Prologue:
What Rises Must Set
Op-Ed Contributor
The Setting Sun? End of an era
By Lisa Fitzsimmons
Published: June 23rd, 1997
On the surface, the journey into Shanghai seems normal. On the drive from Suzhou, I still had to stop at a Japanese border post on the main highway. I still had to go through the same rigorous inspection of my passport, my car, and my luggage as any other visitor to the Shanghai Metropolitan Zone, with no trace of sloppiness on the part of the Japan Army personnel who man the checkpoints. However, there are differences even here: there are less guards than my previous journeys, and those that there are wear the new Japan Army uniforms rather than the old Imperial Japanese Army gear, while the guard-towers that dominated the skyline have already been demolished.
Once inside Shanghai proper, the strangeness intensifies. Gone are the near-ubiquitous advertisements in Japanese, while entire streets' worths of small businesses are either already closed or are in the midst of closing-down sales. Only the major
zaibatsu buildings - Mitsubishi, Nakajima and the like - remain unchanged, though the numbers of ethnic Japanese on the streets are much smaller than I can remember from any other visit to the city.
It's only on arriving at Government House, though, that the difference becomes immediately apparent. Lines of military jeeps are parked outside, while uniformed men carry file-box after file-box out of the building, loading the jeeps and double-timing it back for more. Just what they're removing is something I'd love to find out, but on parking I'm immediately ushered inside by two Arisaka-wielding guards and a harassed-looking
Shosa. Though none of these are especially cooperative, I'm able to gather that most of the garrison has already returned to Japan. Where Colonel Kono, the garrison CO might be, they refuse to comment.
The final change comes on my entry into the Governor's office. Since 1946, following the defeat of Axis China and partition between the Japan-backed Democratic Republic in the East and the Soviet-aligned People's Republic in the West, the Japanese Governors of Shanghai have been military men, rotating between Army and Navy leaders depending on who's ahead in the Tokyo faction-fighting. Governor Nishimura Kairo, however, is a civilian, elegant in a three-piece suit. Clearly, after the attempted Army coup six months ago which finally led to the IJA becoming the JA - not to mention the attempted coups in 1987, 1990 and 1993 -the civilian government is taking no chances.
After being ushered into a seat and exchanging formal pleasantries, I come to the point: how does it feel, being the last Japanese Governor of Shanghai a week before the city's return to the ten year-old Union of China?
"I see myself as more of a facilitator than a Governor," Nishimura-san informs me. "The people of China have finally embraced their own destiny, and now I, on behalf of the Imperial government, am facilitating the return of a Chinese city to the awakened people of China."
A Chinese city, certainly, but one that's been administered as part of the
Dai-Nihon Teikoku for over half a century. And this handover comes at a time of change for the Empire, with the return of Hainan Island, the granting of increased autonomy to the Korean Peninsula, and large drawdowns on the nation's Army in the wake of the thawing of the Cold War. Isn't this just one more sign of growing weakness for the Empire?
"Absolutely not," Nishimura-San says firmly. "Japan has always sought unity and advancement for Asia, through the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was that desire that led us to assist the Democratic Republic of China and the Empire of Manchukuo against the threat of Communism, and to bring them into the Co-Prosperity Sphere alongside Mengkukuo, Indochina and Thailand, and later to extend the hand of friendship to Indonesia and Burma when they became independent. Now that China is united and whole, it only strengthens that cause."
Not entirely united, of course. Manchukuo remains an independent nation, ruled by the Aisin-Gioro dynasty and propped up by Japan, while Mengkukuo fused with Soviet Mongolia to form Greater Mongolia - now a neutral nation, by virtue of the Treaty of Ulaanbaatar between the Empire of Japan and the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics. And, of course, Formosa is still the jewel in Japan's imperial crown. However, the Union of China has formally recognised Japanese rule over Formosa, and they recognise that 'at this present time, Manchuria is effectively controlled by the Aisin-Gioro'. Still, even without Manchuria, a united China - one that has formally joined the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere - has the potential to become a power that could quickly eclipse Japan as the leading nation of East Asia. Governor Nishimura's words, spoken in the middle of a city being abandoned in stages, have the air of a man whistling past a graveyard.
CNN News - Transcript of interview with Damon Kennedy, former ambassador to the Empire of Japan
September 26th, 1998
CNN: So, Mr Kennedy, you feel that we shouldn't discount the Empire of Japan as a force in the world.
Kennedy: That's correct.
CNN: And yet, we've been seeing considerable contraction in the Empire over the last few years. The civilian government has continued with defence cuts and drawdowns in the military...
Kennedy: The
Army. Sorry, but you need to underline that. These aren't military cuts across the board, they're largely focused on the Army.
CNN: You feel that's an important distinction?
Kennedy: Absolutely. The Imperial Japanese Navy is still the second-largest in the world, and the government has publicly committed to maintaining a four-carrier fleet - of nuclear-powered supercarriers -and the maritime strike bomber force. That means that the Empire maintains considerable power-projection capability, certainly throughout Asia and even beyond. And let's face it, it's navies and air forces that make the difference in modern warfare. The Imperial Japanese Army was a bloated mess that drained money and resources. Reductions will cut out a huge amount of dead wood.
CNN: Point conceded, but the question still stands. With the return of Shanghai and Hainan, and the ongoing negotiations in Korea, doesn't this seem to indicate that the world's last empire is finally coming to an end?
Kennedy: It might seem like that, and I'd certainly say that Japan's time as East Asia's sole superpower is at an end. But I think that long-term, Japan will emerge stronger. With a genuine elected government, with a capitalist economic system, and with less money being spent on defence, I foresee Japan moving to become an economic power in the vein of Indonesia - only this time with naval and nuclear power to back it up.
CNN: But...
Kennedy: And let's not forget Manchukuo. As long as Manchu oil and minerals are available to Japan - and with twenty million Japanese living there, that's not likely to change anytime soon - the Empire is
not a spent force.
*
Hello friends and neighbours! This here marks the beginning of my first original TL. It's kind of unusual, in that it comes a spell after the POD (a WWII in which China was an Axis power) rather than beginning with the POD and going on from there. A heavy amount of emphasis is on Asia, as you might guess.
This is my first go operating without something else to go on - my other project started with TL-191, so it's not exactly original - so I expect that there will be flaws. Many flaws. So constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged, and I hope that any errors or stupid mistakes will - eventually - be forgiven


Updates should appear once a week.
The next update will take things from the immediate aftermath of the war.