch: The Democratic branch starts a civil war with the fascists and installs a Constitutional Monarchy. It also liberates 大韩民国, the 菲律宾 and allows Japan to puppet or annex 荷属东印度, 英属马来亚 or Indochina. It requires 唤醒勇虎.

The Manchurian Project Branch: If 满洲国 is a subject, this branch expands 满洲国's Industry.

Army Expansion Law Branch: This branch expands 日本's army while also giving it the Bicycle Infantry, a unique unit for Japan.

Fighter Modernization Sub-branch: This sub-branch expands 日本's Airforce and connects to both the Army and Naval branches.

New Naval Estimates Branch: This branch expands 日本's naval research and industry.

Technology

这部分内容可能已不适合当前版本，最后更新于1.5。

Army Technology	Naval Technology	Air Technology	Electronics & Industry
Infantry Eq. I Motorized Marines I Engineer Company I Recon Company I Great War Tank Light Tank I Towed Artillery I	Destroyer I Upgraded Fubuki Class Light Cruiser II Heavy Cruiser II Battlecruiser I Battleship II Carrier II Submarine II Transport Ship	Interwar Fighter Interwar Carrier Fighter Interwar Bomber Close Air Support I Carrier CAS I Naval Bomber I Carrier Naval Bomber I	Synthetic Oil Experiments
Doctrines
Grand Battleplan	Base Strike	None

Politics

这部分内容可能已不适合当前版本，最后更新于1.5。

National Spirits

Japan starts with four national spirits in the base game:

State Shintoism

Factory Bomb Vulnerability: −10%
Division Recovery Rate: +10%

Since the Meiji Restoration we have sought to use the worship in Shinto shrines to promote imperial loyalty and aid in nation building. This has allowed us to build up a country that is ready to sacrifice much in the name of the state.

Zaibatsus

Daily Political Power Cost: +0.25
Trade Laws Cost: +25%
Economy Cost: +25%
民用工厂 Construction Speed: +5.00%
军用工厂 Construction Speed: +5.00%
海军船坞 Construction Speed: +5.00%
Consumer Goods factories: 5%

Duplicate Research Efforts

Air Research Time: +10%

Militarism

War Support: +20.00%
Mobilization Cost: -25%
Justify War Goal time: -20.0%
Research Time: +5.00%
民用工厂 Construction Speed: -10.00%

With the 唤醒勇虎 expansion enabled, Japan starts with an additional national spirit:

Interservice Rivalry - Balanced

With the 炮手就位 expansion enabled, Japan starts with an additional national spirit:

London Naval Treaty Signatory

Carrier Max Cost: 9500
Cruiser Max Cost: 5300
Heavy Ship Max Cost: 10000

We have signed the London Naval Treaty and accordingly are restricted in the size of our capital ships.

Diplomacy

Puppets : Japan has two puppets at the start of the game; 满洲国 and 蒙古国. Both of these countries are located in Northern China and are quite lackluster in terms of industry and military.

Political Parties

Political Party	Ideology	Popularity	Party Leader	Country Name	Is Ruling?
Taisei Yokusankai	Fascist	100%	Hirohito	Japan	Yes
Nihon Kyosan-to	Communist	0%	Kyuichi Tokuda	Japanese People's Republic	No
Rikken Minseito	Democratic	0%	Tetsu Katayama	State of Japan	No
Non-Aligned	Non-Aligned	0%	Random Leader	Japanese Shogunate	No

Staff and Designers

These are choices of ministers and design companies for the Empire of Japan.

Political Advisors
Advisor	Type	Effect	Cost()
Sanzo Nosaka	Communist Revolutionary	Daily Communism Support: +0.10 Has completed focus The Unthinkable Option	150
Kingoro Hashimoto	Fascist Demagogue	Daily Fascism Support: +0.10	150
Kijuro Shidehara	Democratic Reformer	Daily Democracy Support: +0.10 Has completed focus Strengthen Civilian Government	150
Mitsumasa Yonai	Silent Workhorse	Political Power Gain: +15%	150
Hiroshi Oshima	Prince of Terror	Effect of partisans on us: -25% Foreign subversive activities efficiency: -30% Non-core Manpower: +2%	150
Chiune Sugihara	Compassionate Gentleman	Improve relations opinion: +15%	150
Takuo Godo	War Industrialist	Military Factory Construction Speed: +10.0% Dockyard Construction Speed: +10.0% Fuel Silo Construction Speed: +10.0%	150

