stjorthotic Chapters 1574 and 1583, the Opposition? They're clearly terrorists!!
Chapters 1574 and 1583, the Opposition? They're clearly terrorists!!
Things quickly progressed beyond Naoki Nagayama's expectations.
On the opening day of the Diet, Prime Minister Tagako Doi's remarks that "the Emperor is guilty" provoked a backlash from right-wing forces. Many right-wing supporters publicly criticized the Prime Minister, insisting on the "Emperor's innocence" and demanding an apology.
This sentiment quickly spread to right-wing groups in the community, leading to marches and demonstrations. Many far-right groups even began attacking left-wing groups, engaging in violent activities, and creating social chaos.
"Naoki-san, let me tell you, I was really shocked today!!"
The voice on the phone from Itō Shuichi still sounded somewhat flustered.
"It's true, two trucks, both fully loaded with gasoline!! They were speeding towards the Prime Minister's residence!!"
"What?! What happened in the end?"
"If the guards hadn't noticed in time, and if it weren't for the roadblocks in front of the Prime Minister's residence, the guards at the scene could have rushed over and pulled the two people out of the driver's seat!"
Shuichi Itō was still in shock.
"Two truckloads of gasoline, if they hit something and catch fire, they'll definitely explode! The entire Prime Minister's residence might burn down!"
"Even if it didn't explode, those two people were carrying lighters. They were there to start a fire!"
"!!!"
Naoki Nagayama was stunned. To be honest, he knew that Japan had a tradition of assassinating prime ministers. But to use a human petrol bomb was simply a terrorist attack!
To put it more bluntly, attempting to subvert state power is treason!
"Whose general is so brave?!"
"It's a group called the 'Youth League to Overthrow the YP (Yalta, Potsdam) System'! The people driving are their members, named Shinichi Mizutani and Yasuhiko Nagatomo."
Shuichi Itō said,
"This group has always been extremely radical. Ten years ago, they attacked a company under the Keidanren (Keidanren Group), and the year before last, they attacked a bank under Sumitomo and the private residence of the chairman of Sumitomo Realty & Development!"
"what?!"
Naoki Nagayama's thoughts drifted back to two years ago. Ah, right, there seemed to have been such a news story back then, but its popularity was quickly overshadowed by other events (the Recruit bribery case).
"They're incredibly brave. They attacked Keidanren and the Sumitomo Foundation, and they weren't killed. This group is formidable!"
"No way!"
Shuichi Itō scoffed.
"In the past, throwing 'stink bombs' was just a provocation, but I didn't expect them to actually do it this time!"
"."
Naoki Nagayama remained noncommittal.
He felt that those two, Shinichi Mizutani and Yasuhiko Nagatomo, might just want to take action to scare the cabinet, express their own stance, and gain some attention and popularity. They might even want to act big in front of the other members!
But perhaps when the order was given to his men to load the gasoline, one of the more naive men genuinely believed they were going to be kamikaze pilots and actually filled the container with gasoline!
These two people are now completely helpless!
"How are those two doing?"
"Of course they were arrested!!"
Shuichi Itō said angrily,
"This time, the sentence must be severe!!"
"The Cabinet Secretariat has already made its stance clear!"
Naoki Nagayama paused for a few seconds, then uttered a single word:
"Should!"
"Yes, they're not just right-wing opposition figures anymore. They're clearly terrorists!!"
Shuichi Itō paused for a moment before speaking into the microphone.
"Naoki-san, I never imagined politics could be so dangerous."
"."
Upon hearing this, Naoki Nagayama was at a loss for words. This was a situation that one might not encounter for decades, yet Shuichi-san had run into it!
"Shuichi-san, if you want to retire from politics..."
"No!"
Shuichi Itō immediately spoke up,
"It's dangerous, but what isn't dangerous?!"
"If I'm afraid now that I have power and money, then I'll be even more helpless when I encounter this kind of thing again as an ordinary person!"
"Therefore, I cannot give up!"
".All right"
Naoki Nagayama nodded.
"Then be careful. If needed, we can arrange a security team for you!"
"Not for now. But who knows in the future."
