Netherlands/Japan

Netherlands/Japan is an uncommon pairing involving the characters Netherlands and Japan. The pairing is sometimes referred to as Holpan and/or Netherpan as a portmanteau of the first syllables of the characters' country names.

Japan's Isolationist Period
During Japan's isolationist period, Netherlands was the only nation he kept in touch with. When Netherlands showed up at Japan's house with tulips, Osaka warned him that it'd be best if he went home as Japan wasn't in the best of conditions, only for Netherlands to bluntly tell him to "stop being a nuisance" and to give him "snacks, tea, and Japan." Osaka conceded, but reiterated his earlier warning about Japan being "in a peculiar shape," which Netherlands discovered for himself when he opened the door to Japan's room and found the other nation lying in the dark with his blanket wrapped around him like a sushi roll, screaming "Don't shed sunlight on me! I'm melting!"

After Japan had recovered from his sunlight shock, he asked Netherlands why he had come here, only to promptly collapse back into his "blanket roll" position when Netherlands uttered the word "open." After Japan had sufficiently recovered from the experience of hearing the word "open," Netherlands explained that he had received info about America coming here and that the younger nation might be forceful in his methods to get Japan to open up. Japan replied that he had been sensing something like that and that his time to change as other nations around him already have would be coming soon, but collapsed right back into being a blanket roll when Netherlands used the word "open" again. When Osaka returned to their room with more tea, he was greeted with the sight of Netherlands shaking a shivering and blanket-wrapped Japan, muttering "Open your borders..." over and over again while the sunlight from outside continued to barrage Japan.

Netherlands' pet rabbit and Japan's pet dog, Pochi, were also shown interacting with each other. The rabbit informed Pochi that his master was keeping himself busy nowadays because of his loneliness after his fight with Belgium and that things would probably get more chaotic for him too, giving him a comforting lick. Pochi got flustered and angered about having been licked for the first time and demanded that the rabbit take responsibility, much to the latter's bemusement.

In a concluding strip set in the year of 1854, an unnamed person informed Netherlands that Japan had just signed a treaty of peace with America. Netherlands asked the person for a light for his pipe, but the light didn't work and the person seemed to notice that Netherlands appeared to be troubled by the news.

Fan Speculations
As of this time of writing, Netherlands/Japan has not gained much attention in the English-speaking fandom but has been steadily rising in popularity in the Japanese fandom, mainly because of the 2010 FIFA World Cup putting the two countries in the same roster group and Netherlands being considered one of the Western nations Japan has the closest historical ties with, having shared trade relations for over 400 years, even during Japan's Isolationist movement.

Some fans see the Netherlands and Isolationist Japan strips as hinting at a possible love triangle with Netherlands, Japan and America, with Netherlands not liking the idea of Japan getting close to another nation and giving him tulips which, according to floriography, could potentially signify love depending on the tulip color. Netherlands also beat up Denmark when the latter went to befriend Japan, which could be another sign of him not liking Japan’s improving relations with other nations.

Webcomic: Extra Stories

 * Netherlands and Isolationist Japan