May 15th, 2026

Ministry of Defense No #7 Underground Operations Bunker, Nagano, Japan

"Let's get this meeting started" said PM Rui Nishikino. It has been two days since he decided to change his work atmosphere by temporarily set up his office in one of the most mountainous part of the country, with his family in tow.

The first to talk from the screen was the Senior Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Hiroaki Abe, followed by Finance Minister Masafumi Akimoto, beginning from the continuous process of strengthening the nation's financial system including dispersal of important assets in light of increased missile attacks, revenue from seized assets, general state of the budget, and even contributions by Japanese diaspora and other entities particularly from Europe and North America.

"Minister Hokaze, we are going to make a special thank you to the people of Austria and Switzerland, and the Prince of Monaco, of all people... with their recent financial contribution to our people, as well as the Free Koreans. There are still good in this world, indeed..."

The Foreign Minister Hokaze smiled, and responded. "Will do, Mr Prime Minister"

The first session then changed hands with multiple hopeful news from Economic, Trade, Supply, and Industry Minister Arisa Kouri and Defense Minister Watanabe pertaining to the state of the industrial base and it's continuous retooling for the war effort, particularly production of all sorts of weaponry as start, from small arms, vehicles, drones, shells...

"There is no such thing as too much good news. Kami-sama willing... we had seen too much defeatists and doom and gloom despite the liberation, now with the new shell factory by Daicel and Asahi-seiki in North East area of our country are finally online as well as steady supply from many unexpected sources..."

"On the other hand, it's been estimated that we require one or two more months for the first shells and other munitions to roll out from those two plants, one or two months too many." admitted Minister Watanabe.

But the most special attention went on to missiles, especially ground launched ones.

"I thought that we've gone through our one-month worth supply of Genbus, Type 12 Kai, Type 23 [Island Defense Missile] and Tomahawks when we renewed our attack on Chicom and Nokor's energy and port facilities covering our troop surge to Korea and to slow down CCP's naval buildup?"

Minister Watanabe responded "We have, indeed, and it's worth the results as everyone had known. However the manufacturers never sleep, especially with new supply from North America and even Asia in smaller portion, and with current parts and workers - including newly recruited ones - that they have at hand, they should be able to give us 200 cruise missiles per month starting this month, and up to 150 ballistic missiles [Genbu series], although half of it are meant for Korean Army use, not us. This not include lend-lease aid such as the recent shipment of 35 Precision Strike Missiles and a battery of Dark Eagles plus spare missiles.

As much as the PM had personally planned to visit his people again, particularly in the refugee camps or to South Korea, or merely to return to Tokyo, the Intelligence Community had put a wrench on it with four recent foiled assassination attempts against military and civilian officials, and one targeting the Imperial Family, primarily using drones, as well as similar cases in America, Europe, and even South East Asia. Examples including the unfortunately successful hit on the British Defense Minister (1), two US Senators, one Vietnamese deputy prime minister, and three South Korean representatives, all within the last week, including one particularly egregious case of one Korean representative got killed alongside his family when visiting their relatives in hospital in Busan. Added with ceaseless operation against any high-level turncoats within the state plus burden of intelligence sharing with allies pertaining to insider threats, the risk level was deemed unacceptable, at least for the rest of the month according to the analysts, made clear by updates from the US, presented by the CIRO Director Fujiwara, while the more visible and fit-for-public-consumption in the form of daily report of "Kokutai Happyou (News or Report of the State)", are the primary responsibility of Strategic Communications Board, a directly reporting unit of the Cabinet Office, as well as General Ueda of the CIDF.

"Americans reported that their FBI this month had arrested 25 people more compared to the last which was 350 cases, and it's still counting. I seriously wish that they will arrest more, for a more bang. In addition, that number does not include opportunistic actors (e.g. cults)... with some of those groupings that were not yet de-radicalized before the war believe that this war is the harbinger of the upcoming end of the world as they know it, especially inside their own country... just like what happened to many Unificationists (4) Related was last week's three cases of exposures of more troll farms."

"In American soil, you say?"

"Exactly" the spy chief said. "As well as in Europe and even in India, for heaven's sake."

"The IT Army of Japan and its allies in their "free time" are constantly on the front line against the trolls" stated General Ueda. "and other sorts of red propaganda especially by the so-called alternative media."

"...The Americans' info to us also contained potential targets inside their own soil and other Allies, and warned everyone within Coalition about the ongoing intensification of Red Chinese's overseas propaganda operations as well as recruitment efforts for their foreign legion, to compensate of the postponement of their planned, but daring, invasion plan against the Second Island Chains - Guam, Marianas, Micronesia - followed by Hawaii and Alaska, citing increasing attacks on railways, port facilities, R&D, cyber, ground based space support, and oil-gas infrastructure supporting their military forces, some attributed to home grown dissidents there. Each time their (Chinese) internal security apparatus exposed one, others popped up in another place, even in Beijing itself, or even within themselves. Many of them are still and will never to be useful in any post-CCP era through." Director Fujiwara was referring on how most militant, armed, and open oppositions to the Chinese Communist Party inside mainland China were either anarchists or part of syncretic and or doomsday religious cults.

