Chapter 160
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: US Intervention Risks and Secret Overtures
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“Before the Second World War, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters was raided during the May 15 Incident, when the prime minister was assassinated by the military. In the February 26 Incident, when the Imperial Way Faction made their move, five police officers were killed in the line of duty. That's why civilian bureaucrats and police still remain constantly on guard against any JSDF coup attempts. Even now, the Japanese police maintain a 'JSDF Surveillance Unit' within their Public Security Division to watch for any military coup by the Self-Defense Forces. With those precedents in place, there's no full trust between them.”
So, in other words, if things got dicey, they could flee to the U.S. Army Camp Zama under the U.S. Forces Japan—preserving their lives at all costs from the guillotines or bayonets of an enraged revolutionary populace, or dodging the muzzles of JSDF troops staging a coup under the pretext of public will.
“And I've had some of my subordinates run a bit of a divide-and-conquer operation on our end as well. If the emergency cabinet and the JSDF can't trust each other, it works to our advantage.”
“Well done. ...But you think the Japanese government would really flee to a U.S. military camp?”
“It's not entirely without precedent in world history.”
Kondo Muji cited a few examples, two of which stuck in my ears. They were incidents from Korea.
The time the king of old Joseon fled to the Russian legation.
The incident when Korea's defense minister at the time escaped to a U.S. military base during a coup.
Listening to Kondo Muji, it didn't sound so implausible after all.
“U.S. Army in Japan... Hmm... But if the U.S. Army in Japan gets involved, wouldn't we get swept away like leaves in the wind? The U.S. Army is a tough opponent.”
“...? It wouldn't be that big a problem.”
“What do you mean? If the U.S. Army in Japan intervenes, we wouldn't stand a chance.”
“Not at all. The bulk of U.S. Forces Japan's combat power is concentrated in the Navy and Air Force. The Army component is just a handful, mostly non-combat support personnel. The Ground Self-Defense Force's armored division in Hokkaido is actually stronger.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And as long as the Japanese government doesn't want to borrow America's might just to get blood on their hands indirectly, the U.S. Navy and Air Force in Japan won't budge. America knows that full well, so they won't move either. In fact, if our forces grow and push all the way to Yokohama, the Americans might even kick the Japanese government out themselves. They don't want to get dragged into a civil war for no reason.”
To sum up Kondo Muji's point: unless the Japanese government formally requested airstrikes on downtown Tokyo, the U.S. Air Force and Navy wouldn't lift a finger.
And even if they did make such a request, success or failure, they'd be accused of the U.S. military slaughtering Japanese civilians—so America wouldn't act.
It made sense.
If they wanted to bomb downtown Tokyo, they could just use the Air Self-Defense Force or Maritime Self-Defense Force. No need to ask America, and even if they did, America knew the situation and had no reason to step in.
It would only dirty their hands with blood unnecessarily.
“At present, I assess the chances of America intervening in this civil war as extremely low. Take the recent Korean coup as an example—America just stood by and watched. As long as we don't antagonize America, and as long as we don't infringe on their core interests and values, America will stay silent. Moreover, the U.S. military presence in Japan has a negligible Army component, making intervention difficult in the first place.”
“Hmm.”
“If it drags into a prolonged war, America might step in to plug the hole in their East Asia-Pacific security plan, but if we handle it well, why would they, from their perspective, want to shed the precious blood of American citizens? No reason or justification to meddle in someone else's civil war.”
“...I see.”
“Yes. Since you seem concerned about the U.S. Army in Japan, my lord, let me elaborate. The U.S. Army in Japan consists mostly of 2,000 to 3,000 non-combat support personnel. Most are auxiliary forces for the Navy and Air Force—comprehensive supply depots, combat support units, transportation units, ammo depots, medical support teams. The rest are air defense artillery, engineers, communications, intelligence, and even the band... Their only real combat force is a single special forces battalion.”
