Factions of Ghost in the Shell

Kuya-Sangko's - Ani-aniue's (Terrorist Organization)
Loosely translated as "Brother-brother" in both and Japanese and Tagalog, the name refers to the strong "brotherhood" between the mysterious paramilitary criminal organization that exists currently within the varied assortment of asian immigrants. Many of the members are rumored to be ex-military from their home countries, while many more are simply criminals who've joined the group for a chance at a better life, money or power. A loose affiliation of various similarly-minded groups, they range from organizations that simply are trying to better the well being of the immigrants and provide security the government in their mind fails to provide, to little more than thugs stealing from the local populace. A nuisance to the Japanese government, increased hostilities between them and the Japanese people, especially after their attempted eradication and the subsequent death of Kuze has left the organization in shambles, with the fractured organization resulting in a dominating splinter cell that now controls much of the same territory and organization that Kuze did previously. Their willingness to shed bled and ability to hide among the civilian populace makes them incredibly difficult to fight, and has increased tensions with the Japanese people and the Japanese government. 

To make matters worse, various foreign entities have begun to support many of the criminals, who view themselves as rebels trying to overthrow an oppressive government regime and take the territory for themselves (most notably Qatar and companies from Mexico). When combined with the horrific living conditions many of the immigrants deal with daily in the previously abandoned ghost towns and the side effects from the radiation after the Third nuclear war, many support the organization as they all feel they are a part of the same struggle, even if they disagree with the motives and methods of the organizations. Criminals in the group are not only concealed by sympathizers, but also parents and siblings, family members who choose not to out their members or don't know of their connections to the organization directly. This loyalty and the general barrier between the Japanese people and the immigrants makes it increasingly harder to find and stop the criminals, who've also progressively grown in strength. Recently, major coordinated attacks across Japan have increased Hysteria and highlighted the danger of the immigrant crisis, and sparked an increased interest in to the immigrant-Japanese conflict.


Mexico - Serano Genomics
After U.N. driven war in Mexico and most of South America, a ceasefire was arranged which has left the future of the country and much of south America unclear. While the American Empire was initially successful in its campaign and occupied large parts of northern Mexico, they were unable to move further into the country and suffered massive casualties at the hands of both the Mexican military and mercenary forces hired by the Mexican government. Large groups of American, British, and Japanese mechanized infantry and armored divisions were then sent in to mop up all remaining Mexican forces, which led to extended bouts of tank-to-tank fighting and constant guerrilla warfare which lasted for months. Eventually the American-led coalition was forced to withdraw and as a result the American Empire's prestige further deteriorated and it lost much of the goodwill of the international community.

It is not specified what happened to the Mexican state after the war but it is known that it claimed victory over the American Empire and later expanded to absorb the countries of Central America. Serano Genomics a major manufacturer of cybernetics, electronics and medical technology, is based in Mexico; it is the fourth largest company in the world, boasts offices in the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan and is powerful enough to exert influence over the Japanese government, suggesting that Mexico has become a major technological and economic power. It is part of a single large trading block comprising all of South and Central America. Previously known for covering up a cure for Cyberbrain Sclerosis in Japan in a major scandal that has hurt their image worldwide. 


Siak Republic
Essentially a collection of countries in south-east asia including Singpaore and the Philippines, they are a key trading partner with Japan and a large source of immigrants from Asia. While initially most immigrants came from Asia after the numerous wars in China, the large influx of immigrants has resulted in mass immigration for economic reasons as well as to escape the horrible conditions of their home countries.

The American Empire
Known as the "American Empire" in Japan, the remaining U.S. states, predominately lead by the economically prosperous Southern America, is colloquially referred to as the "American Empire" in Japan, although it is to the Chagrin of the Americans who do not see themselves as an empire. As a result of the Balkanization of the U.S. after the nuclear war of WWIII, the country has been split in to four factions, with the American Empire being the richest and most economically successful of the four nations. A close ally to Japan, they are still bitter and harbor resentment in Japan's role in their destruction, but nonetheless retain a close relationship, despite the animosity between the country's spies. 



Japanese "Miracle"
Known as the "Japanese Miracle", these micromchines, capable of being deployed before a nuclear attack dramatically reduce the impact of radioactive fall-out by absorbing and scrubbing radioactive materials, thus decreasing the danger associated with them. While initially hailed as the "Japanese miracle", it later proved to be incredibly disastrous to world stability as the danger of nuclear weapons was largely mitigated and the fear of using them or the resulting use against them was removed. 

As their effective use as a deterrent to prevent world war was eliminated, tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalated and the U.S. was plunged in to the world's first nuclear war, with environmental contamination largely mitigated by the micromachines, but resulting in the destruction of several major cities globally. With the U.S. and Russia fractured after the war, the global impact of the radioactive fall-out was largely eliminated as most of the world was left mostly unscathed, but the U.S. fragmented in the chaos in to four separate countries, and Japan eventually became an equal super-power to the remaining superpower of the American state, known by the rest of the world as the "American Empire". With the most prominent country being the American Empire in Japan, the remaining American countries have tried desperately to cling to power, and prevent another global catastrophe.

While the American empire and Japan are largely seen as allies, many in the remaining U.S. states are still bitter because of the war, and thus blame Japan in part for these problems. There are also the conspiracy theories that as a result of Japan's growing influence, that it intentionally destabilize the world to gain power. Despite this, Japan has largely accepted it's fault in the global wars that followed, and now seeks to rebuild relations with the U.S., even though the U.S. is less than thrilled by their activities.