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Description

(NOT CANON ANYMORE - see iiwiki.us/wiki/Hatsunia for latest version. The Soviet Union has now collapsed in 1991 like our timeline, and the space center has been moved from Micronesia to the mainland.)

(2018.10.01 - Now with an updated historical description! Original text here )

Sequel: The World is Mine (Hatsunia in 2046)

My first alternate history world map using the "Worlda" template used on the alternatehistory.com forum. This is the parallel world Hatsunia (an alternate Japan inspired by the virtual singer "Hatsune Miku" ) exists in. Since this is a parallel universe, points of divergence (PODs) and the butterfly effect are ignored. I know it's uncreative and contrived for alternate history, but I wanted to imagine a relatable setting.

Hatsunia is meant to be an antithesis to Imperial Japan: instead of oppressing and committing atrocities against other Asians under the false pretenses of "co-prosperity," Hatsunia leads the way in building a genuine East Asian union. Since her most famous song is called "(The) World is Mine," I also wanted to base Hatsunia on the 80s cyberpunk trope of post-war Japan economically "taking over the world" through high-tech industry. However, that was mostly based on racist fears of a new "Yellow Peril," (look up Vincent Chin) so this is a relatively less dystopian "post-cyberpunk" setting with a mutually beneficial relationship between East Asia and North America, reflecting the fact that Hatsune Miku has only performed concerts in those two regions at the time this was published.

The premise is primarily based on an old quote by B_Munro (QuantumBranching ) answering a question about how Japan could "become" the world's economic superpower. He pointed out that Japan's economy overtaking the U.S. by itself was unsustainable, so this was offered as an alternative:

"Japan as the center of an economic coalition that outmuscles the US. Perhaps a non-imperialist Japan (just barely possible with post-1900 PODs) leading some sort of Asian alliance, with a divided China (Trotsyite USSR and North China vs Japan and allies?)"

Inspiration for this map is taken from "Mirrorshades," "Hell Valley," and "Antithesis" by RvBOMally , "1980s World" by B_Munro (QuantumBranching ) (part of "Defunct Futures" ), "Japan avoids radical militarism" by BMN, "Space Race Didn't End" by BrentAtticus , and posts (especially ones by theg*ddam*hoi2fan) in the thread "North China defies international sanctions yet again..." (written from the perspective of people in that alternate timeline)

[Disclaimer: this represents an alternate universe scenario, and is not in any way meant to be an endorsement of Japanese historical revisionism and war crime denial]
________________

In ancient times, the islands east of China and Korea came to have a culture heavily based on music as instruments were imported, with the leader of the Yamaha kingdom becoming the Emperor or Empress. In the 7th century CE the country became known as "Hatsune-koku," or the "first sound state," referring to their eastward location from China where people heard the first sounds of the day. In the late 8th century, a capital was established in the western island of Midorishima named "Mankyoku" (ten thousand songs). Meanwhile, the eastern island of Aoshima was gradually settled, while the power of the samurai warrior class grew. In the 11th century, Hatsune-koku became a shogunate (feudal military dictatorship), with the monarch becoming a figurehead.

Internal tensions gradually built up, culminating in the "War of Lost Songs," which lasted from the 15th to the 16th century. The imperial family managed to escape from Mankyoku to Aoshima, where they established "Shinkyoku" (new song), and built up an army of samurai who were tired of the military dictatorship. Empress Momiji then managed to successfully restore imperial rule over the islands with the aid of European firearms. After the war, Hatsune-koku adopted a policy of mutual non-interference and peaceful trade, instead of expansionism or isolationism. Starting from the 17th century, Hatsunese people became interested in western developments in musical composition. A movement similar to the Enlightenment occurred in the late 18th century, promoting ideas of liberty, democracy, and tolerance.

In the mid-19th century, with gunboat diplomacy by the United States and the weakening of China by European empires, reforms were introduced in the name of the Empress Moeji to introduce a western-style constitutional monarchy. The modern state of "Hatsunia" was born. The reformers created a constitution mostly based on the British parliamentary system (and partly on the United States Constitution) and relocated the capital to the northern island of Hokkaito, naming it "Miraito" (future metropolis). Eschewing the emulation of western imperialism, which they viewed as hypocritical compared to the Enlightenment ideal of tolerance, they pursued a policy of trading for the natural resources necessary for industrialization. They made a deal with the indigenous Ainu peoples, giving them equal rights and fair representation. With the waning of Chinese influence, Hatsunese diplomats approached Korea in a friendly manner, believing that aggressive actions would only drive them to be under another power's sphere of influence as a "dagger pointed at Hatsunia." The most imperialistic action Hatsunia ever took was the purchase of the Micronesian islands from Spain after their loss in the Spanish-American war, but the Hatsunese government also pledged to treat the natives fairly[1].

