"Japan's reputation for getting the newest technology first doesn't ring very true these days" - but what if it did?
A sequel to "Land of the First Sound," taking place 39 years later. Essentially, it is a post-cyberpunk or cyberprep version of "Japan Takes Over The World" scenarios like "Mirrorshades" and "Hell Valley" by @rvbomally and "Beyond the Flesh" by Silas-Coldwine. While those scenarios were based on a 1980s perspective, when Japan led the world in hardware innovation, this is based on the post-80s paradigm shift to software-based innovation in which Japan has lagged. Things here are more like San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6 than Los Angeles in Blade Runner. I also took some cues from RvBOMally's commission "Red Alert 3: Divine Destiny" with a more peaceful version of Imperial Japan's infamous "Hakkō ichiu" philosophy. Has no relation to "Mirror On The Marne" by Mattystereo.
Hatsunia was inspired by the image of Japan as a futuristic, cutting-edge, "high-tech wonderland," which was satirized in this Onion article, and was eagerly dismantled by many people in the early 2010s. People usually cite the prevalence of fax machines as an example of how Japan isn't a leader in technology anymore, so Hatsunia got rid of those a very long time ago. Hatsunese corporate culture in general is also less rigid, risk-averse, and resistant to change compared to Japan.
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The year is 2046, and the world is now more connected than ever before, whether it be physically, virtually, economically, or diplomatically. The 21st century is a Pacific Century led by the Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union and the United States of America, and there is a growing sense of international unity that has been described as "a concert of the world under one roof." Associated with the Pacific Rim Organization is the European Union which, like the East Asian union, has grown further. It still hasn't turned into a single European Federation in fears that it might get too bureaucratic. The invention of commercially viable fusion power[1] in 2015 led to an upheaval in countries dependent on oil exports, which they are now recovering from. The Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics, which wasn't communist anymore but had become a kleptocracy, collapsed in 2022 and was replaced by a Russian government that was more friendly to its citizens and the rest of the world. Living conditions have greatly improved in African countries, partly through the assistance of foreign investment and relief aid. Although India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa operate as independent great powers, they are also influenced by the World Concert system.
At the technological frontier is Hatsunia, which is mainly known for the "Silicon Metropolis" that is the capital city of Miraito. Companies like Crypton Future Media (computer software and electronics), Mixu (social networking), and Ongakuten (online commerce)[2] have made their homes in Miraito, but they aren't so powerful as to have taken over the government, and are under sufficient regulation to prevent abuses of power. Although human cloning technology exists, it was the social conditions which supported working mothers[3] and immigration that have mostly allowed Hatsunia to maintain a stable population. Overall, Hatsunese society respects their ancient heritage, but doesn't let tradition become too ingrained[4] and hold them back as they continue to innovate and globalize.
Hatsunia's IT industry has always been pushing forward since the software and internet revolutions of the early 1990s. English being an official language in Hatsunia helped, as computer display and memory storage technologies were originally not sophisticated enough to accommodate Hatsunese writing[5]. In the 2000s, Crypton Future Media revolutionized mobile communications with the "Virtuoso" smartphone series. The worldwide smartphone market became dominated by Hatsunia and the United States. In the 2010s, mixed reality smartglasses that seamlessly blend the real and virtual worlds were first tested in Miraito's Daikoku ward. These glasses would be used by children in games such as virtual monster battles and by businesses doing serious design work. By the 2030s, cybernetic brain implants and the ability to transfer human consciousness into computer networks or into a full-body prosthetic had become commonplace. While this has had many benefits, especially for people who were physically disabled, it also had risks such as criminal hacking and cyberterrorism, which prompted the creation of a public cybersecurity agency.
Space travel used to be a realm exclusive to government-trained astronauts, billionaires, and perhaps multi-millionaires until Crypton Future Aerospace developed the fully reusable launch vehicle and spacecraft system "Mikumaru"[6] in the early 2020s as part of the Project DIVA (Development of Interplanetary Vehicle Architecture) program, which made spaceflight almost as affordable as air travel. Mikumaru became the workhorse of space development, allowing the construction of space hotels, settlements on the Moon and Mars, and extraterrestrial mines and factories. "Tsunagari," a constellation of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, provides an inexpensive low-latency internet service which is especially beneficial in remote areas. Other countries have followed in Crypton's footsteps as the expansion into space continued. Currently, the first crewed mission to the Jupiter system is being conducted, while mass drivers on the Moon launch the components of the first O'Neill cylinders.
