Excerpted from GURPS Ogre by Jonathan Woodward, to be published July 2000.
Art by Storn Cook
The empires of Paneurope and the Combine are familiar to all Ogre players, but the Nihon Empire is a mystery to many. This article presents the 21st-century history of the Empire and an overview of its status during the Last War.
History
In the late 2010s, an economic collapse (probably a secondary effect from ongoing conflicts in Europe and South America) began in the western Pacific Rim countries. Japan was not affected as severely as some nations, but the yen entered a brief period of hyperinflation. This triggered a series of protests against the Japanese government, propelling a large number of Neo-Traditionalists into power in the next elections. As the Neo-Traditionalists solidified their hold over the next decade and made fundamental changes in the Japanese constitution (which had been imposed on Japan at the end of WWII by the U.S.), a general sentiment grew that it was Japan's duty to take its place as supervisor of its unruly, chaotic neighbors.
In 2035, the Japanese government underwent fundamental restructuring from within, restoring the Emperor as more than a figurehead and discarding the last limitations of the old constitution. The new nation was known in English as Nihon,the name natives had used for "Japan" all along. The Empire began a series of relatively nonviolent, but inexorable, purges of Western influences, and dramatically increased military spending. Since the Combine . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 2, 2000
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