"...On the other hand, they are cooking something out of the box, or I can say, crazy, means to bring their forces across the Pacific fast enough and to subsequently catch us by surprise... Our assets concluded that they [CCP] have enough loyal researchers and tech to come to such breakthrough. They were the first to weaponize space, remember, and here is a bad news... The recent strike on Tokyo and also Kyoto, of all places, was actually from their copy of American reusable rocket vehicle Blowgun system, added by the fact that they successfully used it against Continental USA in their first attempt." The screen changed to footages from two major American cities. "San Francisco and Los Angeles, the death toll, 150 people in total, including first responders."

"This is concerning!" stated the PM. "Nevertheless, what is your assessment on America's current landscape?"

"Along with the new Chinese capability I mentioned, the biggest problems there are still about the 'Peace Caucus' a bloc of Congressmen and women even within the president's party who are still clinging in a need to 'negotiate'... for the last three months. With law enforcement resources in the federal level and the judiciary are stretched with many things including assassinations of leaders mentioned before as well as anti-government rebel militias that are still popping up, they know that they could and are slowing down the Congress, even to paralyze it... But a reason to be optimistic is still there, knowing President Allen, he should at this point bypass them... inspired by Franklin Roosevelt back in his prime as US President." He left out the existence of a special American surveillance and data mining program called Statesman for a good reason.

"We have to use our leverage as well, first, to 'persuade' our American allies for a faster action."

A moment of reminiscing for the Prime Minister, his mind was on the early phase of the war when 25 accused pro-Chinese members of Diet were purged, stripped from their seat, and subsequently brought into trial with five most-senior members were handed death sentence in addition to asset forfeitures, although most of them subsequently went to appeal with various degrees of progress in the higher-level courts including the Supreme Court. Even with that, their public career and even their family life was effectively destroyed by the public opinion. Then...

"Anyway, people, let's let off some steam" Nishikino pressed one button on his laptop.

"CHINA IS NOT YOUR ENEMY, ITS AT YOUR HOME"

"Look out and laugh" it was the Finance Minister who first to break out from his usual demeanor as the screen showed a transcript from a podcast in English. Not just a podcast...

"Cannot (haha) agree more!" replied the youngest Cabinet Minister of Nishikino's government, Digital Affairs Minister Noboru Makinami pointing at his screen. The said podcast transcript shown to the amused ministers was called Real State of the Union. It was a joint RealTruth (2) production with contributions including a natural language model resembling voice of a famous "anti-establishment" figure and other sorts of extremists - one contributor identified himself as a "Patriotic Pure Blood (3) Christian Father.", for example. Another contributor identified herself as a Maoist Nationalist girl, and many more. The said show was also in YouTube, before the US Government commanded the giant behind it to took it down, permanently, but at that point they had migrated most of it's contents to alternative providers.

"That's what's called projecting, people." quipped Aki Nishikata, the Minister of Children and Family Affairs, a practicing psychologist and child therapist before he went on to be a Diet member and subsequent ministership. "As much as Christians that I know and interact with, like the Archbishop of Tokyo from the Catholic Church, also the Japan Council of Churches, are ardently against communism, but alas, things had changed..."

Done with the break, the second session saw the Interior and Communications Minister ex officio Minister of Reconstruction Tokugawa Yamanichi took his turn and began, "Mr. Prime Minister, the recovery effort in Okinawa continues to run its course as reconstructions had reached 50 percent of the earthquake affected area. We also continued relocations of those opting for it, especially with the drone, missile, air, and special forces raids that are still happening on the Ryukyu Islands in general, especially those with pre-existing condition and the old..."

The PM interrupted, "-Ichiro, ensure Speaker Tanabata [speaker of the House of Representatives/Shuugiin] knows Minister Tokugawa could soon to be contacting her office for a supplemental budget increase. Make sure they get the funds they need and let's get Reconstruction and Recovery Special Committee [of the Shuugiin] to get to work to ensure the money is getting to the right people and right place, remember, some of it were donations from our diaspora."

"Yes, Mr Prime Minister, I'll send him a message following the meeting," Cabinet Secretary Ichiro Sonoda responded, tapping a short note on his tablet. He would also then backed it up in handwritten note as a precaution.

Various reports pertaining to reconstruction and strengthening of vital infrastructure by various responsible ministries were then given. A special attention to Nishikino was the state of the rail infrastructure, vital for transportation of troops and many humanitarian and military supplies except the heaviest tanks and self-propelled artillery and missile systems, in which he went on to ask the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for answer.

"How many Stadler, Kawasaki, and Toshiba diesel locomotives for JR Group had been delivered, and Nippon Sharyo DMUs [diesel multiple units], and coaches?" With the nation's electric grid being constantly under threat, diesel-electric traction had to be increased in numbers for regular and back-up services, to the point that there were orders from a foreign manufacturer, in this case Swiss' Stadler, who had a plant in Utah, USA with an assembly line for narrow and meter gauge trains specifically installed in the wake of the war in Asia.

