Empire of Japan

Faction Overview	CtW Information
Unique Units	National Bonuses

For the first time in so many centuries since the barbarian Mongols, the Land of the Rising Sun is once more threatened with darkness. All around Japan and Asia, the white devils are striking bargains to desecrate Amaterasu's sacred islands and plotting schemes to place stumbling blocks in the way of Her people. Japan's rivals are indeed thus many, but their time shall come - Russia is too engrossed with flea-infested and impoverished Europe; Britain and France are at war with their own subject-colonies; and American affluence has resulted in decadence and self-doubt. Perhaps Asia will be obliged to accept a new master capable of showing the world what Asia is truly capable of?

Gameplay

While Japanese units are somewhat tactically mediocre, there are several things to be noted: its infantry tend to suffer from less attrition, and its tanks are masters at amphibious warfare, despite their relative inferiority to Russian, American or German armour.

Equally, Japanese armour suffers from poor firepower, but they have a high rate of fire to make up for it. They still are somewhat more fragile, and are better used as ambush forces. Thus, tactics-wise, Japan's best bet is in amphibious assaults and raiding. Its infantry may not be sturdy as even that of many minor nations, but their ability to strike anywhere without warning and without suffering attrition makes them highly lethal opponents. Japan's air force and naval units are also sufficiently powerful to give other players' pause early on. Japanese battleships are often slower but have better range, while Japanese aircraft early on are very fast - until the Electronics Era. Thus the Japanese player would be constrained to rush an enemy as fast as he or she can and defeat them before they can strike back - in the late game, Japanese units will be outclassed at all levels by all other units.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Powerful early-game economy, good start with cheaper tank upgrades Highly versatile, balanced between land, air and naval forces Well-suited for water maps with faster-building carriers and cheaper naval units. Fast-firing tanks	Mediocre navy, questionable air force Poor late game units: costlier teching means that Japan becomes hobbled at end of game Mediocre cavalry and artillery

Notes

Although in real life Formosa was a vital part of the Empire of Japan prior to WW2, the game depicts Formosa as a capital of Nationalist China. This is because of the difficulties expected to arise if Japan were to start off occupying a capital of another nation.

Japan has four leaders:

• The first: Takahashi Korekiyo
• After the Feb 26 Incident: Konoe Funimaro
• Axis coup: Tojo Hideki
• Under allied occupation: Kijūrō Shidehara
• Under Soviet occupation: Miyamoto Kenji

Unique units

Infantry

• Rifle infantry: Konoe Shidan Regiments - these are rifle infantry (4-6)
• Recoilless: T4 (based off the Recoilless gun)
• Special forces: (Japan doesn't receive them so early) Rikusentai => Giretsu Kuteitai (armed with SMGs)
• Special: Suicide Soldiers - sword infantry, recruited from the Bunker if Kamikaze tactics was researched.

Tanks

• Light tanks: Ha-Go [3-6]
• Tankette: T94 Te-Ke # [2]
• Med tanks: Type 89 I-Go => [3] Type 97 Chi-Ha [4-5] => Type 1 Chi-He [6]
• Heavy tank: T4 Chi-To [6]

Artillery

Assault gun:

• T4 Ho-Ro [5-6]

Tank destroyer:

• T2 Ho-Ni [6]

Cannons:

• T38,  [1-3] => T35 light artillery [4-6]
• T94 37 [2-4 => T1, 47mm [5-6] (AT guns)

Other vehicles

• Hokoku armoured car

Special units

• Armed caravan^
• Armed merchant^
• Armed supply truck/Halftrack^ => TSS Engineer (is the I-Go, but with no turret, only a simple cupola and a flame nozzle - combines the supply truck and flame tank together but is somewhat costly)
• Flamethrower infantry^

Aircraft

• Fighters: Biplane^ => Nieuwport-Delage NiD 29 (shared with France) [2] => Ki-43 [3-4] => "Hayate" [5] => Kikka [6]
• Bombers: Ki-20 [3] => Ki-21 [4] => G5N Shinzan [5-6]
• Special: Mitsubishi G4M [3]
• Ohka (upgrade of carrier fighters, these become suicide bombers)

Naval

• Yamato-class battleship [3] (replaces the battleship)
• Kaiten-class (replaces submarines - cheaper, weaker, but with a strong suicide attack)

Other

• Coolie. Replaces a citizen, is cheaper, but slower and weaker, and also cannot be converted into Militia.

Unique technologies

Kamikaze Tactics

"Gone with the spring / Are young boys like cherry blossoms. / Gone are the blossoms, / Leaving cherry trees only with leaves." - Matome Ugaki, Japanese kamikaze pilot

• Increases attrition to Level 4
• Available from the National Redoubt Complex wonder

Cost	Requirements	Leads to
???		Suicide soldiers Ohka suicide fighter-bomber Kaiten midget submarine

National bonuses

Bushido:

• 25% Higher Commerce Cap
• Recieve Double Income from Taxation
• Forts and Tower +2 Range
• Receive Free Fishing Boat with each New Dock

Unit bonuses

• Tanks have added rate of fire
• Tank research is initially relatively faster but over time becomes slower with each advance.
• Tankettes are manufactured from the Munitions Factory, not the Heavy Engineering Depot.
• Create Ships 33% Faster
• Create AA Units, AA Buildings 25% cheaper and 33% faster
• Can research Kamikaze doctrine
• Barrage balloons are faster and have +1 armour.