'Hmm, just that much... I overestimated the U.S. Army in Japan without realizing it. Living in Korea must've made me confuse it with the U.S. Forces Korea...'
“If America wanted to intervene, they'd probably call in nearby U.S. Forces Korea, deploy the Marines from the Nansei Islands, or commit rapid deployment brigades from the mainland—and only move after positioning them fully. Relying on just one special forces battalion would be a misuse of their capabilities.”
Kondo Muji, seeing my wariness of American intervention, gave me a rough breakdown of their currently available forces.
And the more I heard, the clearer it became: what I'd been worried about was U.S. Forces Korea, not U.S. Forces Japan.
U.S. Forces Korea boasted a massive, invincible army on par with the ROK Army, but the U.S. Army in Japan was merely a sidekick to the Air Force and Navy.
It handled fuel, ammo, supplies, transport, support, and medical services for the U.S. Air Force and Navy in Japan—nothing more than combat support, not frontline troops.
'Makes sense. From America's standpoint, there's no point stationing combat Army units in island nation Japan. Navy and Air Force are what matter.'
Just as roles for the Korean and Japanese militaries were predefined under U.S. command in a major East Asian war, U.S. Forces Korea and U.S. Forces Japan had clear roles too—making combat Army units in Japan inefficient.
The military always saw itself as short on troops anyway; any combat Army that could go to Japan should go to Korea instead.
“I see. I get what you mean. Then we'll ignore the U.S. Army in Japan.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Though Kondo Muji assured me America wouldn't intervene, I was still uneasy, so I ordered another subordinate to make contact with the U.S. embassy.
Kondo Muji was just human, after all—not infallible. His predictions could be wrong.
So, to prepare for the worst, I decided to butter up America.
“Contact the U.S. embassy and tell them we're acting to foster even friendlier relations with America. Assure them we have no intention of hostility, that we'll accept any conditions they demand except those directly harming us, and that once we take control of Japan, we'll offer America far better terms moving forward. ...Yeah, just say from me on down, our entire organization is pro-American.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Sending off the subordinate eased my mind a bit.
The next item was about secret signals from the Japanese government side regarding negotiations.
But the broadcasts were throwing a fit, saying no negotiations with terrorists... Why the mixed messages?
The Japanese government talked big about crushing us soon, yet underground, they wanted talks with rebel leaders.
“Negotiations already? Weren't they saying something like no negotiations with terrorists? That's what the broadcasts seemed to claim.”
“Classic Western playbook. It's straight out of my training too. America and Japan publicly declare no talks with terrorists, but negotiate behind the scenes. That way, they gather intel—and if things go south, they can wipe out enemy leadership with high-end killer drones, assassinations, or decapitation strikes.”
“...I see.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Before long, Kondo Muji—the former Ground Self-Defense Force officer—and the Four Heavenly Kings were addressing me not as oyabun, but with the new title of 'my lord.'
Not all subordinates used it, just my closest confidants.
But if these guys kept saying 'my lord, my lord,' the others would pick it up soon enough.
As a former Ground SDF officer, Kondo Muji could read the current SDF and emergency cabinet's desires like an open book and laid it out for me.
“By sending these secret negotiation gestures, they gain several advantages.”
“Like what? Spying on our intel?”
“Exactly, my lord. Right now, the Japanese government doesn't even know who our representatives or leadership are. They have no detailed info on our organization, troop size, training levels, personnel—nothing. Once the emergency cabinet stabilizes, they'll start piecing it together quickly... but for now, that intel gap is our clear edge. Engaging in talks lets them close that gap, and makes any future decapitation op against our leadership that much easier.”
“Yeah, makes sense.”
“Plus, proposing talks naturally comes with a ceasefire offer. They'll buy time to prepare our annihilation. Once the government relocates to Yokohama or Osaka, regains stability, and starts planning a real counteroffensive, time becomes their ally. The complete opposite of how it's been our advantage so far. We'd be the ones on the run.”