The British Embassy in Japan was located in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, adjacent to the Imperial Palace. At this moment, two or three hundred Japanese protesters had gathered by the road outside the embassy gates. Each of them held banners and small flags while chanting slogans:
"Return our god's remains! Return our national treasures!"
"Plundering our cultural relics is an act of banditry! Japan will never tolerate it!"
"Queen Himiko belongs to Japan, and those national treasures belong to Japan as well! We demand that the British auction house halt the auction and return our cultural relics!"
The demonstrators stood by the roadside, waving flags and continuously shouting slogans. Two rows of Japanese police officers stood guard at the entrance, tense and vigilant. Several television station vans were parked nearby, their reporters constantly filming with cameras.
Inside the British Embassy, Ambassador William looked outside with a deep frown. Just then, the phone on his desk rang, and he picked it up.
His secretary's voice came through the phone. "Mr. Ambassador, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urgently summoned you. Japanese Foreign Minister Tanaka will meet with you personally."
"I understand."
Half an hour later, Ambassador William arrived at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with Foreign Minister Tanaka. Tanaka said sternly, "Ambassador William, I have brought a message from the Prime Minister. The batch of cultural relics that Charlotte Auction House intends to auction must absolutely not be publicly auctioned, because it is a desecration of Japan. Furthermore, we demand that those treasures be returned to Japan."
Ambassador William frowned. "Mr. Tanaka, I will convey your views and the Prime Minister's views to our Prime Minister."
Foreign Minister Tanaka continued, "There is another matter we need to inform you of. When we discovered Yamatai Island, we also found some