Empire of the Rising Sun
Original name: Empire of the Rising Sun*Type:* Militaristic imperial monarchy*Capital:* Tokyo*Ruler:* Emperor Yoshiro, followed by Crown Prince Tatsu*Armed forces:* Imperial Army and Imperial Navy*Speciality:* Nano Tech, robotics, transformable units and naval warfare*Colour:* Orange*Enemies:* Allied Forces and the Soviet Union*Status:* Under Allied occupation following the Third World War
The Empire of the Rising Sun is a Japanese superpower featured in the Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 timeline. Led by Emperor Yoshiro, it is the third major power of the Third World War, alongside the Allies and the Soviet Union.
Its rise is a direct result of Soviet time manipulation. Cherdenko, Krukov and Zelinsky travel back to 1927 to eliminate Albert Einstein and prevent his inventions from giving the Allies their technological superiority.
However, this intervention had a completely unforeseen consequence: without Einstein, the geopolitical and technological landscape of Asia changed profoundly, and Japan became an extremely advanced military superpower.
Whilst the Soviets and the Allies continue to regard each other as their main adversaries, the Empire secretly develops a gigantic army relying in particular on Nano Tech and directed-energy weapons.
This modernisation is largely the work of Crown Prince Tatsu, Yoshiro’s son, who was educated in the West and is far more pragmatic than his father. In particular, he plays a key role in the development of Nano Tech, the Rocket Angels and the colossal Shogun Executioner.
Yoshiro, by contrast, is deeply attached to tradition. Regarded as a divine ruler by his subjects, he is convinced that the Empire has a manifest destiny: to subjugate the other powers and impose its order on the world.
As the Soviet Union launches a new invasion of Europe, the Empire abruptly reveals its existence by simultaneously attacking Soviet and Allied territories.
The Imperial offensive immediately transforms the war between Moscow and the Allies into a three-way global conflict. The Empire then expands its operations across the Pacific and Asia, whilst directly threatening Soviet and American territories.
Its doctrine combines extreme military discipline with futuristic technology. The Imperial Warriors, Tankbusters, Shinobis and Rocket Angels, in particular, form the core of its infantry.
The Empire also possesses numerous vehicles capable of changing shape or function, enabling its forces to adapt rapidly to the situations they encounter.
The Tengu Mechas, Striker-VX, Tsunami Tanks and King Oni exemplify this philosophy, whilst the Shogun Battleships enable the Empire to wield formidable naval power.
Its construction system is equally distinctive.Nanocores are produced at the Construction Yard and then transported to their destination before deploying into buildings, enabling bases to be established rapidly far from headquarters.
The Empire also possesses more experimental technologies, including the Psionic Decimator, whilst research into psychic abilities leads, in particular, to the creation of Yuriko Omega.
In the Allied campaign, the offensive against Japan culminates in the Battle of Tokyo, during which the Imperial forces are defeated and Yoshiro loses control of his empire. The defeat ultimately places Japan under Allied occupation.
In Red Alert 3: Uprising, Prince Tatsu officially agrees to cooperate with the occupying forces. This decision deeply divides the Japanese people, with some viewing his surrender as an act of treason.
The remnants of the army then reorganise themselves into the Imperial Final Defence Force, adopting more defensive tactics, sometimes verging on guerrilla warfare. New units, such as the Steel Ronins and the Archer Maidens, take part in the defence of Japanese territory.
Tatsu, however, is playing a double game: whilst collaborating with the Allies against certain rebel imperial military leaders, he is also seeking to liberate Japan from foreign occupation.
The Empire of the Rising Sun thus represents a highly distinctive synthesis of imperial tradition and futuristic technology: a power convinced of its divine destiny, whose Soldiers follow the principles of Bushido whilst fighting with giant robots, energy weapons and nanomachines.