From the introduction:
It is September 1940. It has been just over three years since the beginning of the “China Incident,” in which Japan has sought by force to bring about an anti-Western, anti-Soviet partnership with China. Yet after a series of stunning victories, the war has settled into a frustrating stalemate. Worse, while officially neutral, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union have been assisting the Chinese, and are threatening economic sanctions against Tokyo. With few natural resources of its own, Japan’s industrial economy depends on imported raw materials—particularly oil.
However, Germany’s recent conquests in Europe may have just presented Japan with a golden opportunity, as French, Dutch, and British possessions in Asia lay largely undefended. Taking on the roles of leading figures in Tokyo—army or navy officers, bureaucrats, and members of the Imperial Court—you and your fellow players are thrust into the middle of Japan’s strategic dilemma. Drawing on important works from Japan’s past, you must advise the emperor on how to proceed. Will you call for a “strike south” to seize the natural resources of Southeast Asia—even at the risk of war with Britain and America? Or will you seek an understanding with England and America—even if it means giving up the ideal of a pan-Asian partnership? Similarly momentous decisions must also be made on domestic policy. How will Japan’s increasingly scarce resources be allocated? Will the economy be subject to further state control?