"Okay, granted it sounds crazy, but let's chase that for a minute. I
think we agree this whole scenario is not what he wants it to seem. So
what are some of the other things in all this that aren't what they
appear to be? Does anything dovetail?" I sat musing a second, searching
for an opening. "What are some of the twists about Japan that're
obviously misleading?"
"Well, acceptance of _gaijin_, for one. It goes only so far, then stops
like a brick wall." She was obviously speaking from personal
experience.
"Maybe that's because they've always been isolated. Some things never
change," I pondered aloud. "Which is probably the secret of their
success. Take the ruling clique. Sure, Japan is a democracy, but is it
really? Not the way we understand the word. What they actually have,
after you get past all the slogans, is just a retread of the old
system. The truth is it's still run as it was a thousand years ago. By
the old families, the old money. Elections never decide issues. They're
handled by the power structure. Half the seats in the Diet are
practically hereditary, going back generations in the same family.
There's only one real political party. The ministries are fiefdoms. I
mean, the goddam country is still feudal. They don't even have a word
for democracy. They had to borrow it. _Demokurasu_."
"Well, Japan's a pragmatic place. The old ways work. Remember the
_zaibatsu_, those industrial conglomerates that ran the war machine?
MacArthur dismantled them, but they reappeared almost as soon as he
left."
"Right, the power structure restored those right away. The zaibatsu are
back and chewing up world commerce. But the _demokurasu_ eyewash is
still around. The job's not finished."
She stared around the room. "Matt, I don't like where I think you're
headed."
"I agree it's sick, but let's push it a little more. What is it about
Japan that's made it such a dynamo the last couple of decades?"
"Hard work, organization, drive."
"Exactly. But where did that come from?"
"They had to have it. Over the centuries most Japanese were dirt poor.
They had to hustle just to survive. Matthew, Japan is a collectivist
society driven by capitalism, an idea so alien to the West nobody can
even see it."
"Perfect description. Only problem is, all this _demokurasu _is sooner
or later going to start cutting away the very thing that's made Japan
so successful--a country powered by obedient, collective action and
glued together by hierarchy and tradition."
"You're saying Noda wants to turn back the clock?"
"Don't know. But what if these industrialists, these _zaibatsu
_honchos, are fed up with having to deal with all the cumbersome
_demokurasu_ machinery. And they're especially fed up with a certain
ministry making them jump the hoop. Tam, what if Noda's real agenda is
to go to America and buy himself a gun to hold to MITI's head."
"You don't think he's buying America's companies to help MITI?" She
looked unconvinced.
"If I had money to bet, I'd almost be willing to put it on the
possibility he's buying leverage to use against MITI and through them
the whole inefficient government setup. How come MITI's suddenly
sending staff over to look in on Noda's play? Could it be somebody
there's figured out what he's up to and they want to head him off? They
realize Matsuo Noda is the only man on the planet who could conceivably
beat MITI at its own game? Bring it to its knees? First he acquired
control of half the capital in Japan, then he came to the U.S. and
started grabbing up all the R&D that'll be competing with MITI through
the end of the century. When he's got it, he'll have a power base to
match theirs. He's set to call the new tune."
"Which is?"
"Who knows? But try this for an agenda: time to cut the crap, Noda's
thinking, get rid of all the clumsy Western-style _demokurasu_ charade,
tighten up, lean and mean. Go back to the only system that's ever
really clicked for Japan. Imperial rule. Make the 'Land of the Gods'
sacred and invincible."
"This is getting wild." She lowered her voice. "But maybe . . . maybe
you could be right. He just happens to locate the Imperial sword, and
suddenly the emperor is resurrected from a discredited figurehead back
to a symbol of Japan's greatness."
"Here comes that old-time religion. Everybody goes traditional, right
on cue, and the nutty Japan Firsters are thriving again, just like the
thirties."
"Good Lord."
"Doesn't it all fit somehow? Matsuo Noda started off by creating this
shadow outfit, Dai Nippon, in order to get his hands on all his
countrymen's money. Now the next step will be to start phasing out the
_demokurasu _frills and the powerless prime minister and the MITI
bureaucrats and turning the place into a kick-ass machine again. Look
out world."
"One small problem. The emperor can't rule Japan. Not really. He's a
living god. Which means . . ."
"See? That difficulty's nothing new. For a thousand years the emperor's
had no real clout anyway. The nitty-gritty of running Japan was always
the job of his stand-in."
There was a long pause. We both avoided speaking the word, but there it
was. Finally she leaned back and closed her eyes, her voice barely
audible above the din of the bar.
"Shogun."