Yes, Prime Minister of Japan

On the table lay a document that resembled a resolution from Hearts of Iron IV, on which was written:

"Discuss the issue of Ryukyu sovereignty!"

This time, it's not just the United States that wants to discuss the ownership of the archipelago; China, after assessing the current military strength of the US military and Li Xinghe's "Final Report," has also decided to participate in the sovereignty of the Ryukyu Islands.

The following day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the following information at a press conference:

"China adheres to its consistent position, supports regional peace, and supports the Ryukyu people in pursuing peace and dignity in their own way."

This marks the first time China has changed its official name for Okinawa.

The US and China must work together to make Japan give an answer!

The author says:

Author's Note: Thank you all for your support. Here's 3500 words. I just finished some things at home, posted this update, and am going to have dinner. Happy New Year everyone!

Chapter 571: How can we build a 'community of shared future for mankind' with these insects? (4700 words)

He made a mistake towards his younger brother.

Human nature.

He made a mistake towards his brother.

Human nature.

It's only natural to feel sorry for your son when he makes a mistake!

At the Li family home, people kept coming in and out of Li Xinghe's bed, with one person taking their place every now and then. In the darkness, Zhao Lieshu, Li Daiyao, Li Juyan, and Xuan Zhihua took turns sneaking into the bed like female demons, then quietly slipping away, and the next person to peek in would take their place.

There's nothing we can do about it; it's just human nature.

In the dead of night, Li Xinghe always felt that his small bed was full of female succubi, and that every time he went in, a different succubus would drain him dry.

Suddenly waking up, Li Xinghe climbed out of Zhao Lieshu's arms, covered in sweat.

"what happened?"

Zhao Lieshu asked, still confused.

“I always feel like there’s more than just the two of us in the room.”

Li Xinghe felt very tired, but it wasn't the kind of fatigue that would come from spending a whole night with Zhao Lieshu.

"You've had too much to drink. Your older sister must have tried to trick you with her homemade liquor again. Next time, I'll help you import some genuine Taishan Daqu."

Zhao Lieshu said intimately, then kicked Li Daiyao, who was lying behind her, off the bed.

"Is that so? Piracy is harmful."

Li Xinghe felt dizzy and continued to sleep peacefully in his wife's arms.

……

8 month 10 day.

The Qingshan Command Headquarters has once again begun a long holiday.

Because beneath the headquarters building, voters from both the left and right wings have unusually come together to continue their daily protests against the hegemonic behavior of the American empire.

The reaction of Japanese right-wingers on Yahoo was similar to that of an old woman exclaiming, "Oh my god, this terrifies me!" They started repeating the "China collapse theory" incessantly, fantasizing in their minds that China would suddenly collapse and then they could rise again.

This is not the time more than a decade ago when Japan's economy was highly developed and ranked among the top in Asia, so it could be confident no matter what it did.

After being repeatedly overwhelmed by innovations such as sixth-generation fighter jets, AI models, new energy sources, and aircraft carriers, and with the rise of Japan in the East and the fall of Japan in the West, the Japanese right wing has begun to lose confidence from the bottom of its heart.

Both the left and right wings in Japan raised the banner of opposing the American invasion of Okinawa. However, their demands were completely opposite.

One was to continue occupying Okinawa, and the other was to support...

They advocate for local self-determination in Okinawa.

Li Xinghe complained:

"It's tough. If the right wing could realize that what the left wing is saying—that Japan has always wanted to maintain a so-called 'unbroken imperial lineage and unified nation' as a single nation-state—is just a legacy of militarism, then the long-standing right-wing political propaganda probably wouldn't have led to the Okinawa issue at all."

Having experienced two waves of cultural genocide and oppression before and after the war, Okinawa's local character has been severely diminished. If the Japanese government can resolve the issue of discrimination against Okinawans, then the question of Okinawan independence is not really an issue at all.

However, it is not possible.

Because the Japanese government is still trying to maintain the facade of a 'mono-ethnic nation'.

In people's minds, Japan seems to be a very uniform country, without any impurities. But this is precisely one of the underlying messages of Japanese right-wing propaganda for a long time. It is a shared lie shaped by the so-called unbroken imperial lineage. To achieve this goal, Japan carried out a great deal of genocidal activities during its capitalist development, extensively eliminating local cultures and languages.

