The Rise Of Australasia

The successful opening of the National Film City was not the greatest news for Arthur. A month later, on September 1, 1923, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 struck the Island Nation, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 people, including those in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Shizuoka, and Yamanashi, and left more than two million people homeless.

Such a massive earthquake naturally captured the attention of the world.

In order to demonstrate the responsibilities and commitments of a Power, Australasia also sent several tons of Grain and certain emergency medical supplies to the Island Nation.

It wasn't just Australasia – practically every country in the world expressed their concern and support. After all, no matter the relationship, maintaining appearances was important.

But behind the scenes, the Powers' Grain shipments to the Island Nation were being expedited. These were not for aid – the prices of these Grains were much higher than usual, as among the Powers, none were saints; naturally, none would choose to help the Island Nation without gain.

To give an example with Australasia, although they provided less than five tons of Grain for free, they sold tens of thousands of tons of Grain at prices that were several times the norm.

Besides Grain, the prices of medical supplies, tents, and living water all soared in the Disaster Area.

Putting aside the enormous Economic loss the earthquake brought to the Island Nation, the profits made by various countries from the nation's calamity amounted to at least tens of millions of pounds.

In light of these comparisons, what did it mean to send the Island Nation aid worth a few thousand or tens of thousands of pounds in supplies?

For the Islander government, Powers taking advantage of the situation to double the price of Grain was not the main issue. If they could not guarantee the supply of Grain and supplies in the Disaster Area, they would face an even more serious outbreak of cholera.

This was the lesson the Island Nation had learned from various earthquakes and tsunamis; such high-mortality events often lead to the emergence of epidemics.

Especially with the constant aftershocks, the bodies of Islanders buried under the rubble could not be dealt with properly.

In early September of this year, East Asia was hit with high temperatures. These bodies, killed by the earthquake, could potentially become the sources of a deadly plague.

In fact, that was exactly what happened. Although the Islander government took extensive precautions, they still could not prevent cholera from spreading in the Tokyo area.

The earthquake took the lives of more than 100,000 people, but the rapidly spreading cholera in the Tokyo area had already claimed the lives of tens of thousands more and was continuing to spread among the more than two million homeless people.

For the Island Nation, the earthquake was nothing compared to the epidemics it caused, which could lead to a major loss in the nation's economy.

On the third day after the earthquake, September 3, 1923, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government declared martial law in the earthquake-affected areas, not allowing anyone to enter or leave the Urban City to prevent the spread of the epidemic to Other Regions.

Soon after, other cities affected by the earthquake also issued similar orders, attempting to save areas that the epidemic had not yet reached.

There was more bad news for the Island Nation; the Keihin Industrial Area, a very important Industrial Area for the country, was located in the Kanto region.

Add to that Prime Minister Yuzaburo Kato's sudden death due to illness on August 24, and the government's replacement had not yet been completed when they faced this serious crisis, making the Island Nation's preparations somewhat inadequate.

It was not until the second day after the earthquake that Gonbei Yamamoto took office as Prime Minister, urgently reorganized the Island Nation's Cabinet, and took full charge of dealing with the earthquake and the subsequent epidemic.

On an international level, this earthquake was a good thing for Australasia.

First, with the Islander government needing to deal swiftly with this crisis, they could not possibly offer any support to the United States in the war occurring in Central America.
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Even in the time to come, how to recover the post-disaster economy and industry would be a key topic for the Island Nation, and Islanders' activity in foreign affairs would also significantly diminish.

Particularly after the earthquake, the Island Nation borrowed over 20 billion yen in foreign debt from the United States' civilian and government sectors, which was a huge burden on the Island Nation's economy.

Whether the Island Nation's Finance could withstand such a large Army and Navy naval size was questionable, let alone allowing for recovery of industry and economy. This posed a difficult problem for the new Prime Minister Gonbei Yamamoto.

On September 7, one week after the event, the Island Nation's earthquake damage assessment was finally released.

For the Island Nation, the earthquake was not just a hardship, but a series of disasters that included the earthquake, fires, and epidemics.

According to information released by the Island Nation, just the damage to houses and facilities amounted to 470,000 units.

Coupled with the damage to roads and Industrial Areas, even if the Island Nation spent a significant amount to rehabilitate, it would take two or three years to return to pre-disaster conditions.

But that wasn't all. For various reasons, the damage this time was more severe than in the country's history, with confirmed death tolls exceeding 150,000 people and a considerable number of regions still suffering from cholera and tsunamis, with the death count still rising.

It must be acknowledged that the Island Nation's cultural output in Asia has been quite successful.

In this earthquake, many Asian countries extended a helping hand, sending their medical and relief teams.