Summoning Our Country - NHS Kai

Chapter 2.5: State of Emergency

Takamori swallowed in an effort to maintain his composure as the reporters started losing theirs. Flashes intensified, but he continued regardless.

"Setting aside the scientific impossibility of this conclusion and its ramifications in that field, this puts our nation in a severely horrible position, unprecedented in history. With mounting confidence that we are truly severed from our allies and trade partners, we are expecting veritable effects of intense magnitude on our economy and security. Thus, with the powers vested in me as prime minister, I hereby declare a state of emergency on the entire country, effective immediately."

Unable to keep to themselves their curiosity and agitation, the reporters promptly hounded him with questions.

Embassy of the United States of America to Japan, 11:00

A good amount of men and women tuned in to the live broadcast, listening to the prime minister's conference as they had to handle an endless workload pressing down on them. They were trying to restore communications with other American stations in the periphery of the western Pacific. As soon as the prime minister dropped the uncomfortable truth, many among the embassy staff began panicking, their supposedly temporary tenure in the land of the rising sun now made depressingly permanent. Some could not hold back their sobbing, distraught at the prospect of not being able to go back home. Those that consoled them gave them hope, but deep inside, they too knew how hopeless the situation seemed for them.

Ambassador Francis Woods was with his staff, watching with them the prime minister's live press conference on the flat screen. Tired from being consumed in his work, he had long made off without his formal coat, effectively dropping formalities with his staff as he shared their devastation and anxieties. Wiping the sweat that had accumulated on his wrinkled face despite the air conditioning, he listened in on the conference as a question of interest was brought up by a reporter.

"What of the foreign nationals currently stuck on Japanese soil? Also, if I recall correctly, the US still maintains a considerable force presence on the islands, and now there's also the United Kingdom's carrier strike group, which is also present in Yokosuka."

Woods watched as Takamori's line of sight lingered in the air for a good four seconds, gnashing his teeth in anticipation of his answer.

"We are currently drafting plans for how they will be processed and treated, with the appropriate government organs collaborating with every nations' diplomatic missions in a coordinated effort. As for the question of foreign military forces, with regards to the US, we are affirming our strong ties, bound by the terms of the security alliance, in maintaining mutual security. Now–"

"What the hell?"

It was a safe answer, but it contained hints of what they hoped to expect from the American side. For them to uphold their end of the mutual defense agreement, the US would definitely have to keep its forces afloat and maintained. However, without material, financial, and manpower support from the rest of the United States, they'd end up with no military. Woods assumed that the Japanese understood the USFJ's dilemma, and he knew that the prime minister would not have said that without an idea as to how to proceed.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he turned to his right, where another man stood with his back leaning on the wooden cubicle. His sharp features and blonde hair added class to his appearance as he looked down on the floor, deep in thought. The man was Daniel, a CIA intelligence officer based in the embassy, and likely a useful asset for the foggy road ahead.

"What do you make of that answer, Danny?"

Calling him by his nickname did not faze the man, but the question provoked a long "hmmm."