Even today, Japan still tries to maintain this crumbling facade that has long been broken. All those who come from abroad to become naturalized must go through the process of 'naturalization,' marry a local name, learn Japanese, undergo social adaptation, and become Japanese. But in reality, everyone knows that this old method is no longer very effective.

Before he could finish complaining, Hua Yingmei called him to a high-class private room at Chunqiu Pavilion.

This place is filled with former prime ministers.

Seiwakai—former Prime Minister Koizumi.

Kishida faction-former Prime Minister Kishida.

Suga faction - former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Other faction leaders, such as the Mogi faction, were also present.

This also includes Shikami Oike and Ayako Aso, since they are considered minor leaders of their respective factions. However, they clearly don't have much say.

Such secret meetings of factional leaders are a manifestation of the extreme isolationism of small-circle politics in Japan.

With just seven or eight people, they were about to finalize Japan's policy towards the United States.

Li Xinghe was also there.

Logically speaking, Li Xinghe had no say; his political status was similar to that of a middleman.

Unfortunately, this guy has too close ties with the US military, and every time the US is involved, he has to be brought up as a reference.

As soon as the cooking party began, the old men started asking Li Xinghe:

"What exactly is the US's stance? What is Trump up to?"

These past few years have been extremely painful for Japanese politicians. Both China and the United States have acted unpredictably and erratically, leaving these traditionally conservative politicians completely bewildered.

Li Xinghe expressed his incomprehension of their chaos, appearing as if he had everything under control:

"Why panic? Trump will be out of office in six months. And China doesn't actually care, or even support, the Okinawa independence agenda. The task now is to shut up the Okinawans or move the US military bases."

Li Xinghe himself manages an NGO (National Organization for Freedom and Democracy) handed over to him by the Japanese government: the Asian Freedom and Democracy Alliance. This organization is teeming with separatist forces from various East Asian countries.

In reality, Ryukyu independence is not suitable for China because Ryukyu independence organizations are a mixed bag, including a significant number of right-wing separatist forces, and also mingling with gray-area groups like those supporting Taiwanese, Tibetan, and Xinjiang independence movements. Supporting Ryukyu's independence would backfire on China. While Li Xinghe could eliminate these gray-area bastards in Japan, there are many similar groups around the world.

Therefore, China's diplomatic statement was "supporting the Ryukyuans' pursuit of peace".

As for how to achieve peace, that is an important question that China poses to the US and Japan for an answer.

Before the complete collapse of the US-led hegemonic order, the Ryukyu issue is best left unresolved, allowing the fruits of a new order to slowly ripen.

After listening, the old men pretended to offer their opinions.

After a long discussion, they came to ask again:

"So, what do you think should be done?"

Li Xinghe spread his hands and offered his solution:

"We can't move the US military bases anyway, so we can only offer them some incentives. Just acknowledge that Okinawans are a Ryukyu people, descendants of the Ryukyu Kingdom, right? Let them do whatever they want. Give them autonomy, turn Okinawa Prefecture into the Ryukyu State, the Ryukyu Autonomous Dominion, or even the Ryukyu Kingdom—no problem. Do you think they're not Japanese?"

The key point here is that Japan's colonization of Ryukyu was essentially successful. Okinawa itself surveys show that 70% of its population identifies as Japanese, and those who are both Japanese and Ryukyuans. Those currently residing there are mostly of mixed race and second-class Japanese, exhibiting boundless obedience to the Japanese central government and thus tolerating the constant humiliation inflicted upon them. Now, the unrest is primarily due to the US military base issue, so they simply provide a pretext to appease them.

If we simply acknowledge Okinawa as another ethnic group, the Ryukyu people, and grant them the same treatment and the right to self-determination, wouldn't this whole thing be over?

Use this empty reputation to make them endure and continue to bear the harm caused by US military bases for Japan.

Li Xinghe instigated them to use this tactic in an attempt to create a division in Japanese national identity.

Even the old men could see through Li Xinghe's trick:

"what?"

"That's even more impossible!"

They were shouting.

Yoshihide Suga immediately criticized, "If we give them the right to self-determination, they will vote to move the US military bases. We can't possibly move the US military bases, which account for 73% of the country's total, from Okinawa to the Japanese mainland, can we?"

