Japan Focus Tree Review in 2022 - What is missing/broken?

[UlulvarCape]

The problem lies on why Pearl Harbor happened. Pearl Harbor and the entire Japanese invasion of Asia happened because Japan was facing a vary harsh embargo of Oil and financial assets, made by the USA, leaving them with very few options. They choose to go to war, in the hope of gathering all necessary resources to fight a defensive war aiming for a future peace treat where they would keep the status quo of the region.

Japan never faces a harsh embargo in HoI4. Even with the implementation of the embargo option, which is quite expensive, 200 pp, IMO. That could be solved if it were cheap, and major nations could force other countries to do embargoes against their potencial enemies. Maybe using spies.

And about the reasons to USA fight against Japan... Maybe should be implemented a new World Tension, but between countries. I don't know how.

This is why I want a total rework of the Japanese political tree. It isn't great for historical purposes and the USA never really does anything other then let it happen which is completely inaccurate because the USA Guaranteed that an attack on South-east asia would bring in some form of intervention from the USA albiet similar to the philippines, it wouldn't have done much.

However, thinking about it, i only believe that would be possible with a South-East Asia DLC (Siam, the Philippines, and British Malaya and Dutch East Indies really need focus trees tbh and the Pacific Theatre is honestly not balanced to be honestly.) Yugoslavia had their political tree reworked completely during BFTB which was a positive step, and something I think can only be done with such, but I think we can think of a few good changes first off.

I'll unfortunately have to look at Wikipedia for some ideas.
A good start would be to give the USA an event after Japan demands Indochina or seizes it and that they have to return it to France (probably Vichy because the USA preferred working with them and Roosevelt even disliked de Gaulle They could throw in making peace with China but that be more on paradox's part.) Japan denies it, and the USA applies an embargo for free on the Empire of Japan, which opens up a new focus to bomb pearl harbor which would give the USA a negative debuff on their ships for about 1 month (Mainly about repairing ships and their speed) and Japan to gain massive bonuses regarding naval invasion capacity and speed of the naval invasion, and bonuses for attacking the British, Dutch, and Americans and their colonies about 3 months for a 5% bonus.

I don't think we can completely 100% portray realism with HOI4, and I certainly don't want to because all of the dark things, but I would at least like some accuracy and reasoning as to why Japan would do some things.

 

[Mashiro Kurata]

My complaint is that Japanese political focus seems to be inaccurately expressing Japanese politics.

1. Democratic Japan's liberation of their colonies makes no sense. Britain, France and other European 'Democratic' countries still had colonies. And Japan also had a democratic system until the 1920s (Taisho Democracy), which still had colonies like Taiwan and Korea.

2. The most regrettable thing is the non-aligned Japanese shogunate system. I thought maybe Paradox wanted to represent Ikki Kita with this. (In historical, Ikki Kita wanted it) Ikki Kita, the ideological leader of Japan's Kodoha revolutionaries in the 1930s, was a socialist, but after bringing the emperor to power as a puppet to maintain country, he attempted to build a socialist system.

Kodoha and Kodoha's ideological leader Ikki Kita's 'monarchist-socialism' is very attractive, and Japan's 'modern shogunate', where Kodoha controls puppet Showa emperor, deserves more interesting additional content. But in the game, it just changes the name of the country. There's nothing unusual about it.

Paradox had to express in the game that the person who was trying to puppet the monarch, at least in Kodoha Route, was a socialist, and they had to give them diplomatic bonuses with the communist states

 

[blahmaster6k]

There should probbaly be atleast 1 focus for something like Chinese War Logistics to make ports, railways supply depots etc.

Personally I think the war in China is well balanced at the moment. Most of my historical games it ends in a stalemate as happened historically, and the supply system is the biggest contributing factor preventing Japan from steamrolling over China or the other way around. If Japan wants to fix the supply issues it should have to heavily invest the normal way, or just win quickly by encirclement like players can do.

 

[Findell_HOI]

Personally I think the war in China is well balanced at the moment. Most of my historical games it ends in a stalemate as happened historically, and the supply system is the biggest contributing factor preventing Japan from steamrolling over China or the other way around. If Japan wants to fix the supply issues it should have to heavily invest the normal way, or just win quickly by encirclement like players can do.

Eh if you are builiding the exact same thing every game its pretty dumb not to put it in a focus like with the Itallian Ethiopian War Logistics Focus.

 

[Noldo_Prague]

The problem lies on why Pearl Harbor happened. Pearl Harbor and the entire Japanese invasion of Asia happened because Japan was facing a very harsh embargo of Oil and financial assets, made by the USA, leaving them with very few options. They choose to go to war, in the hope of gathering all necessary resources to fight a defensive war aiming for a future peace treat where they would keep the status quo of the region.

Japan never faces a harsh embargo in HoI4. Even with the implementation of the embargo option, which is quite expensive, 200 pp, IMO. That could be solved if it were cheap, and major nations could force other countries to do embargoes against their potencial enemies. Maybe using spies.

And about the reasons to USA fight against Japan... Maybe should be implemented a new World Tension, but between countries. I don't know how.

Yeah, because no fascist country (now except Italy) faces any major issues. All countries, which were reworked, ended up with a ton of negative spirits, problems to solve and/or ticking timebombs. And economic crisis. Except Axis. Germany - +1 PP and bonuses only. No problems with anything during whole game. Italy until recently the same. Japan the same. No economic crisis, no political instability, no corruption, no inflation, no lack of resources, fascist countries in HoI IV are simply flawless.

As you write, Japan should be pushed into fast conquest, and into luring Allies into Naval battles. I see a bigger problem not in Japan, but that Allies do nothing in the Pacific, Allied and Japan navies avoid each other, Allies are incapable to do invasions, and Japan rules whole Pacific easy peasy till 47 at least. Also, part of the problem is that USA (and Soviet Union later) were able to crazily outproduce Japan (and Germany). Thats why they knew they have to attack fast. In game? LOL But even if USA had huge navy, they would still keep them in ports, and would only send patrols (to be destroyed by Japan).

 

[UlulvarCape]

As you write, Japan should be pushed into fast conquest, and into luring Allies into Naval battles. I see a bigger problem not in Japan, but that Allies do nothing in the Pacific, Allied and Japan navies avoid each other, Allies are incapable to do invasions, and Japan rules whole Pacific easy peasy till 47 at least. Also, part of the problem is that USA (and Soviet Union later) were able to crazily outproduce Japan (and Germany). Thats why they knew they have to attack fast. In game? LOL But even if USA had huge navy, they would still keep them in ports, and would only send patrols (to be destroyed by Japan).

This is why I call for a South-east pacific DLC. I know I've said this time and time but it's not going to be truly balanced unless we make South-east asia have focus trees so they can have bonuses for resistance and fighting off Japan, or joining them. Japan is too strong for the Pacific, but while it should be strong and do a somewhat of a "blitzkrieg" they also need to try and make the pacific theater more fun.

People have long complained about the pacific because it's not that fun, and I agree, but having played the Philippines against Japan, I wish it wasn't some boring generic focus tree that did it.