[War] US/Japan: Jabber jabber woof woof

[pentaj2 at Scranton.edu]

"Jabber jabber woof woof"
Pres. John Williams - USA
PM Shunichi Sato - Japan
7 March 2013
========================
Sato had only just returned from his Narita airport when Hide walked
in waving the briefing book for the call to President Williams and
pointing at his watch before heading out to do whatever it was his
chief of staff did when he was not running Sato's life.

He hadn't forgotten of course, but Hide's reminded had put him in the
right frame of mind. He quickly drew up a list on the coversheet of
his own copy of the breifing book of the things he would need to
discuss and then waited for Yuriko to give him the word.

It came a blinking light on his phone that went from red to green as
the secure link to Washington was made.

He picked up the reciever and said in decent if slightly accented
English.

"Hello Mr. President."

"Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister," said the voice on the other end of
the line. A dog could be heard barking in the background, and the
voice then said beyond the phone, "Shh Gizmo, I'm on the phone." The
dog went quiet.

Sato grinned on his end of the phone. "What sort of dog is Gizmo?" he
asked. He didn't have a dog now; he was divorced and lived alone and
spent most of his time in Tokyo which made having one difficult at
best, cruel at worst. Though he'd had dogs all of his life until then
and so he enjoyed living vicariously through others in that regaurd.

"Soft-coated Wheaten terrier puppy," Williams replied as the dog
looked up at him. Gizmo wanted to cuddle in John's lap, but he was
getting to be a bit big for that. "So, what has you calling?" Probably
the obvious, but it was polite to let the PM pick the topic.

"A few things Mr. President," Sato said. "Firstly, the tsunami and the
situation around Mt. Baekdu. I was hoping that we could prevail upon
you to
help us with supplying our repair efforts, Japan being an island makes
materials especially wood, very expensive, and while this is normally
not
something so concerning to us on what is a relatively small clean up,
my
party's legislative agenda will be squeezing the coffers for a while,
and we
need to save where we can."

"We don't do nationalizations, so no promises. However, I will nudge
the timber companies that they *do* work on federal land, and we might
not delay the next set of permits as much as we may otherwise inclined
to," Williams replied. "I'll see how far that gets you in terms of
getting a discount from em. If it's for fishing boats, two thoughts
come to mind: How sustainable is Japanese fishing policy as it stands -
from what I remember from my Congressional work on ocean issus, the
answer is 'not much' - and wouldn't it hurt less, long-term, to just
nudge the former fishermen into other lines of work?

"Y'might recall I'm from the Atlantic coast myself; there are plenty
of commercial fishing boats that sail from my former district. Don't
ask them about how overfishing can kill you, though: Ask the guys in
New England and in Canada who went splat when we had to slam the Grand
Banks shut," he noted.

Sato smiled. "Your memory doesn't fail you Mr. President, we have only
just
begun in the last decade or so to really keep a firm hand on our
fishing
fleet. Unfortunately for those efforts fishing is a way of life for my
country. That said, I think demographics and the ecconomy will curb
the
efforts of our fisherman more than regulation. Our older generation
isn't
going to be taking to the sea for much longer and our younger
generation is
going to be in high demand for other less difficult more profitable
employment inland. So for what it's worth I will give our fishermen
their
ships back and let things take their course. Though I appreciate your
concerns."

Sato paused as Yuriko brough him a can of coffee from the vending
machine
downstairs, he prefered the hot cans to the stuff they brewed here. He
took
a quick sip and returned to the call.

"Now if I may shift the subject to another of Japan's concerns, and I
think
the world's, China. Particularly their occupation of North Korea, and
the
humanitarian crisis of Mt. Baekdu?"

Williams silently scribbled a note on the scratchpad near him - to the
Coast Guard, telling them to keep a close watch on Japanese fishing
vessels in the US EEZ, since Japan seemed unlikely to crack down on
their ships' overfishing - as he listened.

"Well, Nemerenko was by the other day too to chat about that. On 48
hours notice, no less," Williams noted. "Right now, we're continuing
to keep a close eye on the Chinese activities south of the Yalu.
George Washington battlegroup is stationed off Korea, doing what it
can to assist the Chinese with relief efforts; I'd recommend
contacting them directly if you have anything to offer. I've stated to
Nemerenko personally what the US wants to see a year from now for the
peninsula; State should have sent you, Seoul, and London a basic
outline."

Sato made an affirmative noise. "Yes I got it," he said. "Though I was
wondering more on how you plan to achieve these goals. I think you
could get
the treaty and conclude the Korean War, but the other things," he drew
air
through his teeth. "That would require considerable leverage over the
Chinese.

"For Japan's part, we're stuck. We need their trade and we don't have
the
military power to challenge them. What I am saying Mr. President, is
that
without a cohesive strategy between ourselves, Russia and South Korea
if not
the UK and EU as well we are simply going to have to live with China
being
the arbiter of Korea's fate."

"Nemerenko doesn't give a damn, seemingly, about anything
except 'stability', or not losing anything," Williams noted. "I don't
think he really gives a damn how Korea turns out, so long as it
doesn't bother him."

Sato was surprised by the response and was ready to keep at the
President on
this issue but felt it was a bad time. "Then we shall put this issue
aside
for now Mr. President," he said. "Perhaps until after the summit.
There is
one last thing though, your new battle rifle project with the UK, we
would
like to participate. I think you can see where a shared rifle between
our
forces would be helpful, and it could be something to bring up with
South
Korea as well."

"Good idea. Because right now, Leonid Nikolayevich is reminding me of
Edmund Burke's quote," Williams replied. The only thing necessary for
the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Maybe not said by
Burke, but in the grand stream of history, such things probably didn't
matter. "So far as the rifle: If you can get it through the Diet and
commit to an equal share of the costs, sure."

"I agree, however it is what we have to deal with, but as I said, 
later. As 
for the rifle project, I imagine I will have no difficulty getting it 
to 
pass through the Diet with China on the march, defence bills have legs 
right 
now. You might want to ask South Korea if they are interested as well. 
The 
benefits are obvious and it would remove one more hurdle to co-
operation 
between all three nations in a defensive situation."
 
"When we actually have one developed and deployed, which might be a 
while," Williams commented wryly.

With that and pleasantries, the conversation ended. The dog was a bit 
big to cuddle in his lap, so the President knelt and gave the puppy a 
belly tub.
---
(Yes, yes, the title is my fault. I couldn't think up a good one. - 
John)

Actions:
1. White House will pass along Japan's need for wood to the lumber 
companies, as well as the comment that a discount for a good customer 
would make good PR.
2. At the same time, try to nudge Japan a bit to, y'know, constrain 
the fishing fleets. The sea needs help to be a sustainable resource!
3. Noting Japanese reticence on that issue, order the USCG 
(responsible for the fisheries laws) to keep a closer eye on Japanese 
fishing vessels in the EEZ. And no holding back on the fines for 
overfishing. Since Japan won't hold back the rampaging hordes of 
fishing fleets, we will.
4. Accept Japan joining the US-UK battle rifle project, in return for 
their bearing an equal share of the costs.