21. Unilateral Declaration of Defense Obligations

Thank you for the correction. In the previous installment, I mistakenly wrote the unit of power output as kWh; it has now been corrected to kW. kWh is a unit of energy, not power.

We received a sincere response from the Japanese Government, and despite the heavy-handed nature of the negotiations, this round concluded as a considerable success. I believe the Japanese public now holds a favorable impression of Agirakana.

I have no intention of establishing diplomatic relations with any nation other than Japan. But if that is the case, Japan—being the sole country with diplomatic ties to Agirakana—risks becoming isolated in the international community. To prevent such an outcome, it is necessary to send a clear message to all other nations.

As for Agirakana, the next steps after decontamination operations will be the re-development of the nuclear power plant site and the establishment of an embassy.

A Yen Loan, similar to a grant, amounting to one trillion yen has already been secured, so for the sake of goodwill, this money must be funneled back to Japanese corporations.

The rapid redevelopment of the Nuclear Power Plant Site is something only Agirakana can manage—no alternative there—but as for the Embassy, we’d ideally like to allocate funds to Japanese construction firms. Unfortunately, the timeline suggests it will take nearly a year, so we’ve decided to handle the main structure ourselves. For the exterior works around the Embassy—those that can afford a little delay—we’re considering outsourcing.

Re-developing the Nuclear Power Plant Site into a Fusion Power Plant is, in theory, straightforward—essentially just a matter of transporting the fusion power plant from a construction vessel and installing it—but still requires aligning power transmission standards with Japanese electric companies. For this reason, we’ve assigned Alexandra Nabaito from the Secretary's Office to be dispatched to the power companies. That said, I expect her work will wrap up in two or three days at most. The receiving side will likely have to make some accommodations, but let’s hope both parties manage.

Agirakana is a nation exceptionally friendly toward the Japanese Government. Following the nuclear accident, Agirakana handled the aftermath at no cost, and the news that the Japanese Government had promptly established diplomatic relations with Agirakana spread across the world.

Inquiries from foreign governments to the Japanese Government intensified, yet the Japanese Government offered no details beyond what had been reported in the news. Ambassadors from major powers stationed in Tokyo requested meetings with high-ranking officials, but were repeatedly turned down on grounds of busy schedules. Even the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, though, managed to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs—though, as expected, gleaned no new information.

And on Monday, the first day of the week, the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened precisely on time. A buy order at the opening price for all listed stocks—perhaps unprecedented since the exchange's inception. By the close of the morning session, only a few percent of stocks had registered trades; the rest remained stubbornly at their upper circuit limits, their quotes frozen in place. With no sell orders forthcoming, it appeared likely that the majority of securities would close the day without any trades at all, and proportionate allocation would not be necessary. Already, on the over-the-counter market, large buy orders had surfaced at prices roughly ten percent above the upper limit, but without any sellers to match them, none had yet been executed.

The foreign exchange market, which had plummeted during the night in Tokyo time on Friday of last week, had already surpassed Thursday’s level by noon and was trending 10 percent stronger in yen terms, with further appreciation likely. Normally, trading activity would be sluggish at this hour—dealers take their lunch breaks—but today, massive orders poured in from overseas banks starting early in the morning, and the phones in the trading room never stopped ringing. There was no chance for a break.

A broadcast jam like the first day’s was, of course, out of the question this time. Instead, we handed the recorded footage to major television networks and leading internet video platforms, requesting it be aired at noon. The video data was time-locked—sealed so its contents remained unknown until just ten minutes before broadcast.

“Time for the midday news. We’ve received a video message from Mr. Yamada, Representative of Agirakana. We’ll be airing it before the first news item today.”

"This is Keiichi Yamada from Agirakana. We have successfully established diplomatic relations with Japan. We look forward to continued cooperation.

As you know, we entered into diplomatic relations with Japan solely for the purpose of trade—but we have no plans to conduct trade with any other nation. To all viewers watching this broadcast, let us be perfectly clear: Agirakana has no intention of establishing diplomatic relations with any country other than Japan. Furthermore, please note that the Japanese government has no involvement whatsoever in this matter—so kindly keep that in mind.

Lastly, and for the first time, including the Japanese government: Agirakana hereby declares, effective today at 00:00 Japan Standard Time, a unilateral defense obligation toward Japan."

A bilateral defense obligation, in this case, means that if Japan is attacked by any foreign power, Agirakana will regard it as an attack on itself and may take countermeasures accordingly. Please note that this does not refer exclusively to physical aggression. Furthermore, unauthorized entry into any area under Japan’s sovereignty—its territorial waters, airspace, EEZ, and so on—may also be considered a provocation against Agirakana, warranting similar responses. Conversely, if Agirakana is attacked, Japan bears no obligation whatsoever.

This arrangement is merely a protective measure for Agirakana’s assets and interests within Japan—no additional funds, such as a goodwill budget, will be requested.

Agirakana will not interfere with any nation other than Japan unless such circumstances arise—please rest assured.

“The video message you’ve just seen was delivered this morning to television stations across the country and major video platforms, and has been requested for broadcast at this time.”

It goes without saying that the yen continued to strengthen after the broadcast. In the stock market, the bid prices of nearly all listed securities remained glued to their upper limit, as before—though it seemed, slightly, that sell orders at the upper limit had begun to emerge for defense-related stocks.