Challenge: United British-Japanese Empire

Britain can easily make japan a colony, they´ll just have to be interested and arrive early enough.

You need an earlier POD for a Britain colonized by Japan, but... it´s just a question of technology, interest... and well Japan has the manpower to expand.

But neither of those would be a co-empire so to speak.
 
Okay, the only way I can see Japan becoming part of the United Kingdom is if Britain decides to incorporate the Japanese royal family into the British dynasty after conquering the islands.

So, why would they do that?

The best way is to have this as a preventive measure against revolt and rebbelion by the Japanese.

However, this wouldn't really work at all if it was done long enough after the conquest. So what made the British do this?

The easiest way to do that is to have this a lesson from experience. So, what you need is an earlier conquest of a monarchy that led to mass discontent, and preferably, the ejection of the ruling party, eg. the Brits.

As a colonial method, the previous lesson must have occured in the colonial world, as opposed to Europe. Africa and the Americas don't have any countries that fit this example, so it's got to be Asia.

So, let's say a wave of Asiaphilia overcomes Britain sometime in the mid-eighteenth century, and Britain attacks and quickly overcomes an Indian or SE Asian state (make it bigger than any previous gains), but is ejected by rebellion.

So now we have a reason for Britain to absorb the Japanese monarchy, but not a reason for them to colonize Japan.

How's this: The wave of Asiaphilia was not restricted to Britain. A rivalling colonial power (Spain works best in this case) conquers a near-to-Japan country, say, Korea. In order to counter Spanish influence in East Asia, Britain 'protects' and occupies Japan. The Spanish are eventually kicked out of Korea, but because of the union, Japan stays British.

Let's say this all happens between the Seven Year's War and ARW. We can assume that there's still enough discontent and rebellion in Japan to take away British troops from the ARW, so we might see Canada becoming part of America, or the Americans winning earlier.
 
POD: during the sengoku, the various warring factions stay almost evenly matched for three centuries, with no Tokugawa or anyone else dominating the country. so by the time of imperialism and colonization and all that, Japan is a mess of dozens of small warlord states who have been independent and resent eachother hugely. but nationalism starts to seep into Japan, and ala Romania and Bulgaria, they unite and choose to bring a foreign Emperor / Shogun in to rule them. they settle on a Windsor / Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and lo: a British Emperor of Japan. needless to say he quickly allies with the Empire, and Japan is subsequently declared a British protectorate.
 
Britain can easily make japan a colony, they´ll just have to be interested and arrive early enough.

You need an earlier POD for a Britain colonized by Japan, but... it´s just a question of technology, interest... and well Japan has the manpower to expand.

But neither of those would be a co-empire so to speak.

I could see one Island in Japan perhaps doing so in Kyushu perhaps, and than spreading thier influence somehow.

I just don't think that England has as many bullets as Japan has bodies. Add to, that the fact that everyone on Earth that isn't Japanese is a smelly barbarian, would seem to preclude to me that England couldn't really submit the entire country.

JMO though....:p
 

Glen

Moderator
POD 1 - Medieval Japan has a large wave of converts to Protestantism under the protection of a Protestant Emperor and Shogun.

POD 2 - Japan manages to stave off incorporation into any one Empire by playing European powers off each other, somewhat akin to Thailand.

POD 3 - Japan modernizes in the 19th and 20th century and takes its place on the world stage with an opportunistic approach to empire building that grows the empire but not antagonizing powers it can't handle or play off against another.

POD 4 - Britain and Japan stay out of any World Wars.

POD 5 - In the late 20th or early 21st century, a fairy-tale romance between the scions of the Empire of the Rising Sun and the Empire upon which the Sun Never Sets leads to popular opinion allowing the joint marriage of the royals and a personal union.

POD 6 - In response to globalization and world competition, and due to complementing strengths, the British and Japanese Empires grow closer, first in a Free Trade Union, but by the mid 21st century even contemplating a quasi-political union.
 
1240 - no Kamikaze - Genghis Khan conquers Japan

1840, Following the Opium Wars Europe moves to divide up China, Britain takes Japan.
 

Greisen

Banned
What if we open a portal between Britan and Japan somewhere in the Middle Ages? Who will conquer who?
 
Another idea is Britain suffering a terrible defeat, and being forced over to the Japanese.

Say (bordering on ASB) the Germans manage to somehow take the British Isles in the First World War (perhaps starving Britain into rebellion, and forcing the government and Royals out across the Atlantic). The Royal Navy escapes to Australia and other Far East colonies. Eventually the Royal Family moves here too, when a previously neutral America makes eyes at Canadia. An alliance of convenience between the colonial British and Japanese would make sense providing British forces were so strong as to maintain the status quo, with an view to sending a combined Japano-British force to retaking Britain.

This is, at least, the situation in the game Enigma: Rising Tide (further stories which I can proudly say I was part of :eek:)
 
Here's an old map of mine:

Japan-Britain (1914).PNG
 
Tenno Heika on the British throne :cool::cool::cool: !!

And that even means a more friendlier British Empire towards Ottoman Empire ;):D:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool: !!!!!!

You really have a crush with the Ottoman Empire lately, don't you, Xeno? You're even more excited than AHP! :D

Otherwise, while you folks have proposed some interesting ideas here, I feel this is really difficult...
 
Perhaps a more aggressive and expansionistic East India Company begins to slow meddle in Japanese affairs and eventually becomes responsible for a unified Japan. There would be a Clive type of character that solidifies English rule there and becomes the power behind the throne. Eventually, tho probably without a 'Great Mutiny' the EIC's governance of Japanese is taken over by the British Government and Victoria also becomes Empress of Japan.
 
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