[War] Japan: "The Other Crisis"

[Ian Martell]

“The Other Crisis”
Prime Minister Shunichi Sato
Japan
August 6th 2006

At last, Sato had something on his plate that wasn’t related to that 
damnedable North Korea or the nation’s defence. Not that he was adverse to 
the issues, far from it, but he was beginning to see defence statistics in 
his sleep and plans for North Korea were always spinning in his brain. It 
was time to take a break, even if that break had to do with the ‘other 
national crisis’ the imploding birth rate. A national crisis they shared 
with their neighbour to the East, South Korea.

In recent years, the birth rates of both countries had dropped to 1.25 and 
1.08 respectively which were record lows and bad news for nations with a 
rapidly aging population which would be leaving jobs that would need people 
to fill. The economic impacts were going to be immense.

As Sato and his chief-of-staff director Mura, walked down the stairs from 
the PM’s level to the Grand Hall, he said. “Sometimes I think Koizumi picked 
a good time to leave.”

Mura smiled. “Well you could always resign and give Nukaga or Abe a shot,” 
Mura offered.

“No,” Sato said. “Well not Nukaga anyhow. Abe, would be passable, but Nukaga 
would sell us up the river handing out pork.”

Mura nodded. “How did the meeting with the finance minister go?”

“About as well as could be expected, he put forward some stop gap measures, 
though nothing like a cure.”

“Is there one?” Mura asked.

“Yes,” Sato said. “However, it’s a cure that will kill the government, we 
need to shave 300 billion dollars off of our budget, that would at least 
give us no more deficit.”

Mura flinched. “Don’t say that so loud, the Hashimoto faction could be 
listening.”

Sato grunted his agreement and emerged out of the stairway and onto the 
second floor. The ‘hangers’ were already waiting.

“So which one of you is the fortune teller?” Sato asked playfully as he kept 
on through the hangers with Mura, having them follow him at his usually 
brisk pace. “We went with the stairs to keep you guessing.”

“You missed your jogging this morning,” replied Keizo one of the NHK boys. 
“You always use the stairs when you don’t jog.”

Sato cocked his head. “True,” he said just coming to realize that as well.

“And you only ordered tea and miso for your breakfast.” Sachi Ogawa from the 
Asahi Shimbun (Asahi Newspaper) said. “Did your doctor put you on a diet?”

Sato shot Sachi a playfully stern look. “Do I need a diet?” he countered.

“I’d leave that to your doctor sir.”

“More like his wife,” Mura joked.

“If you must really know why I eat what I eat, as you know I was at a dinner 
for Prince Akishino and I really had too much to eat.”

The hangers nodded. “What do you have to say to Chairman’s Nukaga’s 
statement about Minister Obuchi being too young for a cabinet post?” asked 
Shinji Morokawa from the Daily Yomiuri.

Yuko Obuchi was 32, and the daughter of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who 
died in office in 2000 when she, at age 26 replaced him in the Diet, 
matching his record for youngest member of the Diet.

“I think he’s welcome to his opinion, I expressed mine on this issue when I 
chose her for the post.”

“Do you foresee a solution to the declining birthrate coming from these 
talks with South Korea?”

Sato nodded. “I believe a solution can be found, we simply need to be 
flexible and creative in finding solutions to this problem. Speaking of 
which, I should go see the Minister and her counter part.”

Sato disengaged from the Hangers with Mura and went inside.

Where Yuko Obuchi and her counterpart Health and Welfare Minister Rhyu Si 
Min of South Korea.

Everyone rose from their tables.

Sato waved them back down. “Pleased to meet you Minister,” Sato said as he 
approached the South Korean side of the table.

“A pleasure also Mr. Prime Minister,” he said in reply.

Both of them were speaking English, after all with years of working closely 
with the Americans in both countries it was a natural common language 
between the two nations.

Yuko rose and joined them.
He bowed to her. “Yuko-san,” he said informally. He had been a friend of the 
Obuchi family for years and a member of her father’s government, as a result 
they knew each other well.

“How are things coming?”

“We are considering each other’s proposed solutions right now,” Yuko 
explained.

“The babysitting plan proposed by the previous government seems a good 
solution so far.”

Sato nodded. “Where college students are trained and hired to look after 
children?” he asked. “And parents have a tax subsidy to pay for it?”

“Yes,” the Minister said.

“I just wonder when the college students are supposed to be going to 
college, school hours are the same as work hours in most places and this 
problem means we need more than afternoon babysitters.”

The Minister nodded but Mura frowned and glanced to the flags at the end of 
the hall, Japan and South Korea, to remind Sato this wasn’t one of his 
people he was talking to.

Sato nodded almost imperceptibly. “I’m sorry Minister, but this is a 
frustrating problem and I sometimes speak without thinking when I am 
frustrated.”

“I understand Mr. Prime Minister, though you made a good point, we will have 
to give it some consideration.”

Yuko nodded. “I agree, however this is not a problem to be solved 
overnight.”

“Indeed,” Sato said and caught Mura’s look towards his watch. “Anyhow I am 
sure I am slowing your work, so please excuse my intrusion.”

“No intrusion, Prime Minister,” said Yuko. “We appreciated your input.”

