NationStates Jolt Archive

My name is Yoshio.

I was born in the year of 1921, central era, the second child of four. My father was an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army. He served in the First World War, and Manchuria. He was killed by an angry Chinese peasant in the latter.

Me and my brother joined the Officer's College in 1939, and were made officers in 1940. I served in the conquest of Malasya, and was wounded in the leg. My Brother was sent to Hong Kong. He survived, with a wound to his arm. We recovered later in the year.

We both were sent to numerous places throughout the war, after we had recovered from our wounds. We kept in contact via letter and telegram, which was at best erratic. I stopped receiving messages from him in 1944.

Next I heard of him, he had died in Burma.

My final fight was in Okinawa. I lost a finger, took a piece of shrapnel to the leg there, and was captured by Americans.

And here I am, a general of the Imperial Army of the Second Empire of Japan, planning to do it all over again.

I am not an advocate of war, nor a opponent of it. Japan had survived without war for twenty years. But when America was destroyed, so was our economy. The government in charge thought holding on for the ride was the best opinion.

They were wrong. And now, Japan is how it was in the 30s. And it was ready to make its first strike...

The boardroom had a wooden table in the front of it, a projector resting in the middle of it, projecting a map of east Asia onto a whiteboard. A young general stood with a stick, and pointed toward random places on the map. He was one of those that wanted to see the old Japanese Empire restored. He wanted to see the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere restored. Sadly, that could not be. North Korea wasn't around at the beginning of the century.

I suggested this to the lad, and I could see that it seemed to take away his confidence. I took his place, and outlined my plan. I will still remember exactly what came out of my mouth that day for years to come.

"I know many of you desire for Japan to once again rule over east Asia, and yes, now is as good a time as ever to do that. However, many of you also know that right now, Japan is in tatters, to be honest. People are starving on the streets, unemployed and unhoused. This nation is more like China than Japan!"

"No, our first objective should be to once again start up our economy. If Japan has gone back to 1930, then we shall use the same solution!"

I took out a pen, and drew a circle around a dot east of Manchuria.

"This, my friends, is Vladivostok. Once a bastion of Russian power on the pacific coast, it is now a collection of disused ports. Ones that would see much better use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. I propose that we send troops not needed at home to take it. From there, we can launch a land invasion of Manchuko. I will lead the invasion of Vladivostok myself. Any questions?"

There were none.

"Very well. The invasion shall begin soon."

My heart was racing. Was this how politicians felt like? But it didn't feel finished, somehow. It needed a finishing blow...

"My fellow generals. The sun rises once again."

(OOC: Okay, it lacks an orbat, however this is a basic SIC declaration of sorts that I am to resume one of Japan's favourite pastimes. And that is SIC, so no condemnations or sudden decisions to invade Manchuria instead. As far as anyone is concerned, this never happened. To be continued soon.

And yes, the main character is my Great Commander.)

We had spent many months planning the invasion, while the ships went through their final stages of conversion into military vessels, and the troops were trained and drilled. It was no mean feat, raising an army. But we had done it. People are still starving, but somehow, the nation keeps on going.

We had spent an astronomical amount of money on the military; 1131 million dollars to be exact. The rest of the money we spent on keeping the infrastructure moving, buying diesel for our ships, rounds for our guns. He had stashed a good deal away for exploitation of Manchuria. Education and health were not the highest priorities. Indeed, it seemed that Japan was once again becoming Feudal. But it was either that, or no Japan.

I believe that the pen can be mightier than the sword in certain cases. In a world of poverty and one with no power structure, becoming the protectorate of a powerful state with the façade of a working economy might look more appealing. At least, more so than being taken by force. With this in mind, I sent two letters to whatever ruling bodies were in charge of Vladivostok:

To the Leader of Vladivostok

As you may or may not be aware, the Empire of Japan has, in the past year, been working to once again turn its military into a respectable force in the world. Half a million regular troops stand equipped, supported by an army of 350 tanks, not to mention a navy to project this power. Now, I'm sure you can guess that this is no longer the pitiful excuse of a military force that was the Japan Self-Defence Force. We stand to once again assert our power on the continent.

