Hatsunia v3.0

2021-01-17 - moved Negishima (space center) from Parao to Minamikushi

2021-08-11 - partially revised lore after constructive feedback

2022-11-04 - renamed Miraito to Miraikyo

Hatsunia is about everything underlined in this image.

It is a parallel-universe country based on the high-tech reputation of Japan, and a software character whose name means "the first sound of the future." It also seeks to address Japan's many socioeconomic issues.

Disclaimer: This is pseudo-alternate history, and wasn't meant to diverge from actual history or be a highly-realistic scenario. Nor was it intended to represent the idea that Japanese culture is all about Hatsune Miku and anime.

Context

Since the 1960s (bullet train) or 1980s (Sony, Nintendo), Japan was thought to be a technologically advanced country. It was predicted that it would surpass the United States in GDP and economically "take over the world," but that turned out to be a bubble which collapsed. Japan's tech industry continued to be successful for some time, but a lot of people have pointed out how it did not adapt to the digital and software revolutions, and how it eventually fell behind the US, South Korea, and China by the 2010s. In any discussion of Japan and technology today, someone will mention how Japanese offices still use fax machines.

Seeing all the complaints about how outdated and inefficient Japan is, and how they can't catch up, makes one wish that it was actually capable of being a high-tech economic superpower that could figuratively say "the world is mine." If Japan missed the software revolution, Hatsunia embraced it. Hatsunia is also based on optimistic "cyberprep" rather than dystopian cyberpunk sensibilities, with less yellow peril undertones (e.g. the murder of Vincent Chin and the Japan-bashing phenomenon).

Japan is also criticized for various social issues like xenophobia, sexism, and toxic work environments, and I sometimes see people saying "Japan is nice to visit, but I would never live there." So Hatsunia is also about making a more socially progressive version of Japanese society.

(note: any previous lore may or may not have been retconned)

The history of Hatsunia mostly parallels Japan up until the early modern era, aside from a more musical culture and less adoption of institutions that reduced the status of women. Instead of following a mostly-isolationist "sakoku" policy or trying to conquer Korea in the 1590s, the government adopts a non-interventionist policy, in which it engages in seafaring trade around the world (which is also encouraged by the island geography) but doesn't colonize anything either. The result is that racial supremacist sentiments are less entrenched. There is more foreign contact, and the society gets used to it, but not completely. Instead of militant feudalism lasting until the mid-19th century with an abrupt transition into a modern society, a more gradual transition is had.

Social reform movements and protests in the 18th century lead to the development of a modern constitution in 1868 with less feudal baggage, and a civilian-controlled military. Western-style democracy is emulated, but not blatant colonialism as they don't want to invite retribution (however, they still want to expand influence through indirect means). The only exception would be the purchase of Micronesian (pronounced with a mee-) islands from Spain in the late 19th century, but the inhabitants as well as other minorities in Hatsunia are also given equal rights in theory - although they are not properly enforced until civil rights movements gain traction in the 1960s. Natural resources are gained through trade rather than annexation and oppression, which averts all the resentment people would have had.

Because the ideals of democracy, liberty, and social equality have stronger roots, Hatsunia does not descend into militarism during the Great Depression. It joins the Allies during WWII against an Axis China, and leaves the war mostly unscathed. After the war, the Mutual East Asian Cooperation Union is formed, becoming a sincere version of the so-called "co-prosperity sphere," and reflecting a more globalized and less insular outlook.

An information technology industry forms in the capital city of Miraikyo, known as the "Silicon Metropolis." Without having to recover from embargoes and nuclear bombings, and without post-war restrictions, Hatsunia can invest more in electronics and aerospace technologies, including more practical robotics systems. English is made an official language in 1967, which benefits the burgeoning IT industry as early computers are not powerful enough to handle kanji.

Today, Miraikyo develops the latest in software, personal computers, and smartphones, and its companies are globally competitive. However, the country has had to deal with the consequences of increasing privatization and inequality since the 1980s, and the government has recently taken more steps to regulate them. Government and private services have mostly become paperless (no hanko required, just digital signatures), and the cybersecurity minister is more knowledgeable about computers. One advantage Miraikyo has over Silicon Valley is that it isn't afraid to build higher density housing. The growth of the tech industry has encouraged the construction of a few arcologies, such as the Sky Mirai Tower.

In the 1960s, Hatsunia is not a leader in the space race, but doesn't have a late start either. As Hatsunia's economy reforms and becomes more digitized and connected to the rest of the world, a fully reusable heavy launch system called Mikumaru (in a similar role to this) is able to be developed in 2007. It enables a low-cost revolution in space access, with the first humans landing on Mars in 2016, and space hotels and lunar bases being built by 2020.

With well-established IT infrastructure and services, Hatsunia is more than prepared to handle the economic impact of a pandemic.

Work culture in Hatsunia is based on merit, innovation, and productivity instead of rigid hierarchies with seniority, strict adherence to outdated traditions like fax machines, and overwork. Social institutions also have a greater emphasis on racial and gender equality (thus attracting more foreign talent and supporting higher fertility rates), although not everyone in society lives up to these ideals all the time (what country does?). There is also a balance between individualism and collectivism.

Hatsunese version: i.imgur.com/KDm6SRd.png