The South Korean minister nodded. “Yes, thank you very much Mr. Prime 
Minister.”

“I am glad to have been a help,” he said formally before turning to Minister 
Rhyu. “If you would give my regards to President Roh along with my hopes he 
accepts my invitation to visit the Kantei himself.”

“I will relay that Mr. Prime Minister.”

Sato nodded. “Thank you.”

And with that he headed off to his next appointment.

				*		*		*

Sato was sitting down in the Kotei, the residence of PM on the Kantei 
grounds eating his light dinner cold soba noodles and a big bottle of beer 
in front of the TV when Mura knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Sato said.

Mura walked in. “I was about to go to my dinner meeting, but I thought you’d 
want the preliminary report out of Declining Population Meeting.”

Sato nodded fumbling around the on the coffee table to get his reading 
glasses. He put them on and looked over the top sheet.

“So they’re still going with the babysitting plan?” Sato asked.

Mura nodded. “It has the approval of the Party already, and can on our side 
at least be implemented quickly.”

Sato nodded. In short it was politically acceptable.

He nodded and kept reading.  There had been very few ideas both sides could 
agree to implementing but at least the two countries were talking about an 
issue of mutual importance instead of quibbling over past slights in their 
rocky relationship, that at least was progress.

As much as he wanted to jump in on tomorrows session of the meetings he knew 
it would be a blow to Yuko’s credibility and he owed Keizo Obuchi too much 
to do that to his daughter.

“Mura, is Yuko still here?” he asked.

“Yes I believe there’s a dinner for Minister Rhyu on right now.”

Sato nodded. “Could you see she is invited to come to the residence.”

Mura nodded. “Of course.”

*		*		*

It was late and the baseball game Sato had been watching when Mura had 
visited had become the late night news. He was glad none of the questions 
the reporters had asked him that morning about his diet was considered 
worthy to be made a story out of. Truth was, he was old, and it was harder 
to keep in the same shape. Still, especially all this business with Yuko, 
reminded him that Keizo Obuchi had been his age when he entered office and 
died only two-years later. It was a sobering thought.

There was another knock at the door.

Sato looked back. “Ah, Yuko-san,” he said standing up. “Come in.”

She nodded, still dressed formally in what looked like a very expensive pant 
suit. “Thank you for receiving me Prime Minister.”

Sato nodded and directed her to a chair and he took his place back at the 
sofa. “Yamagata, can you see if a steward is still around to bring us some 
coffee,” he asked his security man.

Yamagata nodded and spoke into his radio to pass the request along.

“So,” Sato said looking at the report on his table. “How are these talks 
going?”

Yuko frowned. “Well it is difficult despite our similar problems South Korea 
and Japan are different nations with different social and political 
realities.”

“Yes, I can imagine and that is unavoidable, but my concern,” he paused as 
the steward arrived with the coffee and served both the Prime Minister and 
the Minister before withdrawing. “As I was saying, my concern is that the 
level of the discussion is not what it could be.”

“How so?”

“You both have been very safe,” he said. “And Yuko, I didn’t choose you to 
be the Minister in charge of this portfolio because I wanted you to be safe 
in your policy, this is a serious issue and it needs serious and inventive 
policy. You are the youngest cabinet minister in the nation’s history, and a 
women no less, the daughter of a respected Prime Minister, you have safety, 
in your name and in, sadly, that people do not expect much from you. Be 
dangerous come up with ideas that have a chance at solving this problem. If 
the South Koreans don’t have the courage to follow that is their choice, but 
I would like every option discussed at that table, and domestically as 
well.”

Yuko took a sip of her coffee and then said. “But what about the political 
fallout?”

Sato smiled. “I am running through our first amendment to our constitution, 
changing the role of our military in world affairs, and if the finance 
minister can get his head out of the sand, attacking our deficit spending. 
In all honesty Yuko, there won’t be much fallout left.”

She smiled. “Be careful they’ll be calling you gakeppuchi Sato*” she said.

“Sounded better with your father’s name.”

Yuko smiled. “True I suppose.”

They sat awhile in silence drinking their coffee until Yuko stood up, 
finished. “I should go,” she said. “I’ve got an early staff meeting then I 
am back at the table all day.”

Sato nodded and stood as well. “Very good Yuko-san, remember what I said, 
you are my kobun (protégé) and you have my support for what you do.”

Yuko bowed. “I resolve to be dangerous Sato-san.”

Sato chuckled. “Same old Yuko,” he said. “Now go, I don’t want our youngest 
minister falling asleep at the conference table.”

Yuko bowed and headed out the door. Sato went back to the TV, thinking it 
was a shame that she and Akira hadn’t been better suited to each other, 
she’d have made an excellent daughter-in-law. He shook his head, matchmaking 
was Mariko’s hobby, he knew enough to stay out of that.

Actions:

1>	Hold talks between the Gender Equality and Declining Population Minister 
and South Korea’s Health and Welfare Minister Rhyu Si Min as per this 
article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060806TDY01004.htm
2>	Stall the babysitting plan’s passage.
3>	Set up future posts on this issue.

Sources:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060720TDY03001.htm

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