Yes, Prime Minister of Japan

Following the public meeting, Naomichi Suzuki and the management of the Hokkaido Democratic Party had already reached a consensus:

"Do everything possible to expand the population that can be identified as Ainu as quickly as possible. Then we'll mold them into Ainu people, change their ethnic identity, and then we'll try to break away from Japan and sever ties with Li Xinghe!"

Such bizarre news left the people of Hokkaido completely bewildered.

When the news reached Li Xinghe's ears, Kokubun Makabe was discussing the issue of Russian oil and gas imports with him.

Li Xinghe smiled and said:

"Ah. I was just thinking about how to mess around in Hokkaido, and they started building ladders for us."

This approach was commonplace in the 20th century, with many countries developing their own national identities before and after independence, resulting in all sorts of messy things. For example, Dahomey changed its name to Benin (but it's actually located in another country). The fact that it still works in the 21st century demonstrates the true nature of so-called nationalities and imagined communities.

Makabe asked nonchalantly:

Should we approve it? Or should we object?

Li Xinghe was extremely confident:

"Approval? How could I not approve it? I support the preferential treatment of the Ainu people who have been oppressed by the Japanese. If Governor Suzuki Naomichi can declare the Ainu people as natives of Hokkaido and everyone else as immigrants, why should I dirty my hands? The only question is whether those right-wing conservative uncles in their forties and fifties in Hokkaido are willing to continue supporting such a Hokkaido Democratic Party?"

Supporting indigenous people is Li Xinghe's consistent stance, and the whole nation knows it.

Because the Ryukyu Autonomous Prefecture model was promoted by Li Xinghe, hundreds of thousands of Chinese were introduced through this window, which changed the local population ratio of Ryukyu in one fell swoop and squeezed those Ryukyu people with right-wing views to the political margins.

So it was Suzuki Naomichi who wanted to defeat Li Xinghe using Li Xinghe's methods.

But what level is Li Xinghe at, and what level are these people at?

The Ryukyu Autonomous Prefecture model arose because the presence of US troops stationed in Japan who oppressed the local population provided a convenient tool for manipulating public opinion.

But what about Hokkaido?

The Hokkaido Democratic Party's attempt to establish itself on issues of local autonomy and the protection of indigenous people is indeed reasonable. However, their supporters are conservative people who once supported the Socialist Party but switched to the Liberal Democratic Party during the economic recession.

How can we allow these old folks who daily discriminate against the Ainu, who claim their ancestors never oppressed the indigenous people, who have gone insane from eating rice, and who think Japan is the best in the world, to suddenly change their ethnic identity and wear the clothes of the Ainu people they discriminate against?

Li Xinghe took out his phone and called Gao Tiao Wuyue:

"Have your online army drive an online agenda to spread rumors on Hokkaido's civilian networks that 'Naomichi Suzuki and the Hokkaido Democratic Party want to destroy the people of Hokkaido and that they are actually a secret communist party.'"

That's too crude, my friend.

Let me teach you how to stir up public opinion.

Chapter 832: The Electric Baton of Gratitude, Taiko's Love for the People and the Army, and the Street Riot (4600 words)

Sapporo City.

The main supporters of the Hokkaido Democratic Party, who were also the main supporters of the former Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, now besieged the Hokkaido Council in a fit of rage.

The old men were furious, feeling that Suzuki Naomichi had betrayed them:

"Hey! What do you mean the Ainu people are native to Hokkaido? Aren't we?"

"Are you still a member of the same clan? You spy from Miyazaki Prefecture, you're probably a hidden Communist!"

"Why should we spend money to screen Ainu people? And even offer a 50 yen reward? Do you know how many months it would take us to save up that much?"

In their excitement, the old men couldn't resist smashing the courtyard gate and getting into a conflict with the security guards.

Public anger was quickly ignited by targeted push notifications from short video apps. Within half a day, massive protests against the current policies erupted in the Sapporo metropolitan area, which has 200 million residents.

Major television stations rushed to the scene and began to broadcast extensive reports.

A protest march by the Ainu people also took place at the scene.

The tribal chief told the camera, "We just want to live a peaceful life, but some political forces have repeatedly used us as scapegoats. We don't need any ethnic screening or monetary subsidies. Go to hell, politicians!"

The locals were running a successful tourism business at the foot of the mountain. Suddenly being used as a scapegoat, the astute Ainu people realized something was amiss.

Hundreds of thousands of mixed-race people and clansmen have poured in; it seems someone wants to take away our clan name.

As a result, the Sapporo municipal government fell into disarray in a single day, prompting 100,000 people to take to the streets in protest.

The council was also in an uproar.

Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly Minority Party Leader Hisashi Inatsu reminded Suzuki Naoto: "Governor Suzuki, is this sudden ethnic definition because you couldn't meet with the Prime Minister? I previously stated in the assembly that we cannot accept investment and then exclude immigrants..."

Your plan was good, but your execution was terrible.

Suzuki Naomichi's anger surged, and he angrily rebuked him:

"Besides 'I generally agree,' what else would you say?"

Hisashi Inatsu's expression changed, and anger surged, but he still managed to control himself with his excellent political instincts.

As a veteran member of the Komeito Party who served as a minister during the Abe administration, he hails from Hokkaido and remains active in local politics even after retiring from central government. He is known for his ambiguous political stance, generally stating "I agree with everything," and regarding the Prime Minister's pro-China remarks, which are disliked by many Japanese, he has consistently advised against "dwelling on the past."

Like Hisashi Inatsu, there was a large group of veterans from the Abe era in the parliament, such as Muneo Suzuki from the Daichi Party. These elders looked at Naomichi Suzuki with even a hint of pity.

Can a puppet without its own policy stance compete with a shrewd and experienced prime minister?

The local strongmen of the Democratic Party, such as the Chiba and Hiragaki families in the Central Ward, the Michimi family in the Northern Ward, and the Watanabe family in the Eastern Ward, were somewhat at a loss at this time. After all, Li Xinghe's sudden visit to Hokkaido was an unexpected event.

If it weren't for wanting to demonstrate their deep affection and sincerity to the outside world, Li Xinghe wouldn't have bothered coming to this snowy island.

Suzuki Naomichi slammed his fist on the table and insisted repeatedly:

"In short, we must push for ethnic identification. Deploy the police!"

If he can successfully withstand the pressure, under the existing Japanese Local Autonomy Law, he really has a chance to become the first president of the Ainu Republic of Hokkaido.

"boom!"

"Bump!"

"The police opened fire!"

After receiving clear instructions, the Sapporo City and Provincial Police indeed fired warning shots or used batons and forks to drive people away.

The Daoist people, with their limited knowledge, immediately had their illusions shattered.

Naomichi Suzuki didn't truly love them at all; instead, he wanted to support the Ainu people, which greatly disappointed them, causing them to seek new solace elsewhere.

That's the Self-Defense Forces.

Angry conservative right-wingers gathered outside the Air Self-Defense Force camp in Chitose City to protest.

"Hey, Self-Defense Forces! Our citizens are being attacked by thugs, what are you doing?"

The officers were amused. They only remembered our Self-Defense Forces after they were beaten?

Self-Defense Force officers at the entrance of Chitose Air Base used a megaphone to remind them:

"Please leave. The Self-Defense Forces are prohibited from participating in civilian conflicts. This is stipulated in the Constitution."

The public criticized them:

"You take the people's tax money and stand by and watch the show, you bunch of tax thieves!"

The officer shook his finger in rebuttal:

"One leaf at a time, only half of our wages come from the people's taxes, and the other half comes from the Taiko's benevolence. When you use the Taiko's unlimited 40 yen per kilowatt-hour electricity, have you ever thought about the Taiko's kindness? You all have a lot of voices opposing the Taiko's immigration plan, but when you ride the BYD bus with a 50 yen fare, I don't see any resistance from you."

"No threshold" means that there is a basic threshold fee when signing an electricity contract in Japan. Currently, Package A costs 1500 yen, and Package B costs 2500 yen. This fee is required as long as you are connected to someone's power grid, regardless of whether you actually use electricity.

Under the condition of a fixed allowance plus tiered electricity pricing, the standard expense report issued by the Hokkaido branch is approximately 400,000 yen per year for a family of four and 200,000 yen per year for a family of two.

In addition to the considerable costs of water, gas, and snow removal, the fixed expenses for living in Hokkaido can take up several months' income a year.

So when the Nuowu nuclear power plant was being built, although there were quite a few protesters, there were far more people secretly asking if they could sign a contract for nuclear power.

Li Xinghe provided Hokkaido residents with cheap nuclear power, a nearly free new public transportation system, and planned to develop nursing homes, new industries, and large farms in the future. But it was only then that the people realized these benefits were not something they could obtain for free.

The officers raised their stun batons, warning them:

“This is an electrified riot police baton. If you don’t leave, we’re going to start a fight.”

Some people didn't believe it, so the officers immediately used electric batons to teach them a lesson, showing that the Self-Defense Forces were not to be trifled with.

Amid screams, the crowd hurriedly retreated.

The people who were driven away by Suzuki Naomichi and the Self-Defense Forces were in a state of panic.

Who can protect us?

With nowhere to go, they walked along the road crying, and then had to take Li Xinghe's BYD bus back to Sapporo, crying all the way.

……

Only after the angry mob had left did the officers put away their batons and return to their camp.