Nishikino was still not yet fully satisfied with the overall progress, despite appreciating the recently arrived and commissioned units. Nevertheless. "Thank you for keeping us and the people up to date with the delivery of the trains." After the train, came questions about the merchant vessel production, both in Japan and overseas.

"We have to be thankful of steady supply of merchantmen from North America, as production targets of our own yard for this month are still not fulfilled..."

The subsequent third session were dedicated to the military side of things, frontline situation.

"With regular missile attacks on the Second Island Chains, Americans continue strengthening their defenses on Guam, Mariana, Saipan, and Tinian, led by their Marines and local Army National Guard - especially as those islands are used as supply depots for forces deploying from North America and also Europe... including with a renewal of their missile strength there with a new batch of [MGM-200 LHRW] Dark Eagle and [MGM-199] Pershing III aka Opfires. 'They may still have Tiangong afloat but as long as ours [Liberty Pilgrim] and the Japanese-Koreans [Mirai/Mirae] are still there, we still have our chance!' that's what my counterpart told me." The Chairman of Imperial Joint Staff General Matsuura said.

Behind those islands are a group of new floating docks, manned by locals who remain, thanks to the mandatory evacuation policy which was initially for Hawaii and Samoa, later expanded to other islands closer to China.

"Convoy operations and protection of our sea lines of communications continues and will remain the highest priority" he continued, with an agreement from the Navy Chief Sakurai.

The top general continued. "So far, the Reds are focusing on defending against our general push into Northern Korea and holding to Taiwan as well as their recent gains in mainland South East Asia and part of India... as well as the continuing island positional battle in South China Sea to rebuild their bases that the Yanks busted with Blowgun and Tomahawk missiles at the start of the war."

Followed by situations on the air.

"Yesterday's Kikusui missions continued to hammer the Reds ..."

"Like what they did to our cities, slipping through our air defenses, we did the same at them." beamed the Aerospace Chief General Tojo. "Most were already public, through."

The mission Tojo referred to was a recently unveiled model of one-way attack UAVs based on cheap single engine sports aircrafts of varying sizes, in which the government simply call it collectively as a Kikusui, meaning floating chrysanthemum.

The PM nodded with a smile in light of recent news showed despite the inherently limited stock of missiles, there were still ways to kinetically penetrate into the heartland of the reds and cause all sorts of mayhem, which hopefully will allow a condition that made them have no choice but to exit the war.

"Speaking of the military side, Soridaijin-sama" it's the Foreign Minister again requesting permission to speak, which Nishikino granted. "Me and Watanabe are proud to confirm that a collective Latin American coalition to send troops to Asia had been successfully approved to be formed - primarily led by Brazil, members include Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Chile, as well as Mexico. They are also open for individual volunteers from neutral entities, like Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Argentina. Now with Peru and Bolivia are all having their own protests against their government, while the Plus Ultra Brigade-led Coalition Force that invaded Nicaragua are still facing resistance, but there were already cracks and rebellion there, which will inevitably end badly for the Reds... in other words, there could be less chance for further escalation... Besides, even with the deployment of some of their troops here or to S.E. Asia somehow, there are still enough reserves at their home countries in case things went worse, much more with current NATO support."

"I estimate it will require 3-4 months for them to be ready" said Watanabe. "We have liaison team that will tag along with the Americans and Canadians to arrange things with the Latinos as they are preparing, as well as the Koreans, especially in Colombia, with their army's armored forces are primarily Korean in origin."

"About time they decided their place in the history books, and keep the people informed about that progress, according to our INFOSEC (Information Security) ruling..." said Nishikino, followed by another sigh of relief. "Added with the British' increased quotas for volunteers from Caribbean Commonwealth nations - like Jamaica and Belize - plus their own overseas territories (e.g. Bermuda)..."

"In the meantime, we're back to the Korean theater" its now the turn of General Matsuura, again. "We've decided to speed up things to strengthen the resilience of Koreans in terms of force sustainment and rotation, with their plan to rotate out one of their division, so with all factors in place, we approved General Ishikawa's office's urgent request to deploy the 5th Division earlier than scheduled. Furthermore we decided that the recently rebuilt 13th Brigade was ready enough to deploy as well as reserve, despite for that we have to adjust some of its force structure, Your Excellency."

Nishikino replied. "Go forth!" then he looked at the screens that showed the Maritime, Cyber Defense, and Aerospace Force chief respectively, as well as the chief of the Defense Transportation Command (J-TRANSCOM), then ordered "Ensure the proper embarkation and transportation of our troops according to rules of war and every safety regulations, bring them to the front all alive and combat ready!"

"In addition, before I forget" its General Matsuura speaking again. "We also decided to designate 10th Rapid Division and the newly-formed 7th Separate Amphibious Rapid Regiment as our standby force for the Philippines or even Taiwan, depend on circumstances."

"Always ready"

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(1). The official nomenclature for defense minister/secretary in the UK is Secretary of State for Defense. or Defense Secretary

(2). This social media entity name is fictional.

(3). A terminology in the netsphere in real life referring to people who are against the COVID-19 vaccine. Similar code include "Unvaxxed".

(4). Referring to a Christian sect Unification Church.