In the first decade of the 20th century, Hatsunia and the United Kingdom had a common interest in containing Russia, forming an alliance. Hatsunia and Korea fought against Russian encroachment during the Northeast Asian War, which ended in the formation of the Special Administrative Zone (later Republic) of Karafuto. In the 1910s, they had minor participation in the first World War, resulting in slightly more normalized relations between Hatsunia and some of the western powers[2]. At the end of the 1920s, a Great Depression had occurred in the global economy. Hatsunia had a stable, non-fragile democratic system that was able to weather this crisis. The Republic of China, however, did not. They would be taken over by a radical nationalist dictatorship and join the fascist Axis[3] in the second World War of the 1940s. An American-Asian coalition, along with the Soviet Union, eventually defeated China, partitioning it into two states.

Reconciliation would take place between the reformed Confederation of China in the south and its neighbors. In the 1960s, Hatsunia would become the key founder of the Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union, which would have English as a common working language. Through globalization, Hatsunia's economy started to grow faster than it ever did[4]. The MEACU would partner with countries in North America and Oceania to create the Pacific Rim Organization, colloquially known as the "Concert of the Pacific" (no relation to the 19th century "Concert of Europe"). Today, the combined GDP of the MEACU outweighs that of either the United States or the European Union. With better English education in Hatsunia, the Hatsunese technology industry was more able to adapt to software-focused business models and become major players in the digital revolution, as traditional Hatsunese Kanji script was not well suited to early computing[5]. As of 2007, one of the leading IT companies in the world is Crypton Future Media[6], developer of the "Symphony" operating system and the singing synthesizer software character "Hatsune Miku," (a modernized interpretation of old Hatsunese folklore involving a legendary musical being who helped to found Hatsune-koku exactly 2700 years ago) who would eventually come to have fans all over the world even though they're not all on the same geopolitical page. Even the Soviet Union has Miku fans.

[i.e. if you're a Miku fan from a country like Russia or Brazil in our universe, I don't mean to count you out]

[1] later on, resulting in a referendum similar to French Polynesia, in which they vote to remain a part of the parent country
[2] Hatsunia is not trying to become an equal competitor to the western empires (while treating other Asians as inferior); they are just trying to survive as an independent state, so there is no "racial equality proposal" that would get rejected. They wouldn't be concerned with a Washington Naval Treaty either.
[3] based on cooperation between Nationalist China and Nazi Germany before the second Sino-Japanese War in our timeline
[4] not too fast though, the success of the Japanese "Miracle" in our timeline was unsustainable and probably ended up entrenching flawed business practices
[5] due to technical limitations
[6] They are a large company in this universe, but in our timeline they only have 30 people.

retcon (2018.08.20): Karafuto (Sakhalin) added as a product of the Northeast Asian War (Hatsunia + Korea vs Russia) in the early 20th century (credit to theg*ddam*hoi2fan), original map here

Description

(NOT CANON ANYMORE - see iiwiki.us/wiki/Hatsunia for latest version. The Soviet Union has now collapsed in 1991 like our timeline, and the space center has been moved from Micronesia to the mainland.)

(2018.10.01 - Now with an updated historical description! Original text here )

Sequel: The World is Mine (Hatsunia in 2046)

My first alternate history world map using the "Worlda" template used on the alternatehistory.com forum. This is the parallel world Hatsunia (an alternate Japan inspired by the virtual singer "Hatsune Miku" ) exists in. Since this is a parallel universe, points of divergence (PODs) and the butterfly effect are ignored. I know it's uncreative and contrived for alternate history, but I wanted to imagine a relatable setting.

Hatsunia is meant to be an antithesis to Imperial Japan: instead of oppressing and committing atrocities against other Asians under the false pretenses of "co-prosperity," Hatsunia leads the way in building a genuine East Asian union. Since her most famous song is called "(The) World is Mine," I also wanted to base Hatsunia on the 80s cyberpunk trope of post-war Japan economically "taking over the world" through high-tech industry. However, that was mostly based on racist fears of a new "Yellow Peril," (look up Vincent Chin) so this is a relatively less dystopian "post-cyberpunk" setting with a mutually beneficial relationship between East Asia and North America, reflecting the fact that Hatsune Miku has only performed concerts in those two regions at the time this was published.

The premise is primarily based on an old quote by B_Munro (QuantumBranching ) answering a question about how Japan could "become" the world's economic superpower. He pointed out that Japan's economy overtaking the U.S. by itself was unsustainable, so this was offered as an alternative:

"Japan as the center of an economic coalition that outmuscles the US. Perhaps a non-imperialist Japan (just barely possible with post-1900 PODs) leading some sort of Asian alliance, with a divided China (Trotsyite USSR and North China vs Japan and allies?)"

Inspiration for this map is taken from "Mirrorshades," "Hell Valley," and "Antithesis" by RvBOMally , "1980s World" by B_Munro (QuantumBranching ) (part of "Defunct Futures" ), "Japan avoids radical militarism" by BMN, "Space Race Didn't End" by BrentAtticus , and posts (especially ones by theg*ddam*hoi2fan) in the thread "North China defies international sanctions yet again..." (written from the perspective of people in that alternate timeline)

[Disclaimer: this represents an alternate universe scenario, and is not in any way meant to be an endorsement of Japanese historical revisionism and war crime denial]
________________

In ancient times, the islands east of China and Korea came to have a culture heavily based on music as instruments were imported, with the leader of the Yamaha kingdom becoming the Emperor or Empress. In the 7th century CE the country became known as "Hatsune-koku," or the "first sound state," referring to their eastward location from China where people heard the first sounds of the day. In the late 8th century, a capital was established in the western island of Midorishima named "Mankyoku" (ten thousand songs). Meanwhile, the eastern island of Aoshima was gradually settled, while the power of the samurai warrior class grew. In the 11th century, Hatsune-koku became a shogunate (feudal military dictatorship), with the monarch becoming a figurehead.