Tank Designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost()
Osaka Army Arsenal	Tank Designer	Armor Research Time: -10% Armor: Reliability: +5% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.	150

Ship Designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost()
Kure Naval Arsenal	Battlefleet Designer	Naval Research Time: -10% Capital Ship: Armor: +15% Naval firepower: +15% Screen: Torpedo attack: +25% Sub detection : -25% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired. Has completed focus Supremacy of the Battlefleet	75
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal	Pacific Fleet Designer	Naval Research Time: -10% Carrier: Deck size: +25% Armor: -15% Max Range: +25% Capital Ship: Max Range: +25% Screen: Max Range: +25% Submarine: Max Range: +25% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.	150
Sasebo Naval Arsenal	Coastal Defense Fleet Designer	Naval Research Time: -10% Carrier: Production Cost: -25% Deck size: -20% Max Range: -50% Capital Ship: Production Cost: -25% Armor: -20 % Naval firepower: -20% Max Range: -50% Screen: Production Cost: -25% Max Range: -50% Submarine: Production Cost: -25% Max Range: -50% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.	150
Maizuru Naval Arsenal	Escort Fleet Designer	Naval Research Time: -10% Screen: Max Range: +30% Sub detection: +10% Max Speed: +10% Production Cost: +10% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.	150

Aircraft Designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost()
Mitsubishi	Agility-focused Aircraft Designer	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Fighter: Agility: +20% Max Speed: +10% Carrier Fighter: Agility: +20% Max Speed: +10% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired. Has completed focus Agility Focus	150
Aichi	Range-focused Aircraft Designer	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Fighter: Range: +10% Heavy Fighter: Range: +10 % Reliability: +20 % Tactical Bomber: Reliability: +20% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired. Has completed focus Range Focus	150
Nakajima	Heavy Aircraft Designer	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Strategic Bomber: Strategic Bombing: +10% By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.	150
Yokosuka	Naval Aircraft Designer	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Naval Bomber: Operational Range: +10% Naval Attack: +10 % CV Naval Bomber: Operational Range: +10% Naval Attack: +10 % By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.	150

Materiel Designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost()
Tokyo Arsenal	Infantry Equipment Designer	Weapons and Equipment Research Time: -10%	150
Nissan	Motorized Equipment Designer	Motorization Research Time: -10%	150

Industrial Concern
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost()
Kawasaki	Industrial Concern	Industrial Research Time: -10%	150
Sumitomo	Electronics Concern	Electronics Research Time: -10%	150
Idemitsu Kosan	Refining Concern	Industrial Research Time: -5% Synthetic resources Research Time: -10%	150

Theorists
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost()
Tomoyuki Yamashita	Grand Battleplan Expert	Army Experience Gain: +0.05 daily Grand Battleplan Doctrine: -10%	250
Isoroku Yamamoto	Naval Aviation Pioneer	Naval Experience Gain: +0.05 daily Base Strike Doctrine: -10%	250
Yoshitoshi Tokugawa	Assault Aviation	Air Experience Gain: +0.05 daily Operational Integrity Doctrine: -10%	250
Hisaichi Terauchi	Military Theorist	Army Experience Gain: +0.05 daily Land Doctrine Research Time: -7%	150
Minoru Genda	Naval Theorist	Naval Experience Gain: +0.05 daily Naval Doctrine Research Time: -7%	150
Hino Kumazo	Air Warfare Theorist	Air Experience Gain: +0.05 daily Air Doctrine Research Time: -7%	150
Yoshio Nishina	Nuclear Scientist	Nuclear Research Time: -10%	150
Hideo Itokawa	Rocket Scientist	Rocket Research Time: -10%	150

Economy

这部分内容可能已不适合当前版本，最后更新于1.5。

Resource-wise, Japan finds itself in much the same place as Germany. While Japan has access to a satisfactory amount of chromium, tungsten, and steel, it suffers from a shortage of aluminum, and an extreme shortage of oil and rubber. Japan's shortage of oil and rubber at the game's beginning mostly shoehorns the Japanese player into the historical bog of an infantry army. Even a complete annexation of China will not solve Japan's problems, as China has more or less the same resource pool as Japan has. While the Japanese player can trade with the United States in the early game for oil, this ties up civilian factories, and the United States has an early focus to embargo Japan (which they will be likely to pursue with historical focus turned on).

