Help on finding a sci-fi novel series

[GreyOne]

Hey, I read a couple of library books in the mid-90's about a futuristic society of terra-formed colony worlds in the future and the extension of nation-states out into space. It had some cool ideas for interstellar travel, and the main characters were American and Japanese. The Japanese had reestablished their empire into deep space and I think it was called Nippon. I read the first couple of books but never found the third and then lost the name of the books and the author.

Can you help a brother out?

 

[Desdichado]

That's not Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books is it? I haven't read them in a long time, so I could be mismatching details all over the place...

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Definately not the Mars books. I've read most of those and none of the elelments fit.

Now this is killing me as it sounds terribly familiar to me too! I will try to do some kind of googling

 

[GreyOne]

No, it wasn't the Mars books. The name Ken Kato seems to ring a bell for me, but I didn't google anything with it.

The same technology/resource that allowed space travel also affected the defense of the ships I think. Part of the first book was centred on some American prisoners of war on a Japanese colony world I think. There were some space battles too.

This is really bugging me.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Is this what you were talking about?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0446515701/002-4926296-2304013?v=glance

 

[GreyOne]

YES! Thank you!