Shuichi Itō didn't stand on ceremony and continued,
"Shuichi-san, Tokyo is in a mess right now, so you'd better work on your own security!"
"As a key supporter of the Social Democratic Party, and the president of the association, plus Naoki-san, you and your spouse are very famous."
"Hmm, I'll think about that carefully!"
Naoki Nagayama nodded and sighed.
"These far-right organizations feel like gangsters. No, they're even worse. Gangsters are mostly after money, but these are complete lunatics!"
"Yes, it's still very difficult to manage!"
Shuichi Itō sighed as well, saying that matters involving politics were the most troublesome!
Hearing Shuichi's complaint, Naoki Nagayama said:
"Isn't the Anti-Organized Crime Law about to be introduced?"
In my opinion, we should simply ignore their political factors and classify their actions—such as vandalism, looting, and arson—as 'violent gangs' and manage them like organized crime groups!
"This"
Itō Osamu paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"I doubt the Prime Minister would do that; she'd definitely have to consider the consequences. What if she's accused of suppressing dissent?"
"Haha. Politicians always overthink things!"
Naoki Nagayama shook his head. "Imagine the future Trump. So what if he suppressed dissent? He did it openly and clearly, so what?"
Aside from dissidents, allies, subordinates, media, and immigrants—they can suppress whomever they want!
After chatting for a few more minutes, Naoki Nagayama finally said to Shuichi Itō:
"Alright, Xiu-san, take care of yourself too."
When Naoki Nagayama ended the call and put down the receiver, a soft little face was pressed against his cheek.
Xiaoxiahua loves listening to phone calls. She always likes to lean close to the receiver when Nagayama Naoki is on the phone, so after he puts down the receiver, she'll press her face against it.
Holding the little one upright, Naoki Nagayama tapped her nose:
"Hana-chan, there are some phone calls you can't answer, and you wouldn't understand them anyway!"
The little one ignored that. So what if she didn't understand? No one could stop her from answering the phone. But one word mentioned on the phone today really piqued her curiosity:
"Dad, what's a stink bomb?"
"You stinky egg!"
Naoki Nagayama hesitated for a moment, but decided against telling his daughter about something as disgusting as a feces bomb.
"It's a spoiled egg, it's gone rotten!"
Xia Hua was very surprised after hearing this:
Will the eggs spoil? Will they smell bad?
The little guy has always eaten the freshest food since he was a child, and has almost never encountered spoiled eggs, rotten food, or spoiled snacks.
Thinking about it this way, maybe in the future, Xia Hua won't be able to tell if food is spoiled!
"It will spoil if left uneaten for a long time!"
Naoki Nagayama explained,
"Then it will go bad. If you see an egg like this and smell a foul odor, don't eat it, okay?"
"Ok!"
The little one nodded seriously. Although she's a little foodie, she won't eat anything that smells bad!
However, Naoki Nagayama also reminded himself that he needed to improve his children's education; he couldn't raise them to be ignorant and uncultured.
After managing to appease the little one, Naoki Nagayama looked at Akina:
"Akina, if you're going out to record a program during this period, you'll need to bring two more people with you."
"Hi!"
Akina had overheard some of it and nodded.
"I will communicate with the firm and be more careful when traveling."
Celebrities' schedules are usually very confidential and wouldn't be known by terrorists, but they might need to be more vigilant during this period.
If it weren't for the fact that "Voice of the Neon" was going to have its final episode, Naoki Nagayama would have advised Akina to stay home more.
Standing in the courtyard, looking at the cherry tree with its bare branches and the dense shrubs beyond the wall, Naoki Nagayama stroked his chin. Adding bodyguards to the house wouldn't work; they already had enough nannies and butlers. Neither of them liked having too many strangers in their lives.
Therefore, the only option is to strengthen security measures outside the area!
"Let's donate another sum to the Metropolitan Police Department to add more checkpoints at the surrounding intersections!"
Prime Minister's official residence.
Even though it's past closing time, the lights are still on here today.
Almost all the core figures of the ruling party gathered in the Prime Minister's office, and the head of the Prime Minister's Security Service and a high-ranking official of Sakuradamon also came here.