Japan is in luck, however, as all the rubber and oil are a short boat ride and a war with the Allies away. Specifically, the largest supplies of rubber and oil in the game can be found in French Indochina, British Malaysia, and the Dutch East Indies. While Japan won't have complete control of these resources until they reach a peace conference with France, Britain, or the Netherlands, the available resources are more than abundant enough to fuel the construction of planes, ships, tanks, as well as any motorized designs Japan might have for the duration of the war. If the Japanese player does not desire war with the Allies, they will have access to the first technology allowing synthetic oil refineries in 1936, which opens up options for medium-scale production of aforementioned planes, ships, and tanks, without conquest. One thing to keep in mind when taking this route is that synthetic oil refineries are extremely expensive and time-consuming to construct, eating away time that could be used to build up other military and civilian factories with which to build up a force to take all the resources Japan could ever require to fulfill its dreams of Pacific domination.

Laws

这张表格可能已不适合当前版本，最后更新于1.9。

征兵法案	经济法案	贸易法案
有限征兵 2.5% 适役人口	部分动员 25% 生活消费品工厂 +10% 军用工厂建造速度 −10% 军转民消耗 −10% 民转军消耗 -10% 石油转换燃油效率	有限出口 25% 可出口资源 +1% 科研速度 +5% 工厂/海军船坞产出 +5% 建造速度 +10% 泄露给他国的民政情报 +5% 泄露给他国的海军情报

Industry

Factories 1936
19 Military Factories	15 Naval Dockyard	25 Civilian Factories

Factories 1939
31 Military Factories	21 Naval Dockyard	48 Civilian Factories

Resources

Total resources 1936
Oil	Rubber	Steel	Aluminum	Tungsten	Chromium
4	0	94	7	47	88

Total resources 1939
Oil	Rubber	Steel	Aluminum	Tungsten	Chromium
4	0	108	7	47	88

These numbers represent the available resources, depending on the trade law a certain amount may be traded away.

Military

这部分内容可能已不适合当前版本，最后更新于1.5。

Here the player can type some informative bits about this nation's armed forces in-game in 1936 and the following years.

Army

In 1936, Japan has mixed seasoned and green troops. Japan starts with 45 infantry divisions, 9 cavalry divisions, 3 light tanks, 2 motorized divisions and a marine division. To reflect historical accuracy, Japan begins the game with a number of divisions that begin with experience 2 and weapons 1. This, combined with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident national focus, allows the Japanese player multiple avenues for warfare with China as early as 1936. Japan also has some troops with basic equipment, good targets for a garrison of Japan's home island and Japan's matrix of pacific islands.

Examples of alternative division template names for Japan include:

Mountaineers - Yamahei-dan Shidan
Marines - Tokubetsu Rikusentai or just Rikusentai (naval infantry, as opposed to marines)
Paratroopers - Teishin Shidan
Motorized - Jidousha Shidan
Mechanized - Kikaika Shidan
Armor - Sensha Shidan

Motorized units list
Name	Type	Techyear
Type 94	Motorized	1936
Type 1 Ho-Ki	Mechanized I	1940
Type 1 Ho-Ha	Mechanized II	1942
Type 4 Ka-Tsu	Mechanized III	1944

Tank Units List
Name	Type	Tech Year	Variants TD / SPA / AAA
Ko-Gata	Great War Tank	1918
Type 94	Light Tank I	1934
Ha-Go	Light Tank II	1936	None / Ke-Nu / Ko-Hi AA
Ke-Ni	Light Tank III	1941	Ho-Ru / Ku-Se / Ta-Se
Chi-Ha	Medium Tank I	1939	Ho-Ni I / Ho-I / None
Chi-Nu	Medium Tank II	1941	Ho-Ni II / Ho-Ro / None
Chi-Ri	Medium Tank III	1943	Na-To / Ha-To / None
Type 95	Heavy Tank I	1934	Ka-To / Ji-Ro / None
Iwakuro	Heavy Tank II	1941	Ho-Ri / Ho-Chi / None
O-I	Heavy Tank III	1943
Type 2604	Super Heavy Tank	1943
Type 61	MBT	1945

