[War] Japan: "Shake Up"

[Ian Martell]

“Shake Up”
Prime Minister Shunichi Sato
Japan
March 3rd 2013


Defeated, humiliated and facing an uncertain future Hiroshi Sakai retreated 
from the flashbulbs and microphones of the press assembled on the steps of 
the Diet building and made his way through corridors to what used to be his 
office. The secretary, a young petite Japanese woman in her middling years 
stood and bowed respectfully. "Mr. Sakai the Prime Minister is waiting for 
you."

*That* hurt from both barrels. the Mr. Sakai, and Sato being called Prime 
Minister. Still he was Japanese and bore his humiliation quietly like a man, 
and bowed back. "Thank you Ms..."

"Ishikawa," she said politely as she opened the door.

"Thank you," he said again and walked in. The office was the same yet 
completely different, the Japanese flag still hung in the corner, the desk, 
chairs, and sideboard were all the same, but the decorations and most of all 
the man who sat at the desk were different. He examined one of the wood 
block prints on the wall and the elegant hand of the painter beside it. It 
was, decent, but not good, he didn't recognize it.

"My wife's work," Sato said as he looked up from the papers he was reading. 
"My first wife I should say."

"It's very impressive," Hiroshi lied politely. "She has an artist's eye for 
detail."

Sato made a slightly derrisve noise. "Thank you for being polite," he said 
as he rose from behind his desk. "I mostly hang it to remember perception 
changes."

"Oh?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yes, when we were married, I thought that painting was perfect. Now, I see 
the flaws that were there all the time."

Hiroshi nodded and let a polite time lapse before turning to Sato. "Well, I 
assume you have not called me here to appraise your ex-wife's artistic 
ability."

Sato smiled. "No," he said walking to the side board. "Scotch?" he asked.

Hiroshi nodded. He really didn't want to be here, but if Sato wanted to play 
this as a social call he would have to endure it.

Sato poured them the drinks and sat down with Hiroshi across a low table in 
the social area of the office where unofficial chats were had.

"I have a question," said Sakai.

Sato nodded for him to go ahead.

"Why was the press here so late?" he asked.

"It's their job, and we right now are news, they can't talk about Russia and 
the Kuril's forever."

"No, just me and the Kurils," Sakai retorted. "I want to know if this is 
some sort of ambush."

Sato shook his head. "No. I assume the press is here for me, you were a 
lucky catch on their part. I appologize for that. It is not my intent to 
embarass you further."

"But it was your intent to embarass me to this point?"

Sato nodded. "You left yourself open," he said. "And honestly embarassment 
should be the least of your concerns."

Sakai eyes flared but he kept himself calm. "What do you mean by that?"

"The deal with Russia was a betrayal. I could not stand by and do nothing. 
Nor should you have let yourself be conned by your star student."

Hiroshi felt the anger boil up to the surface. "I was not conned!" he 
shouted. "The islands we received have value, not as territory, but in 
potential carbon resources, you know that, you read the reports that we gave 
to cabinet. Besides with our moves into southeast asia we can get oil 
elsewhere without having to spend millions in litigation with the Russians."

Sato's eyes flashed but he kept his voice even. "Our people don't care about 
that Hiroshi. We could spend billions of yen fighting this in every court in 
the world, and yes, the budget hawks would whine, the press would complain, 
but if we stop, they will scream louder. Look at Tanaka's LDP, they are 
shouting from every rooftop that you sold out Japan. How do you propose we 
fight that? Show the people what we are saving in lawyers fees? Tell them 
their might be oil under our rocks? They'll laugh at us, the *are* laughing 
at us. Those islands aren't dots on a map, they aren't oil exploration 
reports, they are Japan and at the end of the day that's what matters to the 
people."

"Japan? The Russians have had them for sixty-eight years Shunichi!"

"And how long did we hold Manchuria? Was it any less Chinese when we lost 
the war and had to give it back?"

"Not sixty-eight years."

"No but time doesn't matter. Because when the LDP is done everyone will be 
thinking, if we can sell the Kuril islands, what's next? Okinawa? The 
Americans have been there just as long as the Russians have been in the 
Kurils."

"That's insane!"

"Yes, but who says people are sane when it comes to national pride. Just 
look at the Russian news, they made off like bandits and still people 
protest over the loss of the same two rocks our people are furious were all 
we gained. It's ridiculous, but that is people, and that is what you my 
friend don't understand."

"And you do?"

"I don't claim to be an expert, but I've kept my seat in the Diet for the 
last twenty years, that has to be good for something."

"Perhaps it's because they haven't noticed your father's died and left it 
for you," Hiroshi said, it was a cheap shot he knew but right now he didn't 
much care.

Sato smiled. "Pehaps," he said. "Either way, why I kept my seat and you had 
to resign as Prime Minister is academic."

"Funny," Hiroshi said.

"I'd hoped you'd catch that," Sato smiled. "But the point is what happens 
now, that is what matters. I want to offer you a job."

"Excuse me?" Hiroshi asked.

"I want to offer you a job, as my advisor on foreign affairs."

"I'd have to resign my diet seat for that."

"Yes, but politically, right now, you're finished. Whichever assemblyman, or 
mayor the LDP drums up in four years to challenge your seat will stand on 
top of his van and shout, Kuril Islands! And the seat is theirs."

Hiroshi looked down into his scotch trying not to see the truth in what Sato 
was saying.

Sato continued. "You resign your seat and you've got the job for the 
duration of my term as Prime Minister."

"Or I could go back to teach and probably make more money than you do."

