"Got any ideas.

"
Luckily the place was getting noisier now, so nobody could have
been listening even if they'd tried. Which was the very reason I wanted
to talk in the bar and not in either of our rooms. Who knew the reach of
Noda's electronic ears?
"Not really. But what if we stepped back a second and tried looking
at this latest move from a longer view. Maybe we've been tangled up in
the trees, missing the forest."
"We've seen plenty of forest lately."
"But what if it's the wrong one? Let's try the teki ni naru to iu koto
strategy, become the enemy. Pretend for a minute we're Noda, a guy
who's got it all—money, clout, everything. So why
does he all of a sudden want to come across the Pacific and buy himself
a load of industrial headaches, then hand them Japan's technology?"
"It's MITI somehow. I'm convinced that's the key. Which is why I'm
going to nail Ken."
"Well, let's not jump to conclusions. I'm wondering. What if Dai
Nippon is taking over American industry not because it's strategic to
MITI as those memos we found would lead us to think. What if the
reason is because it's strategic to Noda?"
"But why?"
"What if his relationship to that ministry is something totally
different from what it seems?"
"Well, if MITI's not behind the buy-ups, then who're they for?"
I sat a minute, again trying to think like Noda. "What if this
scenario is actually aimed at . . . what if it's a global power play?"
She looked at me skeptically. "I don't get it."
"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."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Komban wa, Tamara." The voice emerged from the dark as her key
turned in the door of room 328. "How are you?"
"Ken!"
"Good to see you again."
"How did you . . .?"
He chuckled as he switched on the light by the chair. "Rank in MITI
has its moments."
"I thought you were coming tomorrow."
"I am, officially." He rose and moved toward her. "But tonight I'd
hoped we could be together." He smiled. "Alone."
She stood in the open doorway, unmoving.
"Ken, we have a lot to talk about, all right." She closed the door.
"And I don't mean in bed."
Truthfully, she wasn't even sure she wanted to see him at all. The
Dai Nippon scenario was getting too complicated, too insidious. Noda's
play was turning into something with worldwide implications.
"Tamara, I came because we need to talk. I think you're in danger.
Maybe we both are."
"From Noda? Just because he's a megalomaniac—"
"You think it's that simple?" he interrupted. "Don't be so sure. For
now let's just say he's very, very clever, and very powerful." He reached
out to welcome her. "But whatever he is, the time has come to stop
him."
"I think Matt and I just figured out why. He's a threat to MITI, isn't
he, Ken? A peril to your power base."
"He's a threat to everybody. But yes, MITI is definitely in his way at
this point. Or at least I'm in his way. Somebody has to be."
"So what do you expect me to do about it? As a matter of fact, what
has MITI done for me lately except try and move in on my work?"
"Tam, you can't stand up to Noda alone. But maybe together we
can, at least for a while."
"What makes you think . . .?"
"I have a weapon at my disposal. A powerful weapon. The ministry.
If we can use it to focus attention on what he's—"
"How?"
"I want to speed up the ministry's involvement. Bring in lots more
people. We do that and we'll—-"
"I see." She slipped past him and headed for the second chair.
'That's a terrific idea. Give it all to MITI." For a moment there she'd
almost been ready to start trusting him again.
"Tam, we only have to make it seem that's what is happening." He
turned to face her. "It'll be like waving a red flag under the nose of your
Congress. Surely that'll wake everybody up to what he's doing. They'd
move in and stop him cold. Guaranteed."
"Ken, Matsuo Noda made me a very intriguing proposition today.
Matter of fact, it sounds better than yours." She got up and walked over
to the small refrigerator fitted under the sink. "Want a beer? I'm going to
have one."
"All right." He looked at her. "What were you saying just now?
About a proposition?"
"Noda asked me to head up a Japanese-American consortium run as
a single industry. It's almost as if he wants to put together an American
version of MITI, an organization that can oversee and coordinate
American R&D nationwide."
"Do you believe he means what he says?"
She turned and stared at him for a moment. "I guess the honest
answer is no. I think it's just a smokescreen to get his hands on
everything he wants in the U.S., disguised under the rubric of
assistance." She retrieved two cans of cold Asahi and popped the tops.
"On the other hand, you're suggesting we have to give America's
industry to MITI in order to save it from Matsuo Noda." She extended a
can of beer and a glass. "Right now, I don't trust MITI any more than I
trust him."
"Tamara, this is a high-stakes game. Against a man with more
money and power than the world has ever seen in one place. It's not
going to be easy to stop him. It's also going to be risky. For us both."
"And you think a MITI takeover is the answer."
"It's the only thing that's left." He sobered. "Unfortunately it'll also
damage MITI's political credibility badly worldwide. But that's the price
I'm willing to pay to stop Noda. What other choice is there?"
"Hurt MITI? I'm not so sure. Taking over all of DNI's American
research labs should give quite a boost to your Marketshare - 90
program, wouldn't it. You'd be acquiring America's high-tech sector for
Japan all nicely wrapped up in a bundle." She poured from her can.
"Ought to trim years off your timetable."