Navy

Capital ships 1936
4 Carriers	6 Battleships	3 Battlecruisers	16 Heavy Cruisers

Screens and Submarines 1936
19 Light Cruisers	94 Destroyers	53 Submarines

Japan starts with several upgraded tier I ship classes. The Akagi carrier and Nagato battleship in particular have an especially high number of upgrade points. Japan also starts with 3 Kongo-class battleships which are tier II and 2 Mogami-class heavy cruisers that are also tier II. Under construction are 1 Soryu-class carrier, 1 Kongo-class battleship and 1 Mogami-class heavy cruiser along with 3 destroyers and 4 submarines. Japan starts with comparably high naval technology. Japan can also acquire Long Lance torpedoes from a national focus, which gives their torpedoes a longer range than any other nation.

Naval Units List
Name	Type	Tech Year
Minekaze Class	Destroyer I	1922
Asashio Class	Destroyer II	1936
Akizuki Class	Destroyer III	1940
Shimakaze Class	Destroyer IV	1944
Tenryu Class	Light Cruiser I	1922
Light Mogami Class	Light Cruiser II	1936
Agano Class	Light Cruiser III	1940
Agatsuma Class	Light Cruiser IV	1944
Furutaka Class	Heavy Cruiser I	1922
Heavy Mogami Class	Heavy Cruiser II	1936
Tone Class	Heavy Cruiser III	1940
Ibuki Class	Heavy Cruiser IV	1944
Amagi Class	Battlecruiser I	1922
Design B-65	Battlecruiser II	1940
Fuso Class	Battleship I	1922
Kongo Class	Battleship II	1936
Tajima Class	Battleship III	1940
Iwami Class	Battleship IV	1944
Yamato Class	Super Heavy Battleship I	1936
Super Yamato Class	Super Heavy Battleship II	1944
Kaga Class	Carrier I	1922
Soryu Class	Carrier II	1936
Shokaku Class	Carrier III	1940
Taiho Class	Carrier IV	1944
Kaichu Class	Submarines I	1922
Kaidai VI Class	Submarines II	1936
Ko/Otsu/Hei-Gata Class	Submarines III	1940
Sen-Toku Class	Submarines IV	1944

Air Force

Aircraft 1936
327 Close Air Support	339 Fighters	102 Naval Bombers	54 Tactical Bombers

Aircraft Types
Tech Year	Close Air Support (Carrier Variant)	Fighter (Carrier Variant)	Naval Bomber (Carrier Variant)	Heavy Fighter	Tactical Bomber	Strategic Bomber
1933		Type 91 (A4N)			G3M Rikko
1936	Ki-32 (D1A2)	Ki-27 (A5M)	G3M1 (B5N)	Ki-38	Ki-21	Ki-20
1940	Ki-51 (D3A)	Ki-43 Hayabusa (A6M Zero-sen)	G4M (B6N)	Ki-45 Toryu	Ki-48	Ki-49 Donryu
1944	Ki-66 (D4Y Suisei)	Ki-84 Hayate (A7M Reppu)	P1Y Ginga (B7A)	Ki-102	Ki-67	G8N Renzan
^{Jet Engine Technology}
1945		Kikka			Jet Tac Bomber I
1950		J7W Shidden-Kai			Jet Tac Bomber II	Jet Strat Bomber I

Military Staff

These are the Military Staff candidates for appointment of Imperial Japan.