Behind the desk, Doi Tagako's face was full of frost and nonsense. She had almost been burned. How could she not be afraid and angry?!
Tomiichi Murayama addressed the crowd:
"This matter absolutely cannot be let go easily. Those two assassins—no, terrorists!! They must be severely punished! Severely punished!!"
Everyone else agreed!
"Yes! Absolutely intolerable!" "This is outrageous!! This is treason!" "They actually dared to set fire to the Prime Minister's residence!!"
"If you dare to drive a car full of gasoline today, you'll dare to use rockets tomorrow!!"
"."
The office was filled with righteous indignation; everyone was extremely angry!
However, all they said was to express their attitudes; not a single specific suggestion or solution was offered!
Finally, Doi Tagako tapped on her desk to signal everyone to be quiet:
"Shinichi Mizutani and Yasuhiko Nagatomo are just cannon fodder. Even that so-called 'Youth League to Overthrow the YP (Yalta, Potsdam) System' is nothing more than a tentacle of right-wing conservative forces! They're not even worthy of being called 'black gloves'~"
"This assassination attempt, along with the sudden increase in demonstrations and unrest over the past two days, are all demonstrations against us by right-wing conservative forces!"
"We cannot just look at the symptoms, nor can we only treat the symptoms without addressing the root cause!"
Doi Tagako looked at everyone in the office, her tone serious.
"We need to find a way to prevent these right-wing conservative forces from extending their reach any further!!"
After he finished speaking, the office fell silent.
Right-wing conservative forces are a chronic problem in Japan, a malignant tumor rooted in Japanese society. Operating on such a malignant tumor could even endanger the entire country of Japan!
This is not something that can be solved by a single policy or decree!
Moreover, the impact is significant. For politicians, proposing to purge right-wing forces will immediately attract many opposition enemies!
Those present were all seasoned politicians, many of whom were even able to move freely between different factions. No one would be foolish enough to take the blame upon themselves!
"Cough cough~"
After a long pause, Shinohara Tatsuya, the head of the public relations department at Sakuradamon, spoke up.
"Mr. Doi, this matter needs to be considered carefully!"
"However, there is a more urgent matter at the moment: how should we explain this assassination attempt to the public?"
Shinohara Tatsuya's words eased the atmosphere in the office slightly, and Murayama Tomiichi then made a suggestion:
"Mr. Doi, this incident must be dealt with severely. We must show other extremist groups the Cabinet's stance!"
"Ok!"
Doi Tagako nodded.
"I'd like to ask Sakuradamon to expedite the interrogation of this matter. Find the real team that orchestrated this and punish them severely!"
"Hi!"
Everyone present agreed on this point, and even the opposition in Congress probably wouldn't disagree. These crazy guys are completely out of control!
Seeing that no one could offer any constructive suggestions, Doi Tagako simply dismissed them:
"Alright, everyone go back and think about this carefully. We'll discuss it in detail later!"
With most of the ruling party's top officials gone, only Doi Tagako's close confidants remained in the office. Itō Shuichi was naturally among them.
At this moment, Doi Tagako abandoned her feigned composure:
"Those guys are afraid of this and that. In order not to offend anyone, they all stay out of it and protect themselves!"
"None of them worked!"
The confidants present nodded in agreement; they couldn't devise much by working with those people.
"The right-wing opposition is becoming increasingly active."
Doi Tagako looked at her trusted confidants.
"What do you guys think we should do?"
Secretary Kawabata Juto was the first to speak:
"Mr. Doi, first of all, we can support the voices of left-wing organizations and the activities of anti-right groups, so that they can overwhelm right-wing organizations in terms of public opinion!"
"Yes, that's acceptable!"
As prime minister, Tagako Doi naturally understood the importance of the public opinion battleground.
"Tadashi Yoshimoto, go and arrange for us to express our support for the anti-war groups' activities at a press conference!"
"Hi!"
"Next, invite anti-fascist organizations from around the world to Japan for exchanges, using international public opinion to create momentum~"
"This needs to be discussed in more detail."
