Japan's role in the Great War, much like in real life, was mainly focused on taking German pacific islands, and making attempts to assert control over China. However, due to the extended length of the Great War, Japan's position as a producer of war materials for it's European allies provided the nation with a large amount of excess income and, once the war ended, an excess of war materials that the Europeans both no longer had a need for, and refused to continue paying for. Having nobody to sell the materials to, and offended by the Europeans refusal to honor their deals to continue buying the supplies, the Japanese decided to take payments from the Europeans in the form of their remaining holdings in the Pacific.

In the summer of 1926, Japan broke it's alliances with the crippled European powers, following up with immediate declarations of war for their Pacific holdings. The Europeans, unable to send forces to the other side of the world to stop the Japanese, could do nothing but turn a blind eye as their colonial holdings were forced into submission. Seeing that the Europeans were not going to retaliate, Japan pushed further in 1929, taking Hong Kong, as well as raiding various Chinese warlords along the coast, though those never escalated to much, and usually ended without continued occupation. Seeing it's successes, without a single failure, Japan began to plot larger invasions against French Vietnam, and the British dominions of New Zealand and Australia. However, just as Japan was about to launch it's first invasions into Vietnam and New Zealand, a delayed appearance of the Rice Riots reared it's head, forcing the Japanese military to cancel the invasions in order to deal with great turmoil back home.

Once the riots had calmed, the Japanese government was forced to focus on agriculture and civil issues, which delayed it's invasions of Vietnam and New Zealand indefinitely. Unable, and unwilling, to return to it's conquest, Japan traded in it's war machines for farming supplies, and it's war plans for road plans. Just when it seemed at it's strongest, Japan was forced to disappear form the world's stage. At least, until the deterioration of China's political state became too much for the Japanese to resist. Knowing that they needed a new source of income to support it's Empire, and realizing that the Europeans might put up a fight now, Japan abandoned it's ambition for Pacific domination, and instead set it's eyes on China.

With a surge of renewed vigor, the Japanese landed a mass of their forces in Korea, quickly marching them North into Manchuria. The Japanese military, being much better equipped (and supplied, thanks to the unused resources the Europeans left them with) than the Chinese warlords, managed to quickly dominate Manchuria, and even pushed into Beijing with ease. In order to maintain control the the region as they continued their aggressive push into China, the Japanese installed the former emperor Puyi (who had been living in exile in Japan), as the local governor. Despite various differences shared between Puyi and the Japanese government, he continued to rule the territory under Japan without little to no complications. As the war dragged on, the Japanese continually battered and besieged the Chinese, until they managed to drive the Kuomintang completely from the coast, taking full control of it. A few key cities would occasionally switch hands, as Chinese “rebels” would take control, but the coast largely remained under Japanese control.

Starting in the Autumn of 1933, Japan felt secure in it's control of it's Chinese territories. In total secrecy, even from the Manchurian government, it moved the “Japanese Army Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Unit of the Kwantong Army” (aka, Unit 731) into Manchuria, where they began their horrific experiments under the guise of a medical unit for the army. The acts committed there were so secret, in fact, that only a handful of people close to the emperor himself knew of the unit's true purpose.

In the following years, Japan enjoyed a period of almost uncontested rule in China. When there were revolts, the Imperial Army was able to quash them with ease, and would make effort to make the rebels an example, throwing parades all throughout their territories to celebrate the defeat of another group of Chinese traitors. They were so focused on these small victories, however, that they neglected to pay any attention to the free territories in the West, where the instrument of their destruction was being brought to life. And when it finally decided to strike, the Japanese would be completely unable to stop it.

The Spring of 1954 was arguably the beginning of the end of Japan's rule in China. The invasion had all but slowed to a halt, as the supplies it had stockpiled at the end of the Great War were finally running out, and, while the Japanese government had the raw materials and manpower to create more supplies, it wasn't nearly enough for a prolonged fight against China. Rumor quickly spread among the troops in China that the government had given up the Chinese front, that they had been abandoned, and that the Chinese, like the dogs they were, could smell that. Many chalked it up to superstitious rumors, as they had no reason to doubt their government, and had proven time and time again the Chinese couldn't fight back.

But then the KMT proved them wrong.

Like dominoes, the Japanese Imperial holdings began to fall to the KMT, as the Japanese military could do nothing but attempt a meager defense before being completely overrun, with the remaining soldiers being forced to retreat, or be captured. Every once in a while, they could hold a location for a month, maybe two, but they just didn't have the supplies required to keep defending against the KMT. The Japanese could do nothing but pull back to Manchuria, losing even the heavily fortified trophy city of Beijing. Before they knew it, they had lost all holdings directly under the control of Hirohito, with only Puyi's Manchuria remaining. It was here that Japan was finally able to hold a front, which would be their border with the Chinese for the better half of the next decade.

The spring of 1957 would mark the event know in Japan as the Red Tide. Without warning, the Chinese Communists swept through Manchuria so fast, that by the time new orders could be relayed, three fronts would already be on their last legs. The Imperial Army was being humiliated, and could do nothing about it. Their soldiers had gotten used to a comfortable, easy life, and seemed to have forgotten how to fight properly when the Chinese arrived. Refusing to back down, back lacking the skills needed to defend their territories, the Japanese didn't stand a chance. The ease of the Chinese re-conquest ominously mirrored Japan's own ease in it's original capture from the Chinese years before. A tide of blood, washing over Manchuria and returning to Korea in place of the soldiers to which it belonged. Even unit 731 fell to the Chinese before they could escape, revealing it's secrets to those whom the Emperor wanted to see them the least. Disgraced beyond belief, the Emperor added one more stain to his record, pitting the acts of 731 on Puyi, and throwing him to the Chinese like a scrap of meat to a pack of starved dogs.

