19. Negotiations

Yamada Keiichi and Inade, the Cabinet Secretary, exchanged handshakes at the front entrance of the Prime Minister's residence. Familiar faces, of course—though he had only seen them on television.

"Representing the Spacecraft Nation Agirakana, I am Yamada. The four behind me are my secretaries."

"I am Sato, Prime Minister of Japan."

"I am Inade, Cabinet Secretary. Welcome. And welcome to you all as well."

The four members of the Secretary's Office bowed in unison.

"Then, if you'll follow me, we'll proceed to the conference room. This way."

They entered the Prime Minister's residence, led by the two.

Though it was their first time entering, the place was extravagantly constructed. What surprised them most was the wide, open-air garden inside the building, with dense bamboo groves stretching up to the higher floors. It was clearly a strategy to reduce floor area ratio by creating unnecessary space—something the Prime Minister’s residence itself seemed to be bound by. A peculiarly bureaucratic touch, they noted with faint admiration.

The conference room they were led to wasn’t particularly large, but three ministers—familiar faces from television—were already seated.

Upon their entrance, the three ministers rose and bowed. They bowed in return, briefly. Self-introductions, for now, could be skipped.

They took their seats and began negotiations.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for hearing our request. And I’m sure you were startled yesterday by the sudden appearance of a spacecraft above Tokyo. Please accept our apologies.”

“It’s quite all right, really. After all, here we are—Mr. Yamada from Agirakana, speaking peacefully, as if over tea.”

“Thank you. To get straight to the point, as we mentioned on morning television, we would like to establish diplomatic relations with Japan, rent land on a paid basis, and set up an embassy within Japanese territory.”

“Rental of land?”

“Yes, that is our preferred arrangement. Currently, travel from Japan to our country is impossible, so establishing an embassy in Japan from our side remains a future consideration.”

“What do you plan to do after establishing diplomatic relations?”

“We envision conducting trade—exchanging goods with fair compensation, mutually agreed upon. For example, we possess energy and metal resources in quantities that could be described as limitless. But we lack culture, as represented by food. Movies, too, are absent. So are dramas. Anime, likewise.”

As compensation for importing such culture from Japan, we propose, first and foremost, a stable supply of clean energy to Japan.

Moreover, we of Agirakana do not use currency. Therefore, we would prefer all settlements to be conducted through Japanese yen. We believe this arrangement would be mutually beneficial—what are your thoughts?

Currently, the only tangible asset we can offer is energy—specifically, electricity. However, should you require it, we can provide any metal you desire, including rare earth elements. To facilitate such transactions, we wish to establish an Agirakana facility in Japan. This would serve as the primary function of our embassy.

"Why use yen rather than dollars as the settlement currency?"

"Because we Agirakana intend to establish diplomatic relations and conduct trade exclusively with Japan. In short, we see no need for any currency other than yen."

The Japanese delegation, in unison, reacts with a visible start—perhaps, but the truth is, they’d rather not deal with a country that’s barely holding itself together.

“Seems we’re being quite generously purchased by your side. May I ask why?”

“We believe that engaging with Japan fulfills nearly all of our needs. As I mentioned on this morning’s broadcast, I am Japanese. I take pride in being Japanese—so naturally, we have no interest in dealing with any other nation.”

“I see.”

“Incidentally, I’m currently a citizen of the Agirakana, but Japan doesn’t recognize dual nationality, does it?”

“No, not at all. If Mr. Yamada here agrees, we can certainly grant you Japanese citizenship without issue. Given the exceptional circumstances, we can make emergency accommodations—anything at all, really.”

The Cabinet Secretary, Izu, hastily chimes in.

"Thank you. From Japan’s perspective, establishing diplomatic relations with you, the Agirakana, who’ve just arrived from space, would be a difficult explanation to the general public. So, I think it would be better to demonstrate Agirakana’s concrete goodwill to the people of Japan. Once you’ve shown results, we can certainly consider establishing diplomatic relations with our nation."

"What do you mean by 'concrete goodwill'?"

"Exactly. We propose to take over the decontamination operation currently underway in the areas affected by harmful radioactive substances. Once the decontamination is complete, we’ll construct our own energy plant on the site. With the surrounding power infrastructure still largely intact, it would be a win-win—no, better yet, a win-win-win. Not only would it solve the problem, but it would also significantly boost our credibility with the people of Japan."

"If that’s truly possible, we’d be honored to accept."

"Understood. Ain, we’ll leave the rest to you."

Nodding in agreement with Prime Minister Atsuhiko, she turned the floor over to Ain.

"Yes. I am Ain, secretary to Representative Yamada. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"First, may I confirm— the decontamination target area is the former nuclear plant site and its immediate vicinity, correct?"

Having confirmed the Prime Minister’s nod, Ain continued.

"Understood. For safety and operational efficiency, please evacuate all personnel and necessary equipment from the target area prior to the commencement of work."

At that, she withdrew a card-sized communicator from the bag she had brought and placed it on the desk.

“This card functions like a direct-line phone to us. Speak directly into the device, and a designated representative will respond. Once evacuation from the target zone is complete, please inform us. The Decontamination Operation will begin within six hours of receiving your call. Completion time depends on the area’s size and conditions, but it should take no more than seventy-two hours—three days, at most.”

“In that case, we’ll immediately evacuate personnel and equipment from the work zone. There will be confirmations and checks, but we’ll have completed the evacuation by the end of today.”

Understood. We will conduct our own verification regarding personnel within the premises. Should no issues arise, we will dispatch our work team to the site tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. Please refrain from approaching the vicinity. From ground or sea level, maintaining a distance of over one kilometer from the target area should suffice. However, the work team will approach from above and conduct operations aerially, so please avoid any aerial approach—helicopters included.

Furthermore, please note that all nuclear waste, including unused nuclear fuel, within the target area—on the surface, underground, and elsewhere—will be disposed of by us, as per protocol.

According to the government’s announcement, this morning, following talks between the Prime Minister and five senior cabinet ministers and Agirakana’s representative delegation, it has been decided that starting tomorrow morning at eight, Agirakana’s dispatched work team will carry out decontamination of the disaster-stricken power plant site and its surrounding areas.

According to Agirakana’s official statement, the operation will be completed within seventy-two hours. The government has indicated it will consider formal diplomatic recognition of Agirakana in light of the outcome. Incidentally, updates on Agirakana-related developments will be relayed as they become available, even during scheduled program breaks.

“Next news item. According to a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department, this morning, as Agirakana’s official delegation descended upon the front steps of the Prime Minister’s residence, multiple armed assailants attempted some form of disruption against the delegation. Fortunately, a bystander nearby intervened and subdued the attackers without serious injury.

The civilian who apprehended the assailants left the scene immediately afterward and has not yet been identified. Five individuals have been arrested by police. Their names are… currently, investigations are ongoing, including the circumstances and possible behind-the-scenes connections.”

Since yesterday, the Japanese Government has been receiving a steady stream of inquiries from various nations regarding spacecraft—yet it continues to avoid giving clear answers, citing ongoing efforts to sort through the situation.