DBWI Challenge: Nuke Japan

As it says on the tin. With a POD of no earlier than 1867, get someone to use one or more nuclear weapons on Japan.

Bonus points:

+1: Not an act of nuclear terrorism. Too easy of a cop out.

+3 points: Japan starts the war that results in its nuking.

+5 points: A major power, like China, Grossdeutschland, the British Empire or the United States uses a nuclear weapon on Japan.

+7 points: An insane, violent, militaristic regime who like to pretend they are carrying on the legacy of the Samurai takes over and governs Japan.

+9 points: Japan takes over substantial parts of the Chinese Empire, declares war on the United States, Great Britain and Russia and fights them all at the same time.

+12 points: Get the aforementioned insane militaristic regime to perform this act from famed alternate history author Iris Chang's book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_nanking

+15 points: Get everyone in Japan to deny the fact afterwards.

This might be a tough one, because of the following complications:

1.) The worst thing the Japanese have done to anyone else is make bizarre pornography. With the exception of maybe the Icelandic, the Japanese are possibly the most innocuous people in the world.

2.) There has not been a major war in Japan since the early 1600s. Furthermore, Japan has never been in an armed conflict with Western powers.

3.) The various unequal treaties made with Western powers in exchange for economic development aid in the 19th and early 20th centuries specifically prohibit Japan from maintaining a military capable of offensive operations. This clause is also written into their constitution.

Alright kids, have at it.

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Leaderboard:
Jakewilson: 16 points.
 
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This is rather morbid, but I'll try the first four.
So, as you know the Red state in Russia was destroyed by the Tripartite Coalition (France, Britain, Germany) in the Red War in 1919. Immediately after the March 4th Armistice in 1918, however, there had been a great deal of communist agitation. Suppose the Kaiser, like his cousin, had abdicated and that this was followed by a Red takeover (I know it's hard to imagine Germans turning on their monarchy, but there you go). The strength of the Red Russian/German alliance would be such that the Western Powers would be forced to accommodate them. With Red Russia at their border, Japan breaks the unequal treaties and begins an arms buildup. Britain, France, and the US tolerate this because they want to box in the Red sphere of influence. Japan falls further into Red paranoia (think France in the 30s) that discredits civilian government and eventually a military regime takes over. They promote a national unity culture based on the samurai ethic. The Chinese Empire falls back into the disunity of the 1911-1916 period after a succession crisis, Russia intervenes with money for the Chinese communists, and Japan preemptively invades. They are initially greeted positively by many Chinese and swiftly take Korea, Beiping, Nanjing, Formosa, and half of Manchuria. After a while, though, Japanese occupation begins to grate, especially after Japan unilaterally annexes the Ryukyus and Korea from China. Russia intervenes to 'liberate' China from the Japanese, and after a protracted struggle drive Japan from Korea and invade Hokkaido. Japan, adhering to the old samurai ethic, refuses to surrender, and Russia decides to use nuclear weapons developed by their German allies to attack command and military targets until Japan's war making capacity was wiped out.
Rather dark, but you asked for nukes.
 
The only gaps I can see are that Britain and France would intervene in Europe if Japan went to war in the Far East. It'd be their perfect opportunity. The second is the hand-waving required to make China unstable for such a long period of time. It's just not in China's culture to be so divided.
 
Hmm... The POD really has to be 1854 when the US 'opens up Japan to trade' i.e. Admiral Perry bitchslaps the isolationist Shogunate so hard even the most traditionalist Japanese couldn't ignore it.

You'd also have to get rid of VP/President Sickles after Lincoln dies on October 17, 1865 of what is believed to be multiple endocrine neoplasia and the wave of imperialism Sickles used to take the nation's mind off reconstruction. Maybe have him injured at Gettysburg rather than being the lynchpin to the victory there. Without Sickles you probably don't get the Annexation of Santo Dominigo in 1866 or the US going, "Hey, remember, 12 years ago when we opened up that far East nation to trade? What was it called again?... Japan... That's it! Let's go back there!" in Farragut's 1868 expedition.

The Meiji Restoration was really 'doomed' to 'success' not of its own doing but through the attentions of the US (that's not to say Japan couldn't develop, just not the way they did). Without US intervention you don't get the transition to a Constitutional Monarchy in 1889 or to the full Republic in 1936 after Hirohito backs that asinine 2-2-6 'coup attempt' with the military.

edit: God, even the +1 Point makes my brain hurt without a cop out like an accidental launch or terrorist attack... The Japanese are probably the most pacifist people on earth (not that they won't fight pretty ferociously when they have to, the Korean Incident of 1959 showed that) but the thought of them initiating an aggressive war is simply unthinkable beyond 1889.
 
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What were the chances of the 2-2-6 coup anyway? Wasn't the Emperor forced to abdicate once the general strikes caused the economy to grind to a halt?

A militarist coup in Japan probably wouldn't have worked because the people were rather unused to making war after so many centuries of not doing so.

And it's plausible for China to remain divided for a certain period of time. There were certain periods in Chinese history where civil war raged on for over a century or two.
 
Hmm... Sorry I can't think of an 1867 POD but here's something from 1863.

1. Dan Sickles is grievously injured at Gettysburg when a Confederate artillery shell blows his leg off during his charge into the Peach Orchard (he initially planned to do this but was stopped by Meade), rather than holding the line and slaughtering the Confederates in "Hood's Charge" (to be repeated the third day even worse with "Pickett's Charge") Some other Democrat gets nominated on Lincoln's 'unity' ticket.

2. The US remains preoccupied with reconstruction and the Meiji 'Restoration' truly means a restoration of Imperial power over the Shogunate.