"True, but I could go back to being a CEO and do the same, but money isn't 
why we do this Hiroshi, is it? We do it because each morning we wake up and 
find the world a little different than it was the day before and at it is 
because of us. We matter, we make a difference. What I am offering you is a 
way to matter."

Hiroshi squeezed his glass, hard, as he took a sip. This was too much. Sato 
had hit the nail right on the head with his motivations, but he couldn't let 
him see it. He had his pride.

He finished the drink and somehow managed to make his hand let go when he 
set the glass down on the table.

"No thank you Mr. Prime Minister," he said in a calm and composed voice.

Sato finished his drink. "Then I guess there is nothing more to talk about."

Hiroshi nodded and got to his feet and walked to the door of the office and 
turned back. "You're a real bastard," he said.

Sato laughed. "I am," he said. "But politics is kind to bastards."

Hiroshi shook his head turned the nob of the door and left. He shut it 
behind him and the earth trembled. Causing Ms. Ishikawa to grab hold of her 
coffee cup as it bounced across their desk.

Hirosh smiled sadly and said. "I didn't think I'd hit bottom so hard."

She smiled sympathically as he walked out of the outter office and 
into...who knew...

***

Sato shook his head as Hiroshi shut the door. What a waste of a good mind, 
he thought. But at least the man had pride. He respected him for that. When 
the room shook, Sato laughed. "I hope it's not a sign of things to come," he 
said to his wife's painting as he took the glasses and put them in the 
center of the table and went to the phone to have Yuriko, his secretary, to 
call a steward to take them away.

"Yuriko," he said once she answered. "Send a steward..."

His direct line beeped, he checked the display. It was his chief of staff, 
Hide.

"Send a steward?" asked Yuriko.

"Yes, thank you," he said absently as he hit the button to change lines. 
"Hide, I thought you'd gone home."

"I wasn't finished but something's happening. Mount Baekdu has errupted."

"Was that what..."

"The earthquake, yes, but it's much worse in China."

"How bad is it?" Sato asked.

"They don't know, but they are guessing very bad."

"I'll be at the Command Center in twenty minutes."

"I'll see you there."

***

Sato didn't remember the ride to the National Command Centre he remembered 
the phone calls his aides passed to him though. The eruption was Plinian, 
which someone explained was based on Pliny’s account of the destruction of 
Pompeii. Sato had visited Pompeii once on a vacation to Italy, he knew what 
that meant. He received world from the Fire and Disaster Agency that there 
was a tsunami warning being issued for Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures. Sato 
took that grim news stoically and gave the nod to begin evacuations as 
necessary.
The grim mood that news had brought hadn’t lifted as he walked into the 
National Command Centre, the nerve center for the government in the case of 
war or major natural disaster.

“What’s our situation?” he asked his chief of staff who was talking to 
Defence Minister Inukai.

Hideyoshi turned saying. “The Fire and Disaster Agency has taken over 
co-ordination of evacuation efforts and Minister Inukai has put all 
engineering and disaster response units of the JSDF under their control.”

Inukai stepped in. “We’ve also issued an order for Kure fleet base in Aomori 
to evacuate it’s ships to the far side of Honshu, just as a precaution the 
Meteorological agency doesn’t predict it will reach Kure. As well, we’ve 
activated the disaster response units in all other army groups besides the 
Northern and Northeastern group to stand ready for deployment to the 
effected areas should it be nessisary.”

Sato nodded. “Good, great… is there anything much left we can do about 
what’s going to hit here?”

Both men looked at each other and then shook their heads. “Nothing except 
prayer,” Hide said.

Sato sighed and sat down. “I’d call to To-shogu if I felt it would help.”

Hide nodded. “Alright, lets get a meeting going here, since we can’t all go 
out in boats and command the wave to stop.”

The men around the room chuckled as they did as their new Prime Minister 
asked.

“So have done everything we can for the people in Aomori and Hokkaido? What 
about NGOs have they been contacted?”

Hideyoshi nodded. “Yes, sir, the Disaster Agency is handling all of that.”

“Excellent,” he said. “Thank goodness this sort of thing is competently 
managed in this country. Okay then, the wider issues, has anyone heard any 
word out of the US about what they’re going to do about Baekdu?”

”Nothing yet, though there have been inspections and head counts ordered at 
all USFJ and USFK bases.”

“Have we done the same?” Sato asked.

“Underway,” Inukai answered.

“Good get that done and offer the US any help they require keeping track of 
their people here, as well let them know we will gladly assist them in any 
aid efforts for China, but will not be able to know how much Japan will be 
able to contribute until we have a full view of what the tsunami will do 
when it hits. We will give the same message to China, offering them whatever 
support we can once things have settled here.”

Minister Jonouchi nodded and promised to have the Foreign Ministry pass on 
the message.

Sato looked around. “Is that all?”

The men around the table looked from each man to the next, then Hideyoshi 
spoke for them. I believe everything is well in hand until the tsunami 
hits.”

“Let’s hope we keep things in hand then, we could get lucky and it will miss 
us,” Sato said smiling for the first time since he entered the room. “But 
sadly I don’t think we’re that lucky.”

Actions:

1>	Out with the old boss in with the new boss… who is hopefully more fun for 
me to play than the old boss was.
2>	Turn over handling the disaster to the Japanese Fire and Disaster Agency 
which will co-ordinate local and national response, as well as work with the 
JSDF and NGOs to help with the evacuations and help with the inevitable 
clean up to follow.
3>	Offer the US assistance in checking their bases and do the same with 
ours.
4>	Let the US and China know that as soon as Japan has sorted out their 
needs, it will be willing to help in whatever way it can to help the Chinese 
and North Koreans.

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