What if Japan restablished the Japanese Empire when the world goes into a depression?

What if Japan restablished the Imperial Japanese Empire(Greater East Asia Co Prosperity sphere) when the world goes into a depression?

Now I know Japan is pacifist and harmless(Unless provoked) now but I wonder what happens if somehow it reverts back to it's Empire status?

Here is a scenario:

Due to a Global Economic Depression the USA had withdrawn all American bases from Japan and other nations. Meanwhile due to the economic depression Japan have experienced if own shtf scenario. In the midst of all the chaos a group of Japanese Commanders from the Japanese Maritime self defense force initated a coup to overthrow the current pacifist government and was able to restore order. However order comes with a price: civil liberties are suspended. While some of voice their opposition, the majority of the Japanese population thinks it necessary to bring order(Think Patriot Act and other un Constitutional rules) Americans experience due to so called Terrorist fears). As order was restored the new Japanese Government started implementing policies very similar to what Imperial Japan have during the 1930s. The build up their military under the guise of countering the Chinese and the Russians (Remember the US retreated from Japan at this stage so Japan is free to do what it wants).

With it's newfound military strength Japan decided to expand their sphere of influence by aggressively taking Phillppines, Indonesia and other SouthEast Asian nations while all the while keep saying to the international community that they do it to counter China (Remember again the US had loss it's sphere of influence in Asia so the whole world would think Japan's aggression is just in response to China's threat)

Remember folks before you criticize me, think of Imperial Japan and Germany during the 1930s. Due to the Great Depression, Japan and Germany is more willing to expand and plus the Japanese and German people were able to take radical militarist policies due to a depression that enable them to believe that what the militarists is doing is the right thing.

turn off the oil spigot and Japan will slowly die

Thats why they are working on Giant mechas...

Its like prewar germany, cant have an army so build an airforce.

Its the plot of most Giant Mech ANime, that the Gov went to robots since they could still build them with out violation of the treaties.

reply to post by Numbers33four


Well in this scenario US doesn't know Japan's real intention yet and will probably support Japan to counter China which is a bigger threat now

reply to post by benrl


Well that can be a possibility

reply to post by starwarsisreal


Seems like they are real interested in it now...

reply to post by starwarsisreal

Hypothetical in the extreme.
The imperialist path Japan took in the late 19th and early 20th century was under unique circumstances that will never be repeated again. Yes they say 'history repeats itself' etc but that would not apply here, it just wouldn't happen.

reply to post by seabhac-rua


Well you never know here. Look at Americans we allowed violation of the Consitution even though we are supposed to be outraged. Now this scenario is at least even better than North Korea becoming an Empire and conquering America. (Yes there is a game about it)

Here take a look

If they do then they will have to fund their own military, No more free ride from the U.S. The money they put into researching technology will be cut, because it will have to go into rebuilding military.They also will lose the sweet ride they have been getting in the U.S. import and export tariffs. I don't see Japan as becoming a threat in the near future.

japan is on the verge of like be a nuclear waste zone

A couple of things here:

1. We are already in a global depression. We entered a recession in 2008 and have still not come out of it. A long term recession is a depression. You won't hear governments or politicians saying the "D" word because they fear they will be blamed for it and it would scare the populace even more in to not spending.

2. If Japan started to annexe other nations, the UN would get involved, where this didn't happen in the 1940's. We saw what happened when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The UN removed them from the country. If the UN wants to be consistent, then they would surely send in a coalition military force to expel the invader from the member country.

reply to post by Krusty the Klown


But how about an economic collapse? I'm sure at this time nations will be more concerned about an internal problem when shtf

reply to post by todd44


They said the same thing with Germany not being a threat during the 1920s

reply to post by starwarsisreal


Well, it's just my opinion, I've studied Japanese culture and Japan is very different to the US.

Again, if you want to understand Japan's pre WW2 march to aggressive imperialism read the history.

Japan in a military/political sense is a very different country today, whereas the US has never ceased to be involved in some kind of conflict for the last 100 years.

Well,all those Nuclear reactors are targets, in my estimation. It wouldn't be hard, with a few tactical bombardments,and you have a Japan that couldn't function. All hypothetical of course......

