Stubbornness

"Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and Kitakyushu—eight whole cities had already been destroyed beneath the Germans' bombardment. Millions had been driven from their homes. No one knew where the Germans would strike next. Perhaps they would attack Tokyo. This could not go on any longer. Otherwise, the Empire would not be able to bear it!" At the Cabinet meeting, Island Nation's Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu wore an expression of grief. For the Island Nation, all of this was undoubtedly a disaster. He did not know why things had developed into this. It was as though everything had already slipped beyond their control.

The other senior officials of the Island Nation's Cabinet all looked terrible as well. They had never imagined that the Germans would be so cruel.

"This war cannot continue any longer. At this point, we are clearly just passively taking blows. If this goes on, the Empire will be finished!" Foreign Minister Kato Takaaki also voiced his opinion.

"Gentlemen, vast numbers of civilians have fled their homes. They now have no means of livelihood. The domestic food supply has also begun to encounter problems. If this continues, a widespread famine may very well break out!" Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Oura Kanetake said.

Oka Ichinosuke and Yashiro Rokuro Oi both wore exceedingly grim expressions. They could vaguely sense that the other ministers had become deeply dissatisfied with the military's stubborn refusal to compromise with the Germans. But Southeast Asia was so fertile and rich—if they were to give it up just like that, they truly could not bear it! The Island Nation's land area was far too small, while its resources were scarce and disasters frequent. To them, fertile and abundant Southeast Asia held an incomparably great allure. They had finally swallowed Southeast Asia into their