Time Slip Reiwa Japan

A.D.1929 - 013 - New Developments

The Japan-Britain-France-US quadrilateral agreement *1 brought some stability to the world. Japan was able to establish firm relations and trade with three major powers, and the yen became involved in the world economy. Military and similar cooperation and trade were done cautiously, but the trading of steel products and other machine tools became a major activity.

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Britain

In Britain, a major renewal of the country's manufacturing facilities took place in conjunction with infrastructure development. The goal was to revitalize Britain's domestic industry, which had been a tradition since the Industrial Revolution – i.e., old manufacturing facilities that were becoming less efficient than those in the United States. It was Britain's ambition to maintain its global empire at all costs, and they were determined to do whatever it took to achieve this goal.

Based on the most advanced economic theories obtained through the British Embassy in Japan, Britain carried out economic policies without restraints. India, China, and Japan as markets. China has a numerically large market. India, as a suzerain nation, has a free market. And Japan has purchasing power.

The problem was that there were few products that could be sold to Japan, a country with great purchasing power. There were no major textiles or industrial products that could be sold to Japan. No, they were highly prized by enthusiasts and hobbyists, but there was no way to make a large profit from them.

Therefore, they shifted to selling oil and mineral resources to Japan and then selling them to the colonial countries at high prices to make a profit. In particular, the upgraded manufacturing facilities obtained through cooperation with Japan made it possible to improve the accuracy of Britain's products and lower their prices, which led to the flow of products to India and China at a furious pace. Huge profits will flow to Britain.

For Britain, Japan became its cauldron of alchemy, turning resources into gold. In order to make more money, Britain will develop Africa and the Middle East to increase the amount of resources to feed the cauldron. In addition to infrastructure, Britain will also be introducing a large number of Japanese work vehicles, which will allow Britain to attract Japanese factories for maintenance and other services.

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France

France, united in its hatred of Germany, was single-mindedly committed to military expansion. Therefore, they had high expectations for the Nazi Party, which was gaining support within Germany. They hoped that the Nazi Party would push Germany to the point of no return and become an enemy of the world. They were even providing financial support for this purpose. All in order to create a Greater France.

Britain is striving to run the world and is not interested in continental Europe. The US is happy to run China and has no interest in continental Europe. Japan is working to reorganize itself and is not interested in Europe. So, France would take over the responsibility.

Japanese factories were built in Britain to produce armored vehicles and tanks with high-powered diesel engines, which were introduced for civilian use. The steel imported from Japan would transform combat vehicles into better ones because of its quality. There were some protests from the French heavy industry, but the French government pushed through with the idea that it was a way to build up their forces to beat the Germans in a short period of time.

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United States of America

The importance of the Far East is rising as a destination for the consumption of overheated investment fever. The US has two major areas of strategic importance in the Far East: its own preferred territories of Kwantung and Manchuria, as well as the Japanese Federation's Korea and Soviet Siberia. Kwantung and Manchuria, with their footholds in the huge Chinese market, and the brand-new world of Manchuria, aroused the frontier spirit of the Americans.

Adventure in a new world.

Agriculture thrived in the vast land of Manchuria. Industry flourished as oil was found in the area. Manchuria became a land flowing with milk and honey for Americans. The risk of conflict with the Chinese was reported via the USFJ, but it was a risk that should be overlooked in the face of the deliciousness of Manchuria.

In addition, the development of the resources of the Korean Peninsula and Siberia would provide enormous profits to the companies that invested there. Japan, a country that was notoriously frugal when it came to investment, made it surprisingly easy for Americans to invest and engage in profitable activities as long as they paid the appropriate taxes. The paperwork for environmental and other measures was cumbersome, but as it was the same for Japanese companies, there was no way to complain.

However, it was not all good. As it stimulated economic activities in Eurasia, friction with China increased. It was recognized that the profits the US was making in Kwantung and Manchuria were actually China's profits and that they were being usurped.

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China

The aftermath of the Soviet-Japanese War led to a recurrence of domestic conflicts. Broadly speaking, the conflict was between two warlords, North China and South China. Because the US had been supporting North China due to its interests in Manchuria, there were only skirmishes between the two, but with full support from Germany, *2 South China regained confidence and started full-scale military action.

One series of operations, known as the Northern Expedition, ended in victory for North China with the support of the United States. The US support included the dispatch of military advisors, and in some cases, they fought with German military advisors who had also been dispatched from Germany to the land of China. The armies of two advanced nations clashed in China.

However, while the US was able to provide a large number of military and civilian supplies to North China due to its strategic location in Japan, Germany was unable to compete due to its distance from home and lack of transportation capabilities. Within a few months of the start of the war, the invasion was abandoned and the Germans withdrew. It was decided to settle the dispute in the League of Nations under the leadership of France and Britain.

As wartime reparations, North China demanded compensation from South China, recognition of North China's autonomy, and recognition of US interests in Manchuria. South China's public opinion was agitated by this. However, since the military victory had already been won, South China could not resist the international public opinion *3 and decided to make a ceasefire and peace.

This humiliating peace mediation by the League of Nations was a major blow to Chinese public opinion. They were infuriated by the United States and their opposition to the League of Nations grew. China chose to deepen its relationship with Germany and proceeded to do so.

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Notes

*1: The G4 was a de facto military treaty, similar to an alliance, but the name "pact" was used in consideration of public opinion in the United States.

*2: Because of the strict scrutiny by France and Poland, Germany sought to cultivate its military power and strengthen its military technology outside the country, and promoted foreign cooperation as a national policy. The first was to strengthen relations with the Soviet Union, and the second was to deepen Sino-German collaboration with China. Due to the US support for North China, the G4 countries were mentally close to North China, and Germany was the only country that could support South China, which had become internationally isolated.

*3: Japanese, British, and French ships conducted war suppression operations in the name of the League of Nations, and the inspection of ships carrying military supplies in the East China Sea and South China Sea put a stop to South China's ability to continue the war. This also included North China, but with the cooperation of Japan, the US brought in supplies via the Sea of Japan and the Korean Peninsula, so it was not particularly affected. This point was condemned by South China and Germany at the League of Nations, but the US declared that the goods were for the development of Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, and Siberia, and brushed it off.