3. No other European Imperialist power looks to conquer/colonize Japan the way they've done / will do to Africa, India, SE Asia, China and Korea... :confused: (real ASB here, Japan is a 'prime' country and a decade or two of industrialization / modernization isn't going to save them from the European juggernauts any more than China was saved from the Opium Wars)

4. Japan gets through colonialism intact, modern and without a 'patron' / 'conqueror' and decides to do some imperialism of its own, probably vs. Korea if it hasn't already been swallowed up by Russia/France/Britain...

5. Now stay with me cause I'm going to skirt ASB here... Sometime in the late 1800's early 1900's this totally Imperial Japan takes on either Russia, Germany or Spain and BEATS THEM (I'm only including those three since they have cruddy navies at the time, France/Britain would just laugh and crush the Japanese). This puts Japan on the footing of at least a minor European power.

6. The Republic of China doesn't get its footing under Sun Yat Sen (it was a very close thing IRL). The Imperialist Japanese see China as an easy picking, which is quite a role reversal when you think about it.

7. Imperial Japan gets taken over by the same type of batshit insane people that tried the 2-2-6 coup, only instead of an empty figurehead Emperor and a couple hundred whackjobs it's a majority of the military and government. They take Japan back 400 years to Emperor worship and other kooky stuff.

8. Insane Japan (can't really call them Imperial at this point) starts acting really poorly to it's colonized subjects aka China/Korea and gets an embargo and sanctions slapped on them. Nanking happens

9. Insane Japan declares war on everyone "FOR THE EMPEROR!" as though they are in War Hammer 40k... after all they took down (insert third rate European Navy here) they surely can take on the world, right?

10. Insane Japan get's nuked.

11. Sane Japan , cured of its insanity, makes up the excuse that "We were all really drunk that day and its actually YOUR fault because.... because... well it just IS!"

Is that ASB or what!?

ooc: Sickles staying put is thanks to Usertron's wonderful 'Grant at Gettysburg' TL
 
What were the chances of the 2-2-6 coup anyway? Wasn't the Emperor forced to abdicate once the general strikes caused the economy to grind to a halt?

A militarist coup in Japan probably wouldn't have worked because the people were rather unused to making war after so many centuries of not doing so.

And it's plausible for China to remain divided for a certain period of time. There were certain periods in Chinese history where civil war raged on for over a century or two.

2-2-6 had a 0% chance of working. It was the delusions of grandeur by a spoiled brat pining for the bad old days when Japan worshiped Emperors and his cult who were as insane as Jim Jones's cult.

It's not so much that the Japanese were 'unused to making war', heck there are more Japanese peacekeepers/soldiers in the League of Nations humanitarian security forces than any other nation. Its more than the Japanese are totally unused to having the military play a prominent or political role in their lives. The JSDF is a powerful force with training, strategy and elan equal to any in the world, but it's a force modeled similarly the USA, immensely powerful for the roles it is designated to play but a completely non political entity totally unlike the Royal Navy, the Italian AF or especially the German Army (Germany is more an Army with a country, not a Country with an army).
 
ooc: I'm going to have it called the "Boshin Revolt" or something, so that it's easy enough to gloss over as not being a war per se.

To Lloyd 007: China is not a Republic. China has never been a Republic. China is an Empire. Sun Yat Sen was executed for treason against the Son of Heaven.

Your ATL scenario sort of doesn't solve the problem of the two 800 lb. gorillas in Japan's backyard, China and the United States. Why the Chinese or Americans wouldn't crush a militaristic, upstart Japan the second they finished defeating the Russian navy (could they even do that?) is beyond me.

You have to find some way to curb America's imperialistic ambitions as well. They would have been kept under wraps just because some guy loses his leg at Gettysburg.
 
China is an Empire, but it would have been stronger as a Republic since as an Empire it kept getting smacked around by the European Imperialists until the 1930's when the first revolutions started. As a Republic at least it would have gotten the much stronger support of the US and possibly France and not gotten the Tri-Partite beatdown that happened when the USA's favorite Sun (get it :D) was executed and the Independence War happened. True it brought China together but also left them terribly weakened until the 60's. A US that isn't in Japan is probably in China supporting republican movements which is enough to give the Euros pause even more than OTL. My ATL takes place in the early 1900's with a weak China and an uninvolved USA (which also requires the A-bomb to be developed long before OTL's 1963, possible if there is a massive conflict in the 30's-40's)

Also Dan Sickles is pretty critical for American Imperialism. The guy was a certifiable political genius, certifiably insane that is... the first American to successfully use the temporary insanity defense against a murder charge... He took a nation looking inward after 4 years of brutal civil war and in 8 years had it looking outward again with the Annexation of Santo Dominigo, the Alaska Purchase, the Investing of Liberia and most especially the Farragut Expedition. I dunno if someone like Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's second choice) would have been nearly as irrepressible as Sickles or able to work with the Radical Republican Congress or the Military as well as he did in putting together the 'expeditions' that were so crucial in establishing American Imperial ambitions.

Although it is true Sickles isn't the only American imperialist at the time. Seward and Grant were also quite imperialistic, the problem is they were also Republicans and by 1866 onward there simply wasn't enough Reps in the House/Senate to support them without Dem support. Sickles, as a Democrat, was able to get a lot of stuff passed that he really shouldn't have been able to get through.

Your last point is the most valid of course... How any Japan with 40 years of industrialization beats a European power with 100+ years of industrialization is really beyond me. Their easiest target would be the Spanish which had an aging fleet and substantial colonial possessions in the Philippines. Then Germany which although a land superpower doesn't have a big fleet and it's Pacific Colonies are far flung, toughest would be Russia with a land connection to Port Arthur and a substantial European Fleet if it actually came to their Pacific squadrons being defeated (of course the 10k mile trip that said European Fleet would have to take wouldn't do it any favors).

Like I said my brain is hurting even trying to think about it.
 
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