Naval Ambitions in the Pacific

Itami sighed heavily as she gazed upon the list of natural resources she had at her disposal. While she did not want for many things. There was a certain material she desperately needed, which she severely lacked. Iron was a relatively rare commodity on the Island Nation of Japan, and she needed vast quantities of it to fully industrialize and modernize her new empire. 

Without a large stockpile of iron, Itami could only produce limited quantities of her new Itami Rifles, and artillery pieces. If she wanted to take full advantage of industrialization, she would need a large supply. Unfortunately, she could not find it in her homeland, and lacked the means to sail to other, less developed regions of the world, such as the Americas of Africa, which were rich in such resources. No, if she wanted iron, she would need to search for regions in North-East Asia where she could gain access to it.