George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 277

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The most powerful man in the world was disembarking from Air Force One in Japan. The welcoming crowd mobilized by Koizumi was as impressive as it had been in the early days of Bush’s administration.

‘I was hoping to get a hint from Elder Nakasone, but…’

It seemed that was a lost cause from the start. That old man must have been planning to make fun of Abe from the beginning. Abe, in his own way, did gain something. He already knew it, but he gained a kind of certainty.

However, separately from that, he couldn’t stop that old man Nakasone from arbitrarily evaluating and being satisfied with Abe. He was used to being evaluated by others. From the moment he stepped into the political world, being evaluated by others was only natural.

High positions are always subject to the eyes and mouths of the world. This is true regardless of the era. It’s just a matter of the level to which one is evaluated.

Besides, Nakasone wasn’t just some nobody rolling around like a roadside stone that you could kick. He was a great man who was qualified to confidently evaluate others.

How is qualification given in a field? If you build up enough achievements and can be recognized by others, that is qualification. However, among the people living in Japan who meet this condition, you could count them on the fingers of both hands at best.

And among those people, Nakasone was not only perfectly suited to that condition, but he was also someone who could be openly considered the best.

‘But if you get out of the well that is Japan, there will be quite a few people like that.’

And if you were to pick the best in the entire world, beyond just Japan, it would undoubtedly be that American man who had just set foot in Japan.

‘For the next few years, the world will be under that man’s influence, whether it likes it or not.’

He caused that much trouble. Influence isn’t determined by a person’s ability. It’s determined solely by the ‘ripple effect’ of the actions they commit.

Frankly, even World War I started from a small bullet fired by a moron overflowing with impulsiveness.

However, if a capable person starts to exert influence openly, the story is different. Ripple effect is determined not by individual ‘ability’ but by ‘action.’ Even if ability is lacking, if you take that much action, there is naturally a ripple effect.

Conversely, if a person with ability and wealth takes massive action openly, it directly leads to a ripple effect.

In other words, that man had been moving every single one of his actions on a massive and bloated scale. When he moves, at least a million to ten million people move. That’s not an exaggeration; even the U.S. military alone has over a million troops in its regular army, right? Even if it’s less than the regular army, how much more would it increase if you include the reserves?

‘That’s why they say you have to be careful about your actions the higher you sit.’

Abe fidgeted with his clothes, looking anxious. Frankly, until a few years ago, he didn’t really care about that man unless he started a war with Japan. Abe was already struggling just to deal with the current Prime Minister Koizumi and the big shot Nakasone.

“I heard the reason for his visit this time is nuclear power plants? That new nuclear power plant they’re planning to build.”

“It seems he’s also stopping by Korea and China after his Japan schedule. But Japan comes first this time. That’s how it should be.”

Abe heard the reporters talking amongst themselves in front of him. Frankly, he wasn’t very interested in the reason why he came to Japan, because he suspected his real purpose wasn’t Japan. It was probably a courtesy to allies thought up by his staff, whom the President was so proud of, rather than the President’s personal judgment.

If you asked what the basis was, frankly, it was all vague, so there was nothing certain. Nakasone often used the phrase ‘the feeling of a former prime minister,’ so Abe decided to call it the feeling of a future prime minister. Whether he could really become the next prime minister was uncertain.

Making that uncertainty a variable and confirming the variable would really depend solely on Abe’s political skills. However, separately from that, Abe was somewhat skeptical of Nakasone’s prediction that Koizumi would step down after finishing this term of office.

He had thought of him as a senile old man shouting that Japan hadn’t lost, hadn’t been defeated, and would never be defeated, but that changed a little today. And that was quite related to why Abe was so anxious now.

‘To think that the most amazing person in the world among the politicians alive today wants to talk to me alone. Am I really destined to become the next prime minister?’

The world is pushing Abe forward. He doesn’t know why, but he’s being followed by ‘luck’ that he hasn’t felt before. How many vermin had he had to sink into Tokyo Bay to hang this luck on his back? [A dark joke implying Abe eliminated rivals to gain power.]

Anyway, the world is a jungle. Some deny it, but it hasn’t changed once since ancient times. The meaning has changed later, but the gist is ‘the strong take from the weak.’ As long as the strong are strong, the weak will inevitably be taken from. Whether that’s barbaric or gentlemanly is secondary.

Good. If they’re pushing me this far, I’ll gladly do it. With that in mind, he watched the scene of Koizumi and Bush shaking hands.

If Nakasone was right, he imagined that soon it would be himself, Abe Shinzo, shaking that hand, not Koizumi, and moved to the meeting place.

