Neo-Tokyo

Seat of an Empire

Two millennia ago, the proverb said that “all roads lead to Rome.” Not only was it largely true, but along those roads Roman trade, culture, science, and military might spread across the known world. Today, all roads lead to Neo-Tokyo. Nearly every nation on earth trades in the nuyen, which helps ease the transport of Japanese-made goods from one end of the Earth to the other. Japanese culture reaches everywhere, from the Zen-inspired boardroom to the slang on the streets of the Barrens. It’s no surprise that Japanese linguasofts outsell all others. Breakthroughs in the fields of cybertechnology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and computing are often born in Neo-Tokyo labs. Japanese Imperial soldiers are stationed at bases all over the planet, and Japanese spy satellites circle above it. Japan dominates the Sixth World stage and Neo-Tokyo sits at its center.

I was going to argue the Japanese jingoism here, but then I realized that as I am typing, I am eating a bowl of flash-noodles I picked up for a couple nuyen from the local GO-JIRA! foodstop while listening to the latest robopop track from the Takitaki Hive Mind.

— Haze

For this little outing to the land of the Rising Sun, Mihoshi and Rigger X asked me to invite a few friends to help out. So I’ve obliged with temporary privileges for some folks: Janus, whom some of you may be already know since he’s been running the PacRim shadows for long enough; Yankee, a gaijin-friendly fixer who has graciously agreed to lend a hand; Otaku-Zuku, the (in)famous Undernet Prophet guru himself; and Kemuri, a well-connected former policeman paying off a giri debt to Mihoshi.

— FastJack

From Old Edo to Neo-Tokyo

Not since the Meiji Restoration has Tokyo been such a hotbed of shift ing power and allegiances. The right-wing nationalists who have held power in Japan for over six decades are losing ground to the most unimaginable of upstarts: a young man unexpectedly thrust into the role of Emperor. In Japan, where overt use of power is reserved for foreigners, Tokyo has become a metropolis steeped in subtle struggles and dangerous, but immensely profitable, shadow operations.
One should not be so hasty, however, as to count out the Old Guard. The Divine Heritage Party has been the heart of the Japanese imperialist movement since the turn of the twenty-first century, when they consisted of young, conservative idealists heady on a domestic shift to traditionalism and a successful foreign policy that ousted the communist North Korean regime. They went from a regional success story to a worldwide phenomenon soon after when Japan launched a constellation of solar energy transmitter satellites. Japan beamed cheap energy to struggling nations in Asia and South America, nations who cared little about the Imperial Marines ostensibly sent to guard the facilities. Those nations hardly blinked when they became colonies of Japan’s new empire.

What choice did they have? Japan brought affordable energy and stable governance; they all knew that if Japan pulled out, their nations would collapse into violence and poverty.

— Johnny No

The nationalists became stars on the world stage, but their policies were not as adept at addressing domestic concerns. Deregulation of business led to shifts in manufacturing towards the new colonies and forced the Japanese working class into more desperate employment contracts. Heavy investment in the military and nation-building eff orts abroad left little in the tax coffers for Japan’s crumbling infrastructure and aging population. From the outside, Japan looked invincible, but on the inside the masses suffered quietly.
Under the gaze of an auspicious comet and amidst the eruption of the Ring of Fire that had killed his family, a quiet, bookish boy named Yasuhito was swept into the unlikely position of Emperor. The people saw something in Yasuhito that the pundits dismissed, but now at only twenty-three years old he has dramatically shifted the political winds in Japan. Yasuhito’s populist agenda has recalled Imperial soldiers from far-flung colonies and set them to work rebuilding and restoring Japanese cities. He has shifted investment into social programs and away from overseas gambits. He has repealed sections of the Yamato Act and abolished the practice of “quarantining” metahumans on the island of Yomi. With the Diet Building and Stock Exchange within eyeshot of his palace on a clear day, he has made Neo-Tokyo the frontline of a silent revolution.

It has been no easy task, either. The Emperor is a symbolic power only, though Yasuhito has capitalized on his popularity with the people to push a number of Diet members seeking re-election into backing his reforms. Not only did most of new supporters win another term, but many political newcomers riding on Yasuhito’s coattails toppled incumbents in the last election. The Divine Heritage party still holds the most seats, but the slim margin means they have had to form a coalition government with more moderate parties.

— Kemuri

Things aren’t all rosy within the Imperial Household either. Most of Yasuhito’s proposed reforms didn’t even get to a vote in the Diet, never mind making it into law. The changes he’s managed to push through are dramatic, but some of his supporters have grumbled at the repeated failures and political quagmires like the Yokohama rebuilding.

— Fianchetto

The City Without End

Neo-Tokyo’s limits were expanded in 2063 by Imperial decree, a crafty decision that widened the influence of the Imperial Household while weakening a number of local politicians and critics of the young Emperor. It has since picked up the nickname “the city without end,” a reflection of the mega-sprawl’s endless horizon of urban expansion. Within the Greater Neo-Tokyo Area live forty-five million people, thirty percent of the entire Japanese population. Within the central region of Neo-Tokyo—the proper core of the city—dwell twelve million souls. Nearly every available space has been urbanized; even Tokyo Bay has been filled with artificial islands as far south as Yokohama.

By day, Neo-Tokyo can look a little ugly with its endless expanses of concrete, steel, and glass. But by night, the darkness is filled with blinking lights from the skyscrapers, towers, and commuter helicopters. It looks as if the stars have inverted themselves and heaven has come down to Earth.

— Picador

A heaven that can be hot as hell. If you visit Neo-Tokyo in the summer, stay indoors. Its subtropical climate makes it muggy, and all the concrete trapping the heat makes it worse. With the artificial islands and arcologies crowding Tokyo Bay, the coastal winds never reach the heart of the city. On the plus side, the winters are mild and the buildings are all climate controlled.

— Mihoshi Oni

If there’s one thing that can beautify Neo-Tokyo it’s the cherry blossoms. Get there in late March if you want to catch them at their peak.

— Kemuri