I'll also add this, the US has it's military industrial complex which has been steering US governments since the civil war.

Heck, the US was responsible for making Japan a modern(20th century) military entity anyways, they(US) literally cannon blasted the Japanese into opening their country for trade, obviously weaponry being high on the 'for sale' list.

It has always been in the best interest of the MIC to keep America at war, whereas Japan has no such thing. War and conquest is not on Japan's 'things to do' list anymore while it's always been the top earner for the US.

Originally posted by starwarsisreal
What if Japan restablished the Imperial Japanese Empire(Greater East Asia Co Prosperity sphere) when the world goes into a depression?

Now I know Japan is pacifist and harmless(Unless provoked) now but I wonder what happens if somehow it reverts back to it's Empire status?

Here is a scenario:

Due to a Global Economic Depression the USA had withdrawn all American bases from Japan and other nations. Meanwhile due to the economic depression Japan have experienced if own shtf scenario. In the midst of all the chaos a group of Japanese Commanders from the Japanese Maritime self defense force initated a coup to overthrow the current pacifist government and was able to restore order. However order comes with a price: civil liberties are suspended. While some of voice their opposition, the majority of the Japanese population thinks it necessary to bring order(Think Patriot Act and other un Constitutional rules) Americans experience due to so called Terrorist fears). As order was restored the new Japanese Government started implementing policies very similar to what Imperial Japan have during the 1930s. The build up their military under the guise of countering the Chinese and the Russians (Remember the US retreated from Japan at this stage so Japan is free to do what it wants).

With it's newfound military strength Japan decided to expand their sphere of influence by aggressively taking Phillppines, Indonesia and other SouthEast Asian nations while all the while keep saying to the international community that they do it to counter China (Remember again the US had loss it's sphere of influence in Asia so the whole world would think Japan's aggression is just in response to China's threat)

Remember folks before you criticize me, think of Imperial Japan and Germany during the 1930s. Due to the Great Depression, Japan and Germany is more willing to expand and plus the Japanese and German people were able to take radical militarist policies due to a depression that enable them to believe that what the militarists is doing is the right thing.

edit on 7-7-2012 by starwarsisreal because: (no reason given)

Firstly Japan has been in a depression for the past 20 years, so if they were going to revive the Imperial Empire it most likely would have happenend already.

Secondly, nationalism in Japan is at record lows, remember WW2 was all about the superiority of the Japanese and Germans. So atm the Japanese aren't proud of their country this is a stark difference to the 1930s.

Three, what would Japan have to gain by invading local countries? If anything they are more on the defensive now that China is on their doorstep.

CK

Japan can't(& won't) wage war on anyone.

The American military bases have nothing to do with the Japanese behaving.

The Brit's could claim such, but it would only be a half truth. *After WWII, the Japanese were forbidden to raise any kind of army because of their actions and attitude toward human life. The Brit's were forefront in ensuring this.

The main reason why Japan will behave itself well into the 22nd century, is and always will be......China.

The Japanese have been nothing but absolute pricks to the Chinese for centuries. The Chinese people are actually pretty nice as people go, but they have had enough of the Japanese and their total lack of morals.

A thousand dictators(each worse than the last) could ravage the people of china for thousands of years and it would still pale in comparison to the atrocities committed by the Japanese.

Most of the younger members in here probably can't comprehend the gravity of the situation, so I'll try and give you an idea ....without going into the gory details....

...Everyone knows about the NAZI's and of the concentration camps like Auschwitz, but, few know of what happened in the Pacific.

Consider this.....Given what we know of Europe at the time.......The HC decided to drop the hydrogen bombs on Japan. Most seem to forget the importance of this single fact.......We could have bombed Germany back to the dark ages and ended the war in one fell swoop....Yet TPTB (real ones in this instance) blasted Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

The second world war is fast becoming a thing of legends.....soon to be myth.

reply to post by starwarsisreal


True but Germany didn't have everything to lose and nothing to gain. Japan has had a great ride since WW2, Do you think they would hand that over just to start a fight they know would be imposable to win?

Korea would be pretty much #ed.

There are tensions since sengoku jidai. thats the late 1500s early 1600s.

japan royally #ed korea up during that time before improper planning sent the whole invasion to crap