Japanese Military

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The Japanese military is an armed force in Just Cause 2.

Wilforce Range X (Japanese military) — Japanese Wilforce Range X.

Spoiler warning: Significant plot details follow.

History

The Japanese military made its presence in Panau felt for the first time, when it conquered Hantu Island during World War 2. Their mission was to construct and protect a fictional electromagnetic pulse weapon. That weapon was to be Japan's secret defence weapon.

The soldiers were not informed of the end of the war and continued to maintain their facility. This is similar to real world events after the end of the war. The Empire of Japan deployed a large number of troops on thousands of small islands. Some of them didn't even have radios, so they had no way of knowing of outside events. The last such outposts were discovered in the second half of the 1970's.

The Japanese military maintain their facility on Hantu Island until the events of the Ular Boys mission Stranded, when the weapon is destroyed and a lot of the soldiers are killed. When returning to the island later, it's still possible to see them, so the occupation of Hantu Island is still continuing.

According to a Ular pilot, the soldiers are rumored to be 100 years old. However, he was probably just exaggerating. Assuming the age of many Japanese soldiers in World War 2 was 17-25, the remaining ones are most likely between the ages of 86 to 94.

More recently the modern Japanese military visited Panau again during the events of Just Cause 2. The former general Masayo Washio and his bodyguards participated in the shoot-out at the Three Kings Hotel during the mission Three Kings.

Weapons, vehicles and other equipment

The soldiers on the island are using modern Submachine Guns and vehicles. It's unknown how they obtained them, but there are several possibilities.

Flak Cannon (4 barrels) — The 4 barrel version of the Flak Cannon, at a Japanese bunker.

Perhaps they bought their guns and vehicles from the Panau Military?
Maybe the Japanese invaded the Panau mainland and transported the vehicles back to Hantu Island on some unknown barge?
Maybe the Panau military invaded Hantu Island and lost a battle against the Japanese? This would explain why according Sri Irawan, the Panau military doesn't dare to go there.
There are two Bering I-86DPs crash sites on the island. One belongs to the Ular Boys and the other one (on the western coast), which acts as a Lost reference, could have belonged to the Panau Military. This jet could have carried the weapons and vehicles.

The Japanese also own several 4-barrel versions of the Flak Cannon, but that weapon is old enough to be from the 1930's.

The vehicles can not be seen before the mission "Stranded".

Name of a vehicle	When you can see it	X	Y
3 Fengding EC14FD2 trucks.	Only during the mission, unless they also spawn during a high Japanese heat level.	2990	4150
Wilforce Trekstar. Wilforce Range X. Wilforce Trek II.		3260 2760	1495 2430
2 to 3 x Hamaya GSY650.
H-62 Quapaw.	At all times.	3080	1590

If you apprach the main tower with a helicopter (after the mission "Stranded"), you might see how some of them use parachutes. They have the same kind of round parachutes, as panauan paratroopers.

The "EMP"

See also: Hantu Island.

In the game

In addition, the island has strange-looking towers and equipment - a supposed "EMP" weapon that was originally to be "Emperor Hirohito's secret weapon". There's many smaller towers, but only the biggest one actually works.

One can see and hear the weapon working while approaching the island. The EMP destroys any aircraft or boat that Rico uses to reach the island; however, planes flying at an altitude of at least 1.5 km will remain unaffected, as will any aircraft dropped in by the Black Market. Cars on the island are not affected.

If you tether a piloted plane to yours and fly over the island, the "EMP" will destroy your plane and leave the AI controlled plane alone, therefore the "EMP" will only attack the plane or helicopter you are physically in. This is another reference to Lost, when the planes falls and you can also find another fallen plane. The Japanese Quapaw located toward the top of the island would not be downed by the island's "EMP". The "EMP" doesn't stop the Black Market helicopter either. The "EMP" is destroyed during the mission "Stranded".

