The Corporation: Book One - The Showa Project

By Godfrey Dance

Initially led by Emperor Hirohito in 1945, the Japanese planned and carried out a grand deception that kept their intentions hidden from the world. Leadership was delegated to the Takeda family, who pursued the Emperor’s wishes with a ruthless efficiency, where murder and blackmail were commonplace. Project Showa (named after the official designation of Emperor Hirohito’s reign, meaning “Enlightened Peace”!) became a juggernaut with a single focus!
The Takeda’s controlled a Japanese secret society, called the Kokuryukai or Black Dragon Society. This was an organisation of ultra-nationalists, founded in 1901, and named after the Amur (Black Dragon) River. This society fulfilled a similar role to the Nazi’s Gestapo, installing a reign of fear and obedience.
The Japanese established a giant corporation called Mitsoma that was the front for all their activities. A few within the British establishment began to realise the true intentions of the Japanese, this realisation led to the forming of a covert and unofficial small military force called the Guardians, whose sole purpose was to resist the suspected Japanese invasion.
To keep their intentions secret the Japanese purchased, via the Russian Mafia, substantial ex-Soviet armaments, including two nuclear powered submarines, an aircraft carrier and T-72 tanks.
Project Showa reached its final phase long after Emperor Hirohito’s death, however the Takeda family were still in absolute control and the Japanese invasion of Britain commenced.
When the Japanese invasion started, on Christmas Day, the British armed forces were decimated, what remained came under the control of the Guardians, and the fightback commenced. The long standing British allies, the Americans, were powerless to provide help, as the Japanese had positioned one of their nuclear submarines off the North American coast, and threatened the United States Government with attack by nuclear tipped missiles should they act.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Godfrey Dance
• Release date: May 12, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476422923

Godfrey Dance

Godfrey Dance lives in Surrey, England and is married with two children, and an equal number of grandchildren. He divides his time between writing and working as an Interim Projects Director. After over a decade working for a Japanese multinational company, and a great love for “techno thrillers”, he has produced his first novel. The second in the Corporation trilogy, Takeda’s Revenge, will be published late in 2012.

Book preview

Chapter One - The Beginning.

Tokyo, Japan

8 August 1945

The room was small and cramped and lacked the normal high level of luxury that the men present normally both expected and demanded. The five unpadded chairs, which were hard and uncomfortable, had been arranged around a rectangular cloth covered table. Sitting at the head of the table was the divine head of Japan, Emperor Hirohito, who for the past nineteen years had allowed the militaristic elements of his country, supported by the giant industrial conglomerates, to dominate his government and take them into an expansionist war that he now knew that they could not win.

He regretted his lack of earlier resolve, and now fully intended to make amends. In future, any plans to expand the Japanese Empire would be much more carefully planned!

Situated deep below the Tokyo streets the room was part of a bunker complex, built several years before as a safe refuge for the government. Above, another American air raid was in progress; B29’s flying from Saipan, or maybe Iwo Jima, were dropping their bomb loads of death and destruction, unopposed by the decimated Japanese air force.

As the men sat, they could feel the shock waves from the explosions and imagined the devastation to their once proud city. The room appeared cloudy, partly from the cigarette smoke, but mainly from the dust dislodged from the ceiling and walls by the constant bombardment above.

Sitting to the Emperors immediate side was Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki, who looked tired and near the end of his mental endurance, though the retired admiral had only been in office since April that year.

In his eighty-first year the Prime Minister was in a position that he had not sought, however, the venerated hero of the long-ago Russo-Japanese war had, under pressure from disillusioned members of the government, agreed to lead Japan in this time of trouble for his country. He was gazing at the back of Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, unknown to all present, the Gaimusho (foreign ministry), was ablaze as incendiary bombs rained down on it. Perhaps the Foreign Minister might not have been his normal aggressive self-had he been aware that the flames above were currently consuming his office! Togo was a reluctant supporter of the increasingly popular notion of surrender, something the military faction was vehemently against.

An argument raged between the Foreign Minister and a uniformed soldier. Togo was pointing his finger, ‘General Anami, you are crazy to come to this meeting in uniform, there are less than ten people that know about it, and you jeopardise it all just for your stupid military pride.’

Anami, his face growing redder, stood up and bellowed, ‘You accuse me! Where has your political manoeuvring got us, apart from near defeat? At least I have pride in something, I am proud to wear the symbol of my countries greatness.’

Hirohito watched the argument dispassionately; when finally the General paused for breath he interrupted ‘Enough, the time for disagreement is gone, we are here to decide our future course of action, and the fate of Japan!’ The emperor was not an impressive figure, short in stature, bespectacled and normally shy in nature, but when spoke people obeyed!

As spokesman for the army, General Korechika Anami was probably the most powerful man in Japan, at fifty-seven he had been made war minister of a country in ruins. He was intelligent enough to realise that strategically Japan had lost the war, yet he would not admit that fact to anyone and planned to bleed the Americans so much on the probable invasion beaches of Kyushu and Honshu that better peace terms might be agreed with the hated enemy, and some degree of honour salvaged. Although like all loyal Japanese, he would follow his Emperor’s wishes.