Chief of Army
Candidate	Type I	Type II	Effects	Cost ()
Hajime Sugiyama	Army Drill	(Genius)	Division training time: -15% Has completed focus Army Expansion	150
Prince Kan'in Kotohito	Army Offense	(Specialist)	Division Attack: +5%	150
Hideki Tojo	Army Morale	(Expert)	Division recovery rate: +8%	150

Chief of Navy
Candidate	Type I	Type II	Effects	Cost ()
Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu	Naval Aviation	(Expert)	Naval Air Attacks from Carriers: +6% Naval Air Targeting from Carriers: +6% Naval Air Agility from Carriers: +8%	150
Osami Nagano	Commerce Raiding	(Specialist)	Convoy Raiding Efficiency: +10%	150
Shigetaro Shimada	Decisive Battle	(Expert)	Capital Ship Attack: +10% Capital Ship Armor: +10% Screen Attack: +10% Screen Defense: +10%	150

Chief of Airforce
Candidate	Type I	Type II	Effects	Cost ()
Torashiro Kawabe	Night Operations	(Specialist)	Night Operations Penalty: -10%	150
Korechika Anami	Ground Support	(Specialist)	Air Support: +5%	150
Kenji Doihara	All-Weather	(Specialist)	Bad Weather Penalty: -10%	150

Military High Command
Candidate	Type I	Type II	Effects	Cost ()
Tateo Kato	Air Combat Training	(Genius)	Ace Generation Chance +15%	150
Soemu Toyoda	Capital Ships	(Specialist)	Capital Ship Attack: +5% Capital Ship Armor: +5%	150
Hitoshi Imamura	Army Logistics	(Expert)	Division Attrition: -8%	150
Matome Ugaki	Naval Air Defense	(Expert)	Naval AA attack: +15%	150
Shunroku Hata	Concealment	(Expert)	Enemy Air Support: -10%	150
Mitsuo Fuchida	Tactical Bombing	(Expert)	Ground Support: +15%	150
Yasuji Okamura	Infantry	(Expert)	Infantry Division Attack: +10% Infantry Division Defense: +15%	150
Nishizo Tsukahara	Naval Strike	(Specialist)	Naval Bombing: +2% Naval Targeting: +2% Naval Agility: +2%	150
Chuichi Nagumo	Carriers	(Expert)	Sortie Efficiency +15%	150

Strategies and Guides

日本 The Empire of Japan is by far the strongest nation in East Asia when it comes to military strength and has plenty of options for expanding its sphere of influence. That being said, Japan suffers from a chronic lack of resources, given the size of its military and will, as it realized in real life, become very dependent on trade to fuel its war machine unless the problem is properly addressed. Japan is also not a very popular nation globally—the 联合王国, the 美利坚合众国 and the 苏维埃联盟 all have national focuses that enable them to go to war with Japan and the Together for Victory DLC will also turn 澳大利亚 and 新西兰 into possible enemies.

Japan's national focus tree contains many helpful perks and boosts that can greatly assist in early-game endeavors. The National Focus New Naval Estimates gives 4 naval dockyards while "Spiritual Mobilization" and "Warrior Traditions" raise the recruitable population by a noticeable margin.

Japan starts the game with a total of 59 factories (19 military, 25 civilian and 15 naval dockyards) which is comparable to most of the other major nations and this gives Japan the biggest industrial capacity in East Asia.

The Imperial Japanese army consists of a rather colorful mix of units, ranging from Regular to Green in experience and with varying levels of equipment. Many of the division templates are also somewhat questionable when it comes to composition. A lot of rearming and reorganizing will be needed in order to bring up the military to par with the other major powers.

The Imperial Japanese Navy is the third-largest navy in the world and the largest one in East Asia. Because Japan is an island nation and also controls a large matrix of smaller islands throughout the pacific ocean, the navy will be vital to ensure that the Japanese Empire remains properly connected and that supply lines remain open. As such, Japan will need to build up its naval dockyard capacity in order to allow it to expand its naval force and replace lost ships.