I offer you two choices; the first would see you declare yourself a protectorate of Japan, your ports and facilities open to us for use; the second is the same, only with us making the decision for you.

The Japanese forces have already left port. I trust that you will receive them with open arms when they arrive at Vladivostok.

Make the right choice.

(OOC: ORBAT: Two Sea Transports Transporting 100,000 Troops, with 300,000 in reserve for this campaign. 240 Tanks (not sure how much I can ferry in the transports. Whatever the sum is, take it from 240 and consider the rest of this number in reserve). 4 Corvettes, 2 Destroyers, escorted by 10 fighters; 20 fighters and 20 helicopters able to be called in if necessary. This is until I can station the things at Vladivostok. And also, when you send the letter back Anti, the ships won't actually be there, they'll be on their way. Just to clear that up. Artillery will most probably be ferried, however this'll be later.)

On December 3rd the "president" of Vladivostok recieved a letter from the nation Japan. It was an ultimatum that forced them to either become a protectorate or be subjected to the wrath of Japanese armed forces. The letter was largely ignored by the people. With fifteen corrupt mob-driven parties all claiming the city's presidency, and regular shootings taking place in the streets each day, the people of Vladivstok faced bigger issues than those imposed by a distant island nation. The threats were not heeded and life in the city went on as normal, quite tumultuoutsly. The general attitude was, "let them come, let's see what they can try do to us."

(OOC: Gah, we'll have to use the wonders of fluid time here.)

I was... displeased, to say the least, at the unofficial rejection of my demands. But with the reports coming in of the disorganised mess that was Vladivostok, I was not surprised. However, an idea arises. Would one of the mob bosses be interested in an alliance? I sent messages to one of the seafront bosses, hope if he's be interested in letting us use his docks, with the guarantee of the governorship of Vladivostok after.

I also sent some forces to the North of Vladivostok to scout out and prevent any people from leaving via the railway - which was unlikely, but you can never be too sure.

Also, I sent a small force to scout out the forces by the dockyards. It was only a couple of boats with the dark as its guard, but their information would be no doubt valuable in the coming conflict.

(OOC: Gah, we'll have to use the wonders of fluid time here.)

I was... displeased, to say the least, at the unofficial rejection of my demands. But with the reports coming in of the disorganised mess that was Vladivostok, I was not surprised. However, an idea arises. Would one of the mob bosses be interested in an alliance? I sent messages to one of the seafront bosses, hope if he's be interested in letting us use his docks, with the guarantee of the governorship of Vladivostok after.

I also sent some forces to the North of Vladivostok to scout out and prevent any people from leaving via the railway - which was unlikely, but you can never be too sure.

Also, I sent a small force to scout out the forces by the dockyards. It was only a couple of boats with the dark as its guard, but their information would be no doubt valuable in the coming conflict.

The run down ports hadn't seen action in over two years. The warehouses were crumbling and filled with squatters and homeless. The wooden docks had begun to fall apart and the ships lining them had been dormant for some time. Dmitri Rodya stood staring out over the icy water as a cold wind kicked up again. The sky was dark. The man's suit was the same grayish color. In his mouth was a cigarrette, a rare commodity in that isolated outpost of civilization and life. In his hand was a letter that had been left at his warehouse the previous night. The Japanese were offering him the city in return for his docks. But it looked like they were already using it, he had seen their agents skulking around his wharfes for days. He'd also heard that they had moved in to the north of the city blocking off the rails. Dmitri gestured to a man standing behind him without looking. The man, who had been leaning on Dmitri's black sedan, propped himself up and walked over to his boss.

"Yes sir?"

"Next time you see one of them wanderin' 'round here, tell him they can borrow the "honey" if I can have the "beehive".