"We've finally driven them away."

"Go back, and don't let the people discover our internal problems."

Thanks to Li Xinghe's policy reforms, Self-Defense Force personnel no longer need to pay rent for their dormitories. Since two years ago, the Self-Defense Force workplace has undergone a major overhaul; meals in the mess hall now include rice, meat, fish, and shrimp, and soldiers can even take away leftovers to make lunchboxes for their wives and children. In addition, each Self-Defense Force officer receives a special allowance of 3 to 15 yen per month, access to a low-priced military supermarket, and discounts on travel expenses, making the soldiers' living conditions several times better than before.

This is also a key reason why, despite numerous rebellions by high-ranking officers, rank-and-file soldiers in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces remain spectators and do not participate.

The officers were exchanging ideas:

"What's the situation? Are they still making arrests?"

Moreover, the Self-Defense Forces are currently undergoing a major internal purge.

As a military organization with an officer-to-enlisted ratio of 1:5, the Japan Self-Defense Forces have only 22 personnel, but a whopping 4.6 officers. This officer classification refers to all permanent officers from junior lieutenant to generals. Specifically, there are 2.8 junior lieutenants and approximately 1.8 field officers.

This ratio may seem fine at first glance, but the Japan Self-Defense Forces are actually very small, with insufficient numbers starting from the rank of soldier. A unit often has fewer than a third of its combat personnel. While the JSD is short of soldiers, it is overstaffed with officers and generals, with a large number of officers needing to be reassigned.

Therefore, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' solution was to assign a large number of officers to departments such as military doctors, military bands, logistics, civilian positions, inspection stations, and garrison posts. For example, there were four major generals serving as hospital directors near Tokyo. As a result, the number of combat officers was pitifully small. There were only about eight thousand field-grade officers in combat positions.

These 8,000 field-grade officers and some generals who were actually on combat duty were the main targets of this purge.

someone said:

"It's said that over two hundred extremists have been eliminated, and more than four hundred people involved in the Okinawa incident are still in custody and being interrogated... How many more people will be arrested?" (The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the initial statement.)

Those who were eliminated were groups that refused to submit to Li Xinghe and were suspected of involvement in the 2028 Okinawa Incident and recent extremist rhetoric.

Back at headquarters, Commander Kazutomo Ido reassured them:

"It is said that the Taiko has intervened and signed a document requiring Chief of Staff Ogasawara of the Self-Defense Forces to only deal with criminals, and no one else is allowed to act recklessly. Everyone doesn't need to worry."

Staff officers and local headquarters chiefs complained:

"I guess I should just apply for resignation. I heard that if I resign, everything will be fine..."

"It's also difficult to quit. And if you quit now, you'll apparently miss the year-end salary increases and promotions."

Because in many cases, not expressing an opinion means opposition, and opposing the current policies would hinder other members of the Self-Defense Forces, the Self-Defense Forces' top brass has been arguing more than once about how to handle the resignation of personnel.

Radicals suggested killing them all to end it all, since they weren't going to withhold compensation from their families. More conservatives suggested sending them overseas to work for Japanese companies in South Korea or Taiwan, letting them go their separate ways.

What they have in common is that they absolutely must not be allowed to reveal the details of the high-level purge.

Upon hearing about the pay raise and promotion, everyone perked up their ears:

"What did the Taiko say?"

Kazuyu Idogawa patted his chest and guaranteed:

"He demanded that officers who expressed strong militaristic sentiments and opposed Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Principles be sent to work in Japanese companies' branches in China. He also demanded that the Chinese side be informed of these individuals' situations through diplomatic channels. Once this matter is resolved, everyone will receive a raise and promotion. I have some good news to share: the General Staff has made up its mind to lay off at least 20% of the field-grade officers. Moreover, a new bill on raises and promotions is being prepared, so you should stay if you can avoid being laid off."

Everyone was sweating.

So, does that mean they want the Chinese to mess with them?

According to Chinese (and Western stereotypes) habits, they'd probably send him to the Northwest desert to grow cotton until he dies.

But it's good that they left, it makes room for everyone else.

The staff officers nodded in agreement:

"really."

"Forget it, it's good that they're stepping down. So many people are waiting for a promotion."

"The United States has not only reduced its number of officers by 20%, but has also eliminated their staff altogether. We are simply giving more opportunities to young people, which is a good thing."

While the Self-Defense Forces are short of personnel, they have no shortage of officers. Every year, so many students graduate from the National Defense Academy, and everyone is lining up for promotion. This round of recruitment is actually a great thing for many who have been waiting for years.

Suddenly, a large group of people in front of me disappeared, and it was finally my turn.

They eat the rice of the Taiko, hold the position of the Taiko, receive the salary of the Taiko, and serve as the Taiko's soldiers.