South Japan

From Turtledove

South Japan was the state the United States established on the Japanese islands from southern Honshu down to Kyushu after World War II. In 1948, the Red Japanese Army of North Japan, the client of the Soviet Union, invaded South Japan, touching off the Japanese War. While the South's military was initially sent into retreat, the Red Army's invasion was halted by U.S. Marines at Utsunomiya. A year of bloody fighting followed until August, 1949. On August 6, the United States destroyed the North Japanese capital of Sapporo with an atomic bomb. Three days later, the Soviet Union destroyed the South Japanese city of Nagano with an atomic bomb of their own. The Japanese War was called a draw, and the status quo ante bellum was restored.