The Shores of Land: The Diplomacy of Japan, an Alien Nation

Chapter 9 - Policy

"Prime Minister Sasaki, when do you intend to lift the emergency declaration you have just issued?"

It was April 19 (August 27 in the Foreign Land calendar). The Diet resumed session for the first time in about three weeks since it had been crippled by the Levian problem.

Since it was suspended in the middle of a regular session, it will be resumed not in the form of an extraordinary session but as a regular session, with only as many lawmakers as can be assembled. Speaking of which, the Levian interception has not passed through the regular Diet session. It was issued by a simple Diet resolution agreed upon by the Sasaki Cabinet and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties.

As expected, there was not enough time for all the Diet members scattered all over Japan to return, so it started with the ruling party still in the majority.

The discussion of the transference issue, which normally receives low viewership due to the length of the session, helped the ratings climb.

In fact, the budget for the current fiscal year has not been passed. In addition to the rising prices due to the shortage of goods, many members of the Diet returned to their hometowns after the year-end and New Year holidays due to the tragic planetfall of Levian, which caused the budget deliberations to be halted until now. Normally, all Diet members who fled to their hometowns would have been expelled from the Diet, but this would have made it difficult for the government to manage the country. However, the government decided to let them off the hook, just as it did with the economic reset plan, because there were extenuating circumstances. While the public is dissatisfied with the fact that the two bills were not questioned even though they were almost three months apart, some are willing to put up with the fact that this is the way politics work.

The question was asked by Hisae Tomoi, a member of the largest opposition party, Min'yūtō, during the question and answer session of the Budget Committee.

"Prime Minister Sasaki."

PM Sasaki raised his hand and stood up to the voice of the committee chairman.

"The lifting of the state of emergency declaration is planned to take place immediately after we pass a bill to deploy the National Defense Forces in the connection area between Japan and the circular mountains."

"Why is that?"

Again, PM Sasaki raised his hand and responded.

"If we lift the emergency order now, the NDF will lose its legal basis to operate and will be operating illegally."

The NDF currently operating in the connection area are dispatched by decree in accordance with the state of emergency declared by the Sasaki Cabinet, and are engaged in the construction and defense of facilities, and exchange activities with the Lians. In other words, they are neither a defense nor a security force, and without formal legislation, they would be in trouble in many ways.

"Is there any thought of withdrawing as soon as the declaration is lifted? The post-emergency decree requires residents living in the vicinity of the connection area to evacuate by the evacuation order, but..."

"As the term implies, the connection area is the area where Japan and the circular mountains are connected by a land route. While the land route is worthless to the flying Lian species, the connection area is of immense strategic value to Japan, and its defense and management are the responsibility of the National Defense Forces. Furthermore, there is a possibility that there are pathogens on this world that do not exist on Earth, and civilian access to the area must be restricted in order to confirm the presence of such pathogens."

"You just mentioned pathogens, and yet the National Defense Forces are not all wearing protective clothing. Are you saying that you are willing to abandon the lives of the National Defense Forces personnel in the worst case?"