Tagako Doi nodded, but this falls under the category of diplomatic activities and requires coordination among multiple departments.
Is there anything else?
"Prime Minister Doi can make a public statement condemning the actions of right-wing forces!"
"We can increase the Metropolitan Police Department's budget!! Strengthen control over right-wing elements!"
"Invite social celebrities to publicly criticize!"
"Ban far-right organizations!"
"."
Doi Tagako shook her head.
"That won't do; it will give the opposition something to use against democracy and freedom."
Everyone chimed in, offering numerous suggestions, but Doi Tagako felt they were all superficial. Then she noticed Itō Shuichi, lost in thought in the corner, and a hint of doubt crossed her mind:
"Shuichi-san, what are your thoughts?"
"what"
Shuichi Itō, who was called out, didn't panic and stepped forward.
"Mr. Doi, I was thinking about some things from the past."
"In 81, the Chinese consulate in the United States was set on fire, and the Soviet embassy was attacked. (This is related to the Yishui Association.)"
"In 82 and 83, there were further incidents of harassment involving the US and the Soviet Union. The British Embassy was also attacked by the Yishui Association."
"Back in 86, the radical faction even staged a suicide bombing incident. (Independence Union)"
"In 87, the Sumitomo Foundation was attacked. The harassment was carried out by the Red Reporting Corps."
"Last year, a time bomb incident occurred in Shizuoka. (Red News Team)"
"During this period, there were also numerous threats, intimidation, and other incidents!"
Shuichi Itō, having outlined this sequence of events, said to Tagako Doi:
"Therefore, it is clear that extremist organizations, such as the 'Red Army,' have become a problem that Japanese society cannot ignore!"
"The passing of the Emperor has further fueled the grief and anger of the right wing. If this is not controlled, similar incidents will continue to occur, causing unease in Japanese society!"
At this point, Shuichi Itō paused, looking around:
"I would like to suggest to Mr. Doi that you find a media outlet to produce a special report on this series of events to draw public attention to it!"
"In the past, the Asahi Shimbun was attacked by right-wing groups. I think the Asahi Shimbun would be happy to accept the task of bombing!"
".good!"
Upon hearing this, Doi Tagako outwardly agreed, but inwardly sighed. This was nothing more than a public relations maneuver!
Similarly, this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause!
As expected, if we were to ask someone like Shuichi Itō, who comes from the entertainment industry, for advice, it would probably only be something related to culture!
"Tadashi Yoshimoto, I'm entrusting you with contacting the Asahi Shimbun as well!"
"Hi!"
Just as Doi Tagako was about to ask the others, Itō Shuichi continued:
"Doi-san, I haven't finished speaking yet!"
"Ok?"
Shuichi Itō continued without pausing:
"Once a consensus is reached among the people, we can move on to the next step!"
"As far as I know, the Anti-Organized Crime Law has been basically completed and is just waiting to be passed!"
Itō Shuichi looked at Doi Tagako.
"By this time, the public had reached a consensus that groups like the Red Guards had a long history of violence, threats, and intimidation, posing a threat to social order."
“They can be designated as a ‘violent group’! And treated as organized crime by the police!”
"This avoids interference from political factors."
"."
Listening to Shuichi Itō's words, Tagako Doi fell into deep thought.
This suggestion is somewhat naive. To avoid interference from political factors, how could we possibly designate right-wing organizations as violent groups? That would definitely provoke opposition from right-wing political parties!
However, it does seem to have some feasibility!
At least, after the Asahi Shimbun shooting, the right-wing factions said the "Red News Corps" wasn't a right-wing group anymore. We can start with these overly extreme examples!
Now that the door is open, adding more will be much easier!
Any act of violence or intimidation can be designated as a violent group!
This can severely suppress the power of right-wing extremist organizations!
While this doesn't address the root cause, at least it's somewhat of a solution!
"Shuichi-san's suggestion does have some merit!"
Doi Tagako made the decision.
"Then let's start by creating momentum through public opinion!"
"Then, in the next parliamentary session, we must expedite the passage of the 'Anti-Organized Crime Law'!!"
"Hi!!"
"." (End of this chapter)