In reality

An EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) would not cause any physical damage to anything at all. Instead, it would instantly empty the vehicles battery and permanently demagnetize all magnets and digital equipment. That would cause a helicopter to crash, but smaller (and older larger) planes could still land as a glider. This would also mean that Rico's PDA would instantly turn into garbage and he would have to get a new one, because the effects of an EMP on digital equipment can not be reversed or fixed. All digitally recorded info would be lost and the device could never be reactivated. However, an engine could still be fixed as it would only need a new battery and possibly some new magnets for its generator (if it has any magnets in there, depending on the type of generator).

Tesla coil theory

Another possible explanation for the effects of the EMP tower is that it may in fact be a giant Tesla Coil rather than a pulse generator. A "Tesla coil" is an electrical resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high frequency alternating-current electricity. As demonstrated on shows such as Mythbusters (and many youtube videos), electrical companies like "Pacific Gas and Electric" can use large enclosed facilities with massive Tesla Coils to simulate lightning strikes and their effects on homes, buildings and other structures as well as different types of electrical equipment.

To conclude, how the Japanese electrical weapon functions is this:

In a local command center, Japanese operators either:

Watch radar screens for incoming sea or aircraft, which is unlikely because the japanese did not possess adequate radar technology during the war.
Use listening devices which were precursors to radar where users had to literally listen for incoming craft (a more realistic option considering Japanese submarines were outdated in comparison to their American counterparts by using this method).
Use multiple high frequency direction finders to locate approaching vehicles by their radio beacons. All modern aircraft and many boats have such beacons.

Once an incoming craft was detected and its direction and bearing/heading found, the master coil would be charged. The static electricity from the massive Tesla Coil was powerful enough to attract moisture and clouds, forming the storms that the player witnesses whenever an approach to the island is attempted in either air or sea craft when the weapon has not yet been destroyed. As an unsuspecting pilot or captain draws nearer to the island, the Japanese continue to chart their heading/bearing until they draw close enough to one of the many sub towers on the island. Once a target is near enough, the selected tower is brought online and the main coil is discharged. This discharge is directed by the sub tower closest to the target craft, which then discharges the same charge onto the target craft. The bolt of energy charged into the aircraft or seacraft is powerful enough to be compared to the effects of lightning.

Modern aircraft have static discharge wicks to survive lightning storms, but the charge may be greater than any known lightning strike. High current can cause a vehicle to catch fire.

However this is probably not the case, because we'd then have to be able to see the lightning hit the aircraft and it definitely wouldn't work against boats.

A mod to bring the japanese military to the mainland

See also: Modifying.

It is possible through the use of various mods to bring a Japanese Military Soldier to mainland Panau. There are three mods required for this:

A Black Market mod, that includes any vehicle with a Mounted Gun, or a Minigun and the Zhejiang 6903;
A Heat disabling mod;
Optionally a mod that makes the barge move faster.

Once you have these mods installed, do the following:

Go to Hantu Island.
Head to the set of towers where the H-62 Quapaw spawns, at the top-right corner of Hantu Island.
Find any Japanese soldier.
Through the Black Market Mod, spawn a Chepachet PVD; a Maddox FVA 45, or any other vehicle with an occupiable Mounted Gun.
Let it sit until a soldier climbs in the mounted gun turret.
Get in and drive him to the beach. The heat disabling mod is required to get in the vehicle with him, not to mention the convenience of not being fired at.
Spawn a Zhejiang 6903 out in the water.
Carefully drive it up to the shore and position it.
Shoot at the barge's ramps to make them fall down and drive your car on the barge.
Sail the barge anywhere in Panau.

If you want to get the soldier out of the gun turret, Grapple him out and be sure to destroy the car, as he will immediately run back into the turret. If this is completed successfully, you'll have a Japanese Imperial Army soldier wandering around the location of your choice.

It's also be possible to do this with the Smoke Monster, if you don't want to swim all the way to mainland Panau with him following you.