Tokyo, Island Nation. At the War Ministry, the newly appointed Minister of War, General Shunroku Hata, wore an extremely grim expression. He had just returned from the Prime Minister's residence, where the newly appointed Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonai had given him a thorough dressing-down. Naturally, his face could not look any better.
The Island Nation's Cabinet was often replaced with astonishing speed; a new Cabinet could be installed every few months. This made the Island Nation's upper-level politics highly unstable. Fortunately, its local governments were relatively stable, and it also possessed a sound system. Turmoil in the upper echelons did not affect the localities, allowing Island Nation society to remain stable.
Now that it was wartime, the Island Nation's military influence had surged, greatly strengthening its control over the Cabinet. Both the Army and Navy wanted to send their own man to the Prime Minister's seat. That would undoubtedly allow them to reap more benefits from the war more directly. However, the Army and Navy had to compromise with each other before they could reach an agreement. Otherwise, the civilian factions could only be allowed to emerge victorious. That was precisely why the former Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yonai had been made Prime Minister this time.
Originally, the Army faction had believed that as long as the Army could secure victory in the Southern Theater, they would have enough strength to drive the Navy from power. But now, the Army had suffered a disastrous fall in Borneo. The Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army, more than two hundred thousand strong, had suffered a devastating blow, and fewer than thirty thousand now remained, barely clinging to life. For the Island Nation's Army, which had been determined to open up the situation in the South Seas, such a crushing defeat was undoubtedly a vicious