For a long time, the issue of US military bases has been seen as evidence of Okinawans being oppressed as if they were a colony. Yoshihide Suga, however, shamelessly reverses this issue himself.

That makes sense, though. We can't just move all these US military bases to other parts of Japan, can we?

Other prefectures would avoid it at all costs, preferring to let Okinawa take the blame.

Li Xinghe laughed along with him.

That's right. The presence of US military bases in Okinawa is what fuels anti-American and anti-government sentiment. If the bases were moved, they would actually feel like they are Japanese again.

That won't do.

Therefore, the base must exist. His proposal was a blatant attempt to stop the fire by adding more water.

Mogi Okitoshi quickly denied it:

“The previous recognition of the Ainu people’s existence already nominally broke the slogan of Japan as a single-ethnic nation, and the country’s support groups are almost going crazy. Groups like the Shinzoren and the Nippon Kaigi have been protesting. There are only tens of thousands of Ainu people, and it would be fine if they all died out, but there are more than a million Okinawans! Recognizing them as a second ethnic group will also greatly tear apart national identity!”

Although the Japanese government has long encouraged Okinawans to identify as Japanese, enticing them to adopt a unified ethnic identity through subsidies, separatist groups such as the Ryukyu Islands still exist. Furthermore, with the continued freefall of American hegemony and the Japanese economy, economic decline has made economic buyouts increasingly ineffective.

Even more terrifying is that there's a neighboring China radiating a black hole-like gravitational pull, using the radiation of its economy to frantically sweep across Japan.

Fumio Kishida also pointed out:

"Now we recognize the Ryukyuan people and the Ryukyuan language, and give them autonomy. What will happen in the future? They will open more Chinese language training classes and travel agencies, collud with China, use Chinese social media, watch their movies, TV shows, and read their novels. Then, when China's economy becomes the world's largest, they will turn around and run to China."

This is the most feared hidden worry of Japanese political forces.

China's economic allure is so terrifying that it has rekindled its political and cultural influence. A pro-China sentiment is already subtly taking hold among young Japanese people, and if the next generation grows up in this environment, the future is unimaginable.

I can't hold on any longer, I really can't hold on any longer.

Then Koizumi and his son joined the criticism: "No matter what, creating national division is absolutely unacceptable."

These people seem to have a very clear understanding of the issues of national crisis, from ethnicity to culture.

From politics and economics to international diplomacy, they all have a broad vision, keen insight, and eloquent speech, even going so far as to consider scenarios like China occupying Japan by 2050.

But what's the solution?

The current issue is resolving the Okinawa crisis.

No one could offer a solution like Li Xinghe, who readily acknowledged the Ryukyu people.

Li Xinghe figured it out:

"So after all that, let's get down to business. Is it spending money to feed the Third Expeditionary Force, relocating US military bases, or recognizing the Ryukyu people? It's a choice between three. If you do it this way, Trump will really sign an executive order to Americanize Okinawa."

As a shrewd political broker, Li Xinghe offered at least three options.

But spending more money is definitely not an option, as we really don't have the funds this year; relocating the base is also not an option, as other counties are unwilling to do so; acknowledging the existence of the Ryukyu people would cause the far-right to collapse.

So these people, between A, B, and C, ultimately chose 'in between'.

"Well, let's wait and see..."

"Sitting idly by and waiting for things to change..."

The second half of the meeting went straight into discussing who should become the next prime minister.

After leaving the meeting, Hua Yingmei openly linked arms with Li Xinghe and held onto Aso Ayako's hand with her other hand, and the three of them left together.

Li Xinghe then took out his phone, called Kai, and was then transferred to Trump:

"Hello? I'm very sorry, I just came from a secret meeting of Japanese political faction leaders. It seems they are not prepared to obey your orders..."

"What!"

Trump sounded somewhat agitated on the other end of the phone.

As Vance, DeSantis, Gavin Newsom, and Jeffries successively entered the election campaign and gradually realized that something was wrong with Trump, that he was secretly plotting something with his staff, Trump's already limited support gradually disappeared, leaving him all alone.

Therefore, Li Xinghe's reminder greatly alarmed Trump.

But Li Xinghe was good at managing his emotions. He immediately said, "But don't worry, they won't dare to resist. The crisis will break out soon. Please wait for good news."

"Then it's up to you."