Once the initial buildup is completed there are several paths for Japan to take:

Initial conquest options

The Second Sino-Japanese War

Located to Japan's Southwest, 中华民国 presents a relatively early conquest goal for Japan. The Japanese national focus tree contains the necessary focuses to grant a war goal against China very early on in the game and this makes China a perfectly logical conquest option in the early game. When taking on China, the Japanese player must be aware of two crucial facts: first, China has the second highest (highest after unification) starting core population in the game and this grants it a near-bottomless manpower supply. As such, a war of attrition is not an option for Japan as Japan will run out of manpower long before China. Instead, the recommended path is for Japan to strike fast and strike hard, using equipment such as artillery and either heavy fighters or tanks to deal maximum damage to the Chinese forces. Second, it is recommended that the player strike China from multiple directions by opening new fronts through naval invasions. Once the war starts, two possible option for additional strikes would be a naval invasion of the Qingdao peninsula followed by a rush inland to cut off supply line to Beijing or an invasion of Southern China to capture a large portion of China's resources.

Once China falls, the player is left with two options: Annexation or Puppeting. Annexing China will grant Japan a good amount of build slots for construction (which is mostly useless as you have enough construction slots in your capital and way better infrastructure) as well as providing a boost to Japan's resource pool but an immense penalty will be applied to the local recruitable population, greatly reducing available manpower.

If the Japanese player elects to puppet China and has the Together For Victory DLC enabled, then they will be able to fully exploit China's immense manpower pool by recruiting colonial divisions or by requesting forces from China at any point, as China will retain full access to its manpower pool as a Japanese puppet. If the player elects this path, they should only fully annex coastal states, and perhaps even all states except Sichuan (which is the highest population state). China should still be left with enough manpower. Annexing the state of Hainan is highly recommended as this state can serve as a staging area for the Japanese Navy when fighting in Southern Asia.

With 1.9 alongside La Resistance, the Sino-Japanese War can easily turn into a meat grinder for Japan. You want to end the war as quickly as possible as garrison requirement will wear you down by attrition. You can set up collaboration government via espionage beforehand to make things easier and give you an alternative to puppeting China. Be sure to complete Develop Chinese Resources focus first before allowing the collaboration government to form or you will lose out on its bonuses. You can form the Collaboration Government with either Nationalist China or Communist China. Using Communist China as collaboration government might be a preferable option given their better national spirits and conscription laws but you will need more garrison during the time you are completing the focus as the compliance will only form in their starting area. Keep in mind that just like normal puppets, collaboration government will not give you access to their docks and the collaboration puppet will immediately form over all their core territory you possess during their formation which including Dalian, East Hebei, and Taiwan.

Southern Strike

Just south of Japan lies Indonesia and Indochina. These territories are very valuable for Japan as they contain large amounts of rubber as well as a moderate amount of oil, both which Japan sorely needs for tanks, trucks, planes and ships for its military.

Unfortunately for Japan, these territories are controlled by European colonial nations (the 荷属东印度 and 英属马来亚) and as such Japan will likely not be able to achieve full control of these areas until later in the game unless the player can somehow force through a peace treaty. Still, simply occupying the areas will be enough to extract the resources needed. As far as enemy opposition is concerned, the colonial nations are usually not very well defended so Japan's starting military power alone should be sufficient to capture the colonies if one acts fast enough. Invading the colonies will likely involve a lot of naval invasions or paratrooper drops (depending on personal preference) as well maintaining naval superiority around the islands.

Once the colonies are occupied, a good course of action would be to fortify the coast and station troops in the area to repel enemy attempts at retaking the areas. This is where puppet troops can come in handy, recruiting colonial troops or, if the division templates are good enough, requesting forces from puppets can allow the player to station puppet troops to garrison occupied areas for reducing resistance and repelling or at least delaying enemy incursions.

In La Resistance it is possible to form Collaboration Government on both Malaya and Dutch East Indies using espionage and it might be well worth the effort as your puppets will form immediately once they capitulated without the need of subduing the rest of the Allies. Likewise, be sure to complete Exploit the Southern Resource Area focus first before allowing the collaboration government to form or you will lose its bonuses, though this is only possible in the Fascist path.

Japan's national focus tree also contains focuses to aid in this path, allowing Japan to turn 暹罗 into a puppet as well as pressuring 法国 to give up Indochina.

Alternatively it's possible to justify on Dutch East Indies or Netherlands in the beginning and temporarily join Axis to take out Netherlands before they can join Allies.

