[War] Japan: "In the Morning"

[Ian Martell]

"In the Morning"
Prime Minister Shunichi Sato
Akemi Sato
4 August 2014
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Akemi was pleased to see her father laugh without sarcasm or bitterness at 
the news she brought him.

"We're unlikely to be guilty eh?" he asked adjusting his tie in the mirror 
in his rooms at the Sori Kantei. "I guess that will have to do from the 
Chinese."

Akemi smiled. "Most likely," she said. "Anyhow it's a good sign."

Sato nodded. "Agreed," he said. "A very good sign."

Satisfied with how his tie was he turned and looked over to his daughter who 
stood in his bedroom door having just brought him the latest news from 
Foreign Affairs. "Did you hear about Romania?" he asked.

"Yes, have they really gone into isolation?" she asked.

"They have," he said shaking his head. "I was thinking of doing the same 
thing, do you think the markets would notice?"

Akemi smiled. "Perhaps."

"Ah, the freedom of irrelevance," Sato said. "Apparently the President was 
in some sort of cheap American movie?"

"Yes, I saw the clip on the internet."

Sato shook his head again. Really, these Europeans. "Interesting, you'll 
have to show it to me sometime, anyhow, we're discontinuing the ODA loans 
and seizing the Romanian Embassy and whatever assets they're government has 
in our banks."

"Will that cover it?" asked Akemi.

"Not even close," Sato said. "We've leant the bastards nearly a billion 
dollars American since they were liberated from Socialism, and we're only 
going to be able to legally seize  a few hundred million, the rest we're 
going to have to sue for, though who knows if they'll even listen to world 
courts.

He shrugged. "Oh, well, we'll sue the next government, when they realize 
that the world can no longer be shut out in the 21st Century."

It was likely things were going to happen like that, a shame though, the 
sentiment was a noble one, but Akemi was learning that noble sentiment was 
usually the first thing ground to dust between the wheels of international 
politics.

"Any word on the Canadian operation?"

Grunting Sato moved to his bed side table and picked up a folder he had put 
there. "Nothing much, just confirmed what Yoshida suggested, they came in 
under legitimate Canadian passports and exited the same way."

"But it wasn't just the Canadians was it?"

Sato shrugged. "What do you think?"

"I think it was the US, the Canadians used to need to beg a ride off the US 
just to get their troops out of the country to go on peacekeeping missions, 
I don't think things have changed enough in the last decade for them to 
invade China, and then escape alive."

"And?"

"The Americans were liberated," she replied. "Williams has made a big deal 
about them, and failing to get them out through negotiation is a major loss 
of face."

Sato nodded. He knew John, he was a hard man to read, he could be generous 
and ruthless in equal parts and so far Sato had yet to figure out what 
elicited one response and what elicited the other. So anything was possible. 
However Sato had his own theories about the conspiracy and most of them lead 
through Seoul.

"Very likely so, however, given we have a number of American troops on our 
islands, we'll hold our judgment until the Chinese prove or disprove their 
involvement."

"In the meantime what are we doing about the Canadians?" she asked.

"Well for one thing, we're expelling their ambassador this morning, the 
consulates will be left alone, but he'll be gone, and we're talking to 
Finance about taking the Chinese up on their offer of seizing their assets 
in Japan, as well as backing the UN resolution and leaning on our trade 
partners to do the same."

Akemi nodded. "A shame, I like Canada," she said.

"So do I, which makes this frustrating, but McColl has gone too far."

Actions:

1>	Seize the Romanian Embassy, and sell it off to cover some of what we're 
owed along with any Romanian government assets in Japanese banks and 
discontinuing any ODA loans currently in effect. If any Romanians take 
literally the Romanian presidents suggestion about blasting, they will be 
arrested and charged accordingly. Romanian tourists and businessmen will be 
permitted to stay as long as their travel visa permits and the MoJ will hear 
any requests for economic asylum.
2>	Continue to wait and see re: the US.
3>	Expel the Canadian ambassador and issue a statement that Japan will 
support the Chinese resolution before the Security Council.
4>	Japan will lean on their allies on the Security Council to do the same.