Internal tensions gradually built up, culminating in the "War of Lost Songs," which lasted from the 15th to the 16th century. The imperial family managed to escape from Mankyoku to Aoshima, where they established "Shinkyoku" (new song), and built up an army of samurai who were tired of the military dictatorship. Empress Momiji then managed to successfully restore imperial rule over the islands with the aid of European firearms. After the war, Hatsune-koku adopted a policy of mutual non-interference and peaceful trade, instead of expansionism or isolationism. Starting from the 17th century, Hatsunese people became interested in western developments in musical composition. A movement similar to the Enlightenment occurred in the late 18th century, promoting ideas of liberty, democracy, and tolerance.

In the mid-19th century, with gunboat diplomacy by the United States and the weakening of China by European empires, reforms were introduced in the name of the Empress Moeji to introduce a western-style constitutional monarchy. The modern state of "Hatsunia" was born. The reformers created a constitution mostly based on the British parliamentary system (and partly on the United States Constitution) and relocated the capital to the northern island of Hokkaito, naming it "Miraito" (future metropolis). Eschewing the emulation of western imperialism, which they viewed as hypocritical compared to the Enlightenment ideal of tolerance, they pursued a policy of trading for the natural resources necessary for industrialization. They made a deal with the indigenous Ainu peoples, giving them equal rights and fair representation. With the waning of Chinese influence, Hatsunese diplomats approached Korea in a friendly manner, believing that aggressive actions would only drive them to be under another power's sphere of influence as a "dagger pointed at Hatsunia." The most imperialistic action Hatsunia ever took was the purchase of the Micronesian islands from Spain after their loss in the Spanish-American war, but the Hatsunese government also pledged to treat the natives fairly[1].

In the first decade of the 20th century, Hatsunia and the United Kingdom had a common interest in containing Russia, forming an alliance. Hatsunia and Korea fought against Russian encroachment during the Northeast Asian War, which ended in the formation of the Special Administrative Zone (later Republic) of Karafuto. In the 1910s, they had minor participation in the first World War, resulting in slightly more normalized relations between Hatsunia and some of the western powers[2]. At the end of the 1920s, a Great Depression had occurred in the global economy. Hatsunia had a stable, non-fragile democratic system that was able to weather this crisis. The Republic of China, however, did not. They would be taken over by a radical nationalist dictatorship and join the fascist Axis[3] in the second World War of the 1940s. An American-Asian coalition, along with the Soviet Union, eventually defeated China, partitioning it into two states.

Reconciliation would take place between the reformed Confederation of China in the south and its neighbors. In the 1960s, Hatsunia would become the key founder of the Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union, which would have English as a common working language. Through globalization, Hatsunia's economy started to grow faster than it ever did[4]. The MEACU would partner with countries in North America and Oceania to create the Pacific Rim Organization, colloquially known as the "Concert of the Pacific" (no relation to the 19th century "Concert of Europe"). Today, the combined GDP of the MEACU outweighs that of either the United States or the European Union. With better English education in Hatsunia, the Hatsunese technology industry was more able to adapt to software-focused business models and become major players in the digital revolution, as traditional Hatsunese Kanji script was not well suited to early computing[5]. As of 2007, one of the leading IT companies in the world is Crypton Future Media[6], developer of the "Symphony" operating system and the singing synthesizer software character "Hatsune Miku," (a modernized interpretation of old Hatsunese folklore involving a legendary musical being who helped to found Hatsune-koku exactly 2700 years ago) who would eventually come to have fans all over the world even though they're not all on the same geopolitical page. Even the Soviet Union has Miku fans.

[i.e. if you're a Miku fan from a country like Russia or Brazil in our universe, I don't mean to count you out]

[1] later on, resulting in a referendum similar to French Polynesia, in which they vote to remain a part of the parent country
[2] Hatsunia is not trying to become an equal competitor to the western empires (while treating other Asians as inferior); they are just trying to survive as an independent state, so there is no "racial equality proposal" that would get rejected. They wouldn't be concerned with a Washington Naval Treaty either.
[3] based on cooperation between Nationalist China and Nazi Germany before the second Sino-Japanese War in our timeline
[4] not too fast though, the success of the Japanese "Miracle" in our timeline was unsustainable and probably ended up entrenching flawed business practices
[5] due to technical limitations
[6] They are a large company in this universe, but in our timeline they only have 30 people.

retcon (2018.08.20): Karafuto (Sakhalin) added as a product of the Northeast Asian War (Hatsunia + Korea vs Russia) in the early 20th century (credit to theg*ddam*hoi2fan), original map here