[War] Japan: "Settling it on the Links"

[Ian Martell]

“Settling it on the Links”
Japan
July 3rd 2014
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While the Japanese civil service had downgraded their job action from a full on national strike to rotating strikes throughout the country, it was still embarrassing and terribly inconvenient for the Sato government, so it was decided in the last Cabinet meeting before everyone disappeared for a little bit of vacation, that it was time to throw in the towel.

However, the Cabinet wasn’t willing to cave entirely; the cabinet had its pride after all and being Japan, the matter wouldn’t be offered at the negotiating table without first having a sense of the other side’s position.

Kenzo Shimada the Cabinet Secretary strolled up to the tee and set down his ball before taking a deep cleansing breath and visualizing a nice clean shot going down the length of the fairway and landing in the hole. Then with no other forethought swung cleanly and followed through. Reality as it turned out was not quite so kind as his visualization, but he nodded in satisfaction as he saw his ball skip once on the green a roll to a stop within a meter of the hole.

Hideki Nomiya a senior bureaucrat from the Cabinet office, and Shimada’s opponent on the links smiled and nodded approvingly. “Good shot, Kenzo!” he applauded. The despite Shimada being a new appointee to the Cabinet Secretary’s post, Shimada and Nomiya had, like most senior politicians and bureaucrats had grown up in the same environment, attending the same Tokyo high school, two years apart, and both graduating with high marks from Tokyo University and spent most of their lives moving in the same social circles. As such they were friends before they had even met professionally.

Shimada smiled. “I’d have liked it better a meter to the left,” he joked mildly.

Nomiya chuckled as Shimada cleared the tee for the bureaucrat to take his shot. Nomiya’s stile was more kinetic, as he took a couple of slow practice swings that stopped at the ball before he let fly, his ball fell short of the green but no by much, and the two men went back to their clubs, carried by their caddies.

“So, Hideki, I might have some good news,” Shimada brought up as he handed his club to his caddie and walked with his friend towards their cart. 

“Oh?” asked Nomiya.

“The Cabinet has decided this is the time to push for removal of Article 9 from the constitution, as such we are concerned about government unity, and this strike, and so we are willing to make an offer we feel could end it in an amicable way.”

Nomiya nodded. “What sort of offer?” he asked not quite keeping the skepticism out of his voice, he knew that Prime Minister Sato was furious with the situation and wasn’t likely to make an offer worth hearing until he calmed himself.
“We cannot of course entirely scrap the review, but what we’re offering will take the threat out of it.”

Nomiya nodded and Shimada continued. “We’ll turn the review over to the civil service in its entirety. You can decide how long to take, and who will perform the review, and in return we promise no more cut-backs than you yourselves propose.”

“And if we propose none?” asked Nomiya.

“There must be cut-backs Hideki,” Shimada says. “You know it would be foolish to leave the Civil Service as it is when our population is shrinking.”

Nomiya made a non-committal noise. 

“Then if we refuse this offer?” Nomiya as the pair reached the cart. 

“Then the Cabinet will make the cuts themselves,” Shimada replied. “With outside consultation.”

Nomiya chewed the inside of his cheek. “How long until you make this offer at the table?”

“As long as two weeks,” replied Shimada.

“I see,” replied Nomiya thoughtfully. “Perhaps we can have lunch in a week or so, to discuss this?”

Shimada nodded. “Of course, I will be at my home outside Nagano, I’ll arrange for you to come up; there is this new hot spring spa I think you’ll enjoy…”

Actions:

1>	The Cabinet offers the civil service, full control of the review process to end the strike, but with the condition that there must be cuts of some kind.
2>	Hint at Japan’s plans re: Article 9.