Mid-game conquest options

Indian subjugation

After securing China, one possible alternative is to continue onward to India (the 英属印度) as having both India and China as puppets will more or less make Japan immune to casualties. India, unlike China is a puppet of the 联合王国 so attacking them will likely lead to war with the British. Given that India is very similar to China, possessing near-bottomless manpower but lacking in industry early on, the recommended approach for Japan would be a two-front invasion of India. Specifically, one example would be a land invasion of eastern India through southwestern China (and through Siam if said country has been puppeted) alongside a simultaneous naval invasion of the island of Ceylon and from there to southern India. Another option could be securing 西藏, 尼泊尔 and 不丹 and attacking from that direction as well although this comes with the disadvantage of offering a very chokepoint-heavy attack path due to the Himalayas.

Once again, Japan should preferably strike fast and strike hard in order to not give India any chance to mount an effective defense. This time, however, it is possible that the player may run into British and other Allied troops which presents a challenge in itself as these troops will (typically) be better equipped which can make them harder to fight than the typical Indian division.

Oil Rush

Beyond India (the 英属印度) lies the fifth biggest oil producer in the world - 伊朗. Capturing it will secure twice as much oil as the 荷属东印度, providing for Japan's medium-term oil needs as it expands in the Pacific.

Though small and non-aligned, Iran's border with India is very short and very mountainous, making the invasion surprisingly tough (but still a matter of weeks).

Iran also give you access to the 苏维埃联盟. If the 德意志国 are already close to Stalingrad, an invasion via Armenia could roll up the entire front. If not, you could blitz straight to Stalingrad or even Moscow while the bulk of Soviet forces are tied up in the West (which will collapse when half the front is deployed to deal with your invasion). You can end the war by Christmas.

Continue down under

After securing Indonesia and Indochina, Japan has the option to invade and capture 澳大利亚 and 新西兰. Capturing these territories will round out Japan's dominance of Oceania and will also remove the Allies' ability to effectively project power in the south Pacific. Australia and New Zealand are comparable to most European minor nations, possessing good technology but limited manpower. How well defended these nations are if attacked varies greatly; if Australia and/or New Zealand stay loyal to the United Kingdom, it is likely that they will send some of their troops overseas to help their overlord on other fronts. If they choose to sever ties and become independent, however (via Together For Victory), then they will be less inclined to send their troops elsewhere and may therefore be able to mount a more solid defense. In addition to that, going down the national focus trees can lead to Australia and/or New Zealand joining the Axis or Comintern and Australia can even form a faction with the USA, puppet/annex New Zealand and attack Japan.

Achievements

Sunrise Invasion

As Japan, conquer Mexico then Europe before 1945.

Tojo Shot First

As Japan, Nuke a core territory of the US before the US develops nuclear weapons

国家

主要国家	法国美利坚合众国联合王国德意志国意大利日本苏维埃联盟

次要国家	加拿大自治领澳大利亚新西兰南非英属印度捷克斯洛伐克匈牙利王国罗马尼亚王国南斯拉夫中华民国中共满洲国桂系滇系晋系西北三马新疆墨西哥荷兰西班牙葡萄牙保加利亚希腊王国土耳其立陶宛拉脱维亚爱沙尼亚波兰

其它国家	西班牙国西班牙共和国埃塞俄比亚

欧洲	阿尔巴尼亚奥地利比利时保加利亚捷克斯洛伐克丹麦爱沙尼亚芬兰法国德意志国希腊王国匈牙利王国爱尔兰意大利拉脱维亚立陶宛卢森堡荷兰挪威波兰葡萄牙西班牙罗马尼亚王国斯洛伐克苏维埃联盟瑞典瑞士土耳其联合王国南斯拉夫

北美	加拿大自治领哥斯达黎加古巴多米尼加共和国萨尔瓦多危地马拉海地洪都拉斯墨西哥尼加拉瓜巴拿马美利坚合众国

南美	阿根廷玻利维亚巴西智利哥伦比亚厄瓜多尔巴拉圭秘鲁乌拉圭委内瑞拉

亚洲	阿富汗不丹英属马来亚英属印度中华民国中共桂系伊朗伊拉克日本满洲国蒙古国蒙古尼泊尔阿曼菲律宾沙特阿拉伯晋系暹罗新疆唐努图瓦西藏西北三马也门滇系