Soon, the declaration came out that Japan would no longer support the Manchurian government, and that all ties were severed, effectively surrendering to China without actually saying it. Shamed beyond belief, the Japanese government once again withdrew from the world, dealing with the mounting tension internally, as threats of rebellions across it's southern islands grew, and disgruntled soldiers constantly returned to civilian life, angry at themselves for allowing the Empire to be disgraced like it was. This period of time, now dubbed the Shadow Era, saw the collapse of Japan as the greatest power in Asia. Unable to keep rebellions down due to a quickly dwindling supply of soldiers willing to fight for the Empire, many of the small, previously European islands broke away from the Empire, while large scale revolts brought the Empire to it's knees in the East Indies and Papua New Guinea. Back at home, the people were continuing to lose faith in their government, and many were beginning to demand that Japan adopt communist ideas, feeling that they were what lead China to it's success over Japan. This idea was enforced even more, when China took Taiwan back from Japan in the Autumn of 1970. The following year, a Communist revolt started in North Korea, that eventually branched to Japan itself. Unable to fight in both Korea and at home, the Japanese government released the Pyongyang based government as an independent state, removing half of it's only remaining mainland territory from it's map.

The communists continued their revolts in Japan, taking control of everything West of Kyoto. Hirohito, who up until this point had already been struggling with his poor health, died due to the severe stress of the situation, leaving a vengeful son, Akihito, to take the throne.

Within the first couple of months as Emperor, Akihito saw his fathers government executed for treason, as they were unable to calm the rebellions while his father was unfit to rule. With the government positions open, he declared that Japan would hold it's first public election, due to the overwhelming number of communist supporters in the country, agreeing to abdicate to the communist government, should they win. While the people applauded the emperor's decision, he began to move behind the scenes, secretly appointing various members of the military to government positions, and beginning to plot the end of the Japanese Communist Party.

Three months later, a large rally was held by the JCP in Tokyo, where nearly every major person of the party was present, along with thousands of supporters. As they enjoyed their rally, and were distracted by the various ongoing of it, Akihito made his move. All of a sudden, soldiers appeared from every direction, completely blocking off the square in which the rally was being held. Helicopters appeared overhead, and tear gas was dropped into the middle of the crowd. From a nearby building, Akihito gave a command, and from all directions, bullets began to fly into the panicked crowd. One by one, the bulk of the Communist party was slaughtered, while Akihito and the heads of the military watched on. Following the the death of the final few members, Tokyo was put under martial law, and the crowd of citizens who has gathered in the surrounding streets were escorted home by soldiers, guaranteed that the situation was under control, and that they were safe. For a week, the city remained on lock down, as the bodies of the Communist Party members were removed from the city in secret. Any civilian who seemed outraged at what happened would end up missing the next day, and every household was questioned about the event, their involvement, if any, and whether or not they supported the communist party. Any who associated with the party in any way, whether it be a membership, or simply not supporting the governments choice, was also disposed of, along with the rest of their household.

Once all the bodies had been rid of, and all dissidents eradicated, martial law was lifted. A month later, a fake election was held, with Akihito's appointed ministers winning. Officially, the events that occurred were called the “Tokyo Incident”, though the civilians of Tokyo who had family and friends disappear knew it by another name. Gyakusatsu. The Slaughter.

In the following years, the Right-Wing parties of Japan took nearly full control of the country, as no left-wing parties dared oppose Akihito and his military cabinet. The Southern Islands were brought back under the Imperial banner by force, as military governors took full control of the islands governments.

For the majority of Japanese citizens, those who supported Akihito and his government, life was greatly improving. Various educational reforms passed, all men gained the right to vote, and the economy was in the best place it had been since Japan had been kicked out of China. Businesses flourished, and renewed trade brought the rest of the modern world to Japan once more. Birth rates were at an all time high, and most Japanese citizens could easily find work, including women, who had been granted the right to work by Akihito, at request of the Empress.

For those who publicly rejected Akihito and his government, however, life was very hard. Being caught speaking against the government was life-ruining. Even being on the other end of the political spectrum openly was enough to ruin you. Once caught, finding and maintaining a job was close to impossible, causing many to turn to a life of crime. This, of course, means that the Yakuza are also flourishing, and largely share an anti-government sentiment.

Finally, for those native to the Southern islands; Life is hell. The establishment of military control on the islands saw the natives forced from their homes, in order to make way for new Japanese districts on the islands. Natives, if caught anywhere near these districts, are arrested, and jailed in secret compounds, away from the public eye. Most live in terrible conditions, and those that live well live the lives of a poor Japanese citizen. The only work available to the Natives is hard manual labor, that pays at a rate barely enough to live off of, let alone feed and house an entire family. The Japanese government, in response too mass complaints from natives, designated parts of the islands “free” territories, where the natives are free to live as they like, very similar to the North American Indian Reservations. While life isn't the best in these areas, it's free from the strict regulations of the Japanese controlled zones.