Survivor communities outside the known world

[Quetanto]

Don’t know if this has been said before, but Nunavut is almost certain to survive. To say nothing of Newfoundland...isolated enough, cold enough, gets enough sun, has enough fertile land–if anyone in the Known World tries to go Leif Erikson on us, I’ll bet a dime to a dollar they’d find some people.

[Róisín]

Quetanto, I think you are quite likely right.

[Oripoke]

I'm sure this has been discussed already, but I'm pretty certain that Japan (and maybe Madagascar?) survived, based on this (from pg.13) indicating they closed, or otherwise restricted access to their borders on Day 3.

In particular, Hokkaido (the northernmost Japanese island) is likely to survive, due to its a) isolation and b) cold winters.
Historically, Japan closed its borders for over 220 years between the period of 1630 and 1850. They have abundant natural resources, although the fishing industry would surely take a hit, manufacturing, electric generation, etc. Moreover, they have a common language throughout the island, and a strong national identity. The only thing lacking is a strong military, due to the influence of the United States post-WWII. But I still think they would have the ability to defend themselves from the threat of epidemic.

I wonder if the emergence of the Rash in Japan would lead to a resurgence of traditional Shintoist spiritual beliefs and practices, in the same way it did for Scandinavia?

[Quetanto]

Quetanto, I think you are quite likely right.

Many thanks!

I'm pretty certain this has been discussed already, but I'm pretty certain that Japan (and maybe Madagascar?) survived, based on this (from pg.13) indicating they closed, or otherwise restricted access to their borders on Day 3.

In particular, Hokkaido (the northernmost Japanese island) is likely to survive, due to its a) isolation and b) cold winters.
Historically, Japan closed its borders for over 220 years between the period of 1630 and 1850. They have abundant natural resources, although the fishing industry would surely take a hit, manufacturing, electric generation, etc. Moreover, they have a common language throughout the island, and a strong national identity. The only thing lacking is a strong military, due to the influence of the United States post-WWII. But I still think they would have the ability to defend themselves from the threat of epidemic.

I wonder if the emergence of the Rash in Japan would lead to a resurgence of traditional Shintoist spiritual beliefs and practices, in the same way it did for Scandinavia?

Not just that–we might get a chance to actually see all of the yōkai in their glory. For example, those trollphins we just saw on the latest page? Imagine the Japanese survivors having to fend off a real-life bake-kujira, or an isonade!
Worse, imagine the cities. There are 13 million people in Tokyo at the moment. That's going to be a veritable hive of decay.
Finally, think about the comparative possibilities. Icelandic and Norwegian mages use galdrastafur, right? Well, the best way to get rid of Japanese ghosts is apparently through using o-fuda, names of kami written on special scrolls. So just like Reynir, you could have someone trying out different names of kami and carrying the scrolls with them, in the hope that one of them might protect the travelling party headed into the outskirts of Beijing from the ghosts there...

[Dilandu]

Worse, imagine the cities. There are 13 million people in Tokyo at the moment. That's going to be a veritable hive of decay.

Well, you could always use WMD to solve those kinds of problem.

[Quetanto]

Well, you could always use WMD to solve those kinds of problem.

Okay, so Japan’s slightly better equipped than Scandinavia to deal with this sort of thing, given the missiles they currently possess. That’s not to say they could be easily activated, though, or that they’d be practical in taking back more than Japan proper.
Even beyond that, it’s unlikely that anyone would actually want to go near the place for a good long while, just in case there were stragglers.

[Demopans]

Well, you could always use WMD to solve those kinds of problem.

You don't even need them. Just let a few strategic nuclear reactors go critical. Even magic can't counter radiation.

[Quetanto]

You don't even need them. Just let a few strategic nuclear reactors go critical. Even magic can't counter radiation.

On the other hand, you might still want to live in the place afterwards at some point, and not risk the radiation blowing over and damaging your already nearly-annihilated uninfected fellow humans and/or their food sources. Also, we don’t actually know that magic doesn’t work against nuclear energy in some way, so better figure that one out first...

[Róisín]

I would be curious to see what happened around Chernobyl.

[Quetanto]

I would be curious to see what happened around Chernobyl.

Indeed...

[wavewright62]

I would be curious to see what happened around Chernobyl.

I saw a video recently where the area is reforesting and has become a de facto nature reserve.  I should look up a link.

[Not G. Ivingname]

I realized that North Korea is a good candidate for a surviving nation.

It is largely isolated from the outside world, receiving very little in the way of trade or tourism, so it is less likely a Rash infected person would get into the country before they had a chance to shut down their borders. Its northern border is largely mountains and rivers, while its southern border is covered by huge minefields, so people are going to be hardpressed to sneak into the county (and later beasts/trolls will have a hard time getting in as well). Their brutal regime is also likely to kill anyone who exhibits any symptoms of the Rash, so they will be able to stop any rash pandemic that does emerge.

Things won't exactly be great in the nation. They already have huge food shortages even with international aid, as North Korea itself is a pretty crap place to try and farm. However, they have enough farmland to sustain a population, even if it the post-rash population will be much, much smaller.

[Quetanto]

So...reckon enough practitioners of Muism survived to actually help out the population, or would this hypothetical North Korean survivor state rely on their particular brand of ideology from the present day to beat back the samdugumi?

[Not G. Ivingname]

I imagine a post Rash North Korea would still be based on the current power structure. Maybe a general would kill the Kims and reduce the family line down to a puppet, but there will still be some supreme leader at the top bringing terror upon everyone else. When the outside world really becomes as much of a Hell that the North Korea government says it is, the people will have no one else to turn to but their current government.

[Hrollo]

You're again still forgetting animal vectors. Borders won't stop those.