Hatsunia is the leader in robotic systems and artificial intelligence. Mecha, around 5 meters tall at most, are used in some industrial workplaces, as well as the police and military in the form of spider-like tanks. There are androids that are indistinguishable from humans in appearance and behavior, with the "uncanny valley" effect having been overcome. They were given full citizenship in Hatsunia along with other human-equivalent AI entities, no matter what form they took. The push for human rights around the world had broadened into one for sapient rights. Work has become more automated (through non-sapient AI), leading to shorter workweeks and the necessitated implementation of a basic income system. With less work to do, there was more freedom to pursue artistic hobbies, such as digital music composition, painting, and writing, with peer production being common.
In 2007, the computer-generated singing character "Hatsune Miku," (surname going first here) whose name meant "the first sound from the future," made her debut as a modern version of ancient folklore about a legendary singer who was present at Hatsunia's founding. While this "virtual idol" was created by Crypton Future Media using vocal samples from voice actress Saki Fujita, the corporation did not control everything. Instead, all of the character's songs were fan-made, through software that could be purchased like a musical instrument. There were other virtual singing characters, known as "Vocaloids," which were released by Crypton and other companies (both inside and outside of Hatsunia) using a software engine by Yamaha Corporation. As a projection on glass, and later, an actual hologram, the character of Miku came to perform concerts on every continent, and even in space. Voice synthesis technology had also improved to the point where she sounded just like a human. However, Miku was only the name of a character until 2039, when an AI persona of the same name came online as the culmination of a sixteen-year-long program to carefully develop a friendly AI with greater-than-human intelligence, who could act as a non-partisan government advisor with citizen feedback while also performing concerts. Miku's physical "brain" is a supercomputer located deep within Mount Saki, less than 100 kilometers away from Miraito. As an AI entity, she presents herself on screens, holograms, and virtual environments.
She turned out to do her job so effectively that on 2046 August 31, a majority of citizens voted for the Artifical Intelligence Administration Act, which made Miku Hatsune the permanent leader of Hatsunia. With Hatsunia now being an "aiocracy" with cyberdemocratic elements and a ceremonial monarchy (Empress Sakihito being the current head of state), Miku holds the position of "Utahime," which literally means "song princess," but could also be translated as "diva" or "songstress." The Parliament of Hatsunia was replaced by a new legislative system called the Hatsune Network, in which Miku receives the thoughts and comments of everyone through cyberspace (the government made it a right for everyone to at least have access to a personal computing device), and through her vast and incomprehensible computational capacity, processes all of that information to determine the optimal policies for the satisfaction and well-being of all of Hatsunia's residents. Sending thoughts to her is voluntary as an all-pervasive mind-reading system would not only be considered unnecessarily intrusive, but also greatly slow down her processing speed. The arrangement is not flawless, as not every single person can be completely satisfied, and there are the occasional attempts to troll or hack into the system. There are also times when she makes seemingly self-serving decisions and demands, with explanations that would take months or even years for a human mind to fully receive. But with everyone's input, the system is continuously improving.
お姫様万歳!
[1] Assuming that all that was needed to stop the "fusion is x years away" cycle was to fund it more.
[2] Mixi (mikushi) and Rakuten, except more successful.
[3] It's what France has in OTL.
[4] Seems to be a favored word in criticisms of Japanese society. Inefficient business practices are "ingrained." Xenophobia and sexism are "ingrained." See also "entrenched" and "deep-seated."
[5] This was an important obstacle to overcome.
[6] Of course it's like a BFR, with a name based on the space tourism vehicle concept Kankoh-maru, but it's also based on this 2016 April Fool's joke by Crypton Future Media involving a solar system concert tour in 2039 (in the rocket is Crypton CEO Hiroyuki Itō). The rocket is orange because that is Crypton's "corporate color." The next year, they "announced" plans for a theme park on Mars called Crypton Future World, which would also open in 2039.
retcon (2018.08.20): Karafuto (Sakhalin) added as a product of the Northeast Asian War (Hatsunia + Korea vs Russia) in the early 20th century (credit to theg*ddam*hoi2fan), original map here
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