Officially, they were scheduled to meet before he left Japan after all the schedules were over. Perhaps the American president would discuss Koizumi and that nuclear power plant of his. Come to think of it, until just now, he thought it was just an excuse.

However, when he thought about the fact that the first thing he said to Koizumi as soon as he came to Japan at the beginning of his administration was about nuclear power plants, it seemed like there was something to it.

‘Come to think of it, nuclear power plants.’

Abe inherently loved nuclear power. It wasn’t just a liking. He loved it. Japan already depended on nuclear power for a third of its electricity. Abe thought nuclear power was Japan’s new future.

He believed that Japan would be ruined by nuclear power but would also prosper by nuclear power. Furthermore, he thought that there was probably no one among the current politicians who knew more about the dangers of nuclear power than Abe himself.

That’s because the politicians who knew about the dangers of nuclear power had already left the political world long ago. The elders, including Nakasone, were the ones who directly felt the power of nuclear power and clearly recognized it.

So, if you asked Abe why he was so sure about the dangers of nuclear power, it was purely because of that American man who was now shoulder to shoulder with Koizumi, showing off something that might be friendship.

To be honest, before that, he only understood it in terms of numbers. Even people who pride themselves on knowing a little about the dangers are all the same. Frankly, the vague impression they have is ‘Radiation is dangerous!’ or ‘If you’re exposed to radiation, it hurts.’ That’s about it.

It’s really at the level that a kindergartner could think of, but that was the common way of thinking in the current Japanese political world. Politicians are more interested in how great nuclear power is and what kind of profits it can generate.

This wasn’t because they were stupid, but because of capital, in other words, the nature of the government, which lives and dies by the budget. Japan is the third-largest nuclear power in the world, with about 50 nuclear power plants from Tomari in the northern frozen land to Sendai in the south.

Naturally, from the perspective of politicians whose way of thinking is geared towards budget cuts and increases, the profits and budget savings gained from these 50 power plants are more noticeable than the disaster that could occur.

However, that wasn’t right. If an earthquake of magnitude 9.4, like the one that occurred in Southeast Asia, were to occur where these nuclear power plants are located, how far back would Japan have to regress?

The earthquake occurred four times in a row. Due to the earthquake, Southeast Asia regressed by about 10 years in real terms. Then what about Japan? What kind of disaster would occur if Japan faced the same situation?

Abe was reviewing and recording those figures one by one, only because that man was interested in it.

In fact, this was more about moving as the next prime minister to maintain his position for a long time through all sorts of negotiations after becoming prime minister.

Frankly, if the 50 or so nuclear power plants in the Japanese archipelago were to leak due to an earthquake, the United States wouldn’t be safe either. One or two would only end with some countries in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. But if radiation leaked from most of the 50 plants, then it would be the extinction of humanity unless the power of radiation sprouted in each individual.

‘In that sense, this is a negotiating card and a blackmail card.’

If what George W. Bush wants is ‘fundamentally blocking nuclear power plant accidents,’ what could be better than this?

Ah, of course, you might think that no matter what, no one would be stupid enough to sabotage their own country’s nuclear power plants. But that’s just a complacent thought, and there are plenty of people in Japan who can do that as long as they can maintain power and enjoy wealth and glory permanently.

It’s just that it hasn’t happened so far because there was no reason to do so.

‘Now there’s a reason.’

Of course, he couldn’t directly threaten him to his face, but he could make as many unreasonable demands as he wanted. Originally, you see as much as you know, right? There may be differences in opinion, but at least Abe knows as much as that man knows.

Frankly, even Korea is covering the north with nuclear power plants, right? The established plan was so absurd in Abe’s view that it seemed they had decided to cover the country with reactors instead of giving up nuclear weapons. It was a strategy to become a hedgehog so that no one could touch them.

That’s not to say they’re really covering it at 1km intervals, but they were building it in places where Japan, China, and Russia could suffer enormous damage. By doing this, it was almost the same as having nuclear weapons. Moreover, he also thought that nuclear armament might be possible in case of emergency.

‘Was Nakasone asking me for constitutional revision?’

If so, I’ll do it as much as you want. Coincidentally, there were quite a few right-wing groups who were uneasy because Korea was unified and its power increased.

‘Is the only thing left whether I can seize power or not?’

Abe came out of his thoughts and returned to reality. But in the distance, he saw Koizumi’s expression, which seemed embarrassed. It was a rare expression to see on Koizumi, who always slipped away like a loach with his unique way of speaking when he was in trouble.

No, what kind of conversation is going on that he’s making such an expression?