"I don't know where you heard about that, Tam." Vague surprise in
his voice. "But that's not a real program. Market- share - 90 is just a
planning exercise over in the General Affairs Section. Part of some
training for their new people."
"When we asked Noda about it, he seemed to think it was real
enough."
"Then he was just bluffing. He had to be."
"Ken, what do you take me for . . .?" She wasn't sure how much
more double-talk she could stand.
He waved his hand to stop her. "Please. Just trust me for this once.
That's all I ask."
"You're sure as hell not making it easy. I think it's time you told me
what's really going on."
"All right. I'll show you the bottom line. Maybe then you'll accept
the truth." He got up and went over to his briefcase. "I have something
in here you ought to see."
"What?"
"It's an advance text of the speech His Majesty delivers on January
second."
"That's his annual New Year's appearance at the Imperial palace,
right? When he bestows his blessings upon the land."
"Exactly." He pulled out the sheet. "I think this sheds light on a lot
of things. Here. I made a rough English translation, just to hear how it
sounds."
She took the paper, torn from a yellow legal pad, and began to read.
 The speech began with a long-winded celebration of the famous
Yasukuni Shrine, home of the spirits of all Japanese warriors. That
shrine, His Majesty then went on to declare, was increasingly
misconstrued by the world as a symbol of Japanese militarism, a
misapprehension both unfortunate and untrue, since Japan had indeed
renounced martial force forever. However, to reinforce that commitment
in the eyes of a nervous world, he was now announcing the dedication
of a new national shrine to Japan's spirit that would have no such
misleading overtones. This new shrine, at Tsukuba Science City, would
be a memorial to the peaceful use of technology, to man's mastery of the
physical world sanctified so long ago by the Shinto gods.
She looked up. "A new national shrine? Nice political move."
"Better read the rest before you jump to conclusions."
She glanced down and continued on.
It had further been decided, the Emperor would say, that the newly
recovered Imperial sword would not be housed at Ise after all. It would
instead be the centerpiece of this new memorial to Japanese technology.
Well, she thought, it still sounds okay. Theme shrines are perfectly
within tradition. After all, the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo commemorated the
nineteenth-century emperor who began Japan's modernization.
However, the thing to remember was that new shrines can have a
philosophical subtext. The Meiji told the Japanese that their country had
accepted Westernization. So, given that the creation of a new shrine can
embody a message to everybody, she found herself wondering what
word was being sent out this time.
The Emperor would go on to spell this out, lest any of his subjects
were too dense to get the picture. Unlike the Yasukuni Shrine, he would
say, this new memorial at Tsukuba would not commemorate Japan's
warrior past; rather it would celebrate a modern Japan whose world
eminence would be fashioned not with arms but through economic
struggle. In so doing, it would symbolize the regeneration of Japan's
ancient spirit, Yamato damashi, of which the bushido of the samurai was
merely one manifestation, only a stage. Grander things were on the way.
Japan's rightful place in the new world order was only now coming into
its own. The new Tsukuba damashi would harness modern technology
to Japan's ancient traditions, would put the new at the service of the old.
What he was really telling his people, she realized, in oblique
language only they would comprehend, was that Japan was now
prepared to wage open confrontation through commerce—their trading
state pitted against the world's military states, whose economic base and
martial ascendancy they would now proceed to challenge through
technological superiority and cutthroat trade.
"Ken, does this mean what I think it means?" She passed back the
yellow page.
"If you think it means Noda's got him now, then the answer is yes.
He's co-opted the Imperial house." He took the sheet and returned it to
his briefcase. "I'd bet you anything Noda himself wrote that speech. He's
begun, Tamara. His total takeover, of America and Japan."
She sat a moment in silence, a strange sensation in her stomach. Did
she believe it? She wasn't sure.
"Ken, there's something you should know. A colleague came with
me on this trip. An American lawyer. Knowing him, he's probably still
down in the bar. I'd like him to read this. Why don't we go down and
I'll introduce you."
"Who is he? Can he be trusted?"
"As a matter of fact, he's an old friend. From a long time past. But
we've been through a lot together lately."
He leaned back and sipped his beer. "Am I to assume this traveling
companion is more than a casual friend?"
"That's not exactly your worry, is it? I don't pry into your life when
I'm away." She got up to retrieve another can of beer.
"You can't blame me for being curious, Tam. It's a simple,
reasonable question."
Nothing Kenji Asano does is ever simple, she told herself. There's
always a subtext.
"Don't try to change the subject. One thing at a time." She sipped
from her glass. "And regarding your plan, as far as I'm concerned, there's
been too much MITI dabbling already. Frankly it pisses me off."
"I'm sorry if you choose to feel that way, Tam." His eyes darkened.
"Please believe me when I assure you we're on the same side. I've told
you what I propose doing about Noda. But I haven't heard any of your
ideas."
She sighed and sipped her beer. "I don't have any. Yet."
"Then why not trust me?"
Trust. There was that word again. Trouble was, she wasn't sure she
trusted anybody anymore. She rose, strolled to the window, and reached
for the curtain. Should she let him stay the night? Maybe that was just
asking for more heartaches. Letting Japan screw America two ways.
With that dismal thought she pulled open the curtains.
It had begun to snow, a swirl of drifting white.