The presence of the Emperor at such a meeting was without precedent. He was regarded as Divine and The son of heaven, he supposedly lived beyond the clouds and was a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and traditionally the Emperor avoided any involvement in government or politics. However, this Emperor was well informed, and took a serious, albeit late, interest in the affairs of his country.

The General bowed and with a deep sigh, sat down. ‘Now’ spoke the Emperor. ‘Prime Minister Suzuki will bring us up to date with the current situation’; all eyes turned to the tired politician, who coughed to clear his throat, and began. ‘We cannot win this war and must sue for peace before our country is completely destroyed.’

‘What’ Anami interrupted, his face returning to its previous shade of red, ‘we have had some temporary setbacks but we will be victorious in the end.’

‘No, General’ Suzuki continued, ‘As War Minister you should be fully aware that we cannot win, your pride blinds you to the facts. Even without the new terror weapon used two days ago by the Americans, your armed forces are beaten; it is only a matter of time before our islands are invaded.’

The room became suddenly still and seemed colder as the implications of what had been said slowly sank in. After a wait of what seemed an eternity, the Emperor prompted Suzuki to continue by gently tapping the table; wearily he rose to his feet. ‘I believe that, at most, we can only survive six months before the allied forces reach Tokyo. To be true we can inflict high casualties on the invading army, but lose we will,’ silence again reigned. Suzuki continued, ‘however, it may well be worse, should the destruction of Hiroshima be repeated on our other cities we will have nothing left, therefore my recommendation is that we accept the surrender terms already offered to us quickly, before it is too late, the terms are far more generous than we would ever offer. We must save something from this disaster.’

General Anami stood and straightened his back, ‘I will never surrender, one day I would have to face my ancestors and answer for disgracing my family honour by surrendering, my armies will fight to the death.’ After waiting for a few seconds, he added, ‘The Americans may well invade us, but we will kill so many of them, that their cowardly leaders will be forced to reconsider, and offer better terms than at present to end the war.’

The code of Bushido—The way of the warrior was deeply ingrained within the Japanese military, and many would take their lives in the painful Samurai ritual of seppuka (called hara-kiri in the West), rather than face the dishonour of surrendering.

‘Most commendable,’ commented the Emperor, ‘nevertheless, it will not happen this way, short-term history will show the surrender of the Japanese nation; however, the long-term will show something very different.’

Still standing the General looked confused,’ I fail to understand,’ he stuttered. ‘You will,’ replied a voice from the other end of the table. All heads turned towards the unrecognised man, who had sat patiently, listening to the discussion, waiting his turn to speak.

‘Who are you?’ Asked the Foreign Minister, noting the just perceivable nod from the Emperor to the man. The other participants did not miss this gesture, suddenly the realisation occurred to them all, that this man was not just a mere observer, but was somehow part of the Emperor’s reason for calling this clandestine meeting. The man slowly stood, he was sixty kilograms overweight and one arm hung at his side. A chilling sense of foreboding rolled around the four walls.

‘My name is Colonel Hiroshi Takeda,’ said the man in a cold, exact way, his dark brown, almost black eyes had an unnerving and unnatural glow to them. This was a man to fear and avoid, ‘some of you may have heard of me?’ They had all heard of Takeda!

Takeda was a national hero, a Colonel in Japans intelligence service; he had been born in 1907 in the port city of Nagasaki where his wife and young daughter now lived. He had joined the army at the first opportunity, to escape the shame of an unknown father and a mother of dubious virtue. The young Takeda was cruel and heartless, and as he grew up he developed a fanatical hatred of anything, or person not Japanese. The reasons were never clear, but the hatred would follow him throughout his life.

After serving with the army during the Sino-Japanese conflict of the late thirties, he had risen to the rank of Major, and gained a reputation for utter ruthlessness. The army high command were concerned at the torture and execution of every prisoner Takeda’s unit took, even the soldiers under his control feared him and were careful not to trigger him into one of the vicious rages that he was famous for.

It was during one of these skirmishes with the Chinese that an exploding mortar shell had so severely damaged his left arm, that the unit surgeon was forced to remove it just below the elbow. The only comment Takeda made was, ‘Thank my ancestors that it’s not my sword arm.’ As the saw began to cut bone, the surgeon thought to himself, ‘Another young fanatic, at least he will now be unable to cause any more bloodshed.’ How wrong he was!

Such an injury prevented Takeda from returning to an active frontline role in the army, and thus he entered Japans military intelligence service. At first, he hated every minute that he was away from the freedom to satisfy his insatiable need to control and inflict his will on others. However, in time he realised that his talents could be an asset within the shadowy world of information gathering. Takeda excelled, having an uncanny ability to accurately analyse the enemy’s intentions. This ability was supplemented with a hard interrogation technique that normally resulted in the subject’s death, after of course the desired information had been extracted!

By now, the Second World War was under way, and Takeda had been promoted to a Colonel specialising in operational security. Much of the early Japanese success in the Pacific was due to Takeda’s tight control of internal information and highly accurate forecasts of the enemy's intensions.

Even an unintentional remark made by a senior carrier Admiral, and overheard by one of Takeda’s ever-growing army of agents and informants, had been enough to condemn the unfortunate sailor to a visit from Takeda, and a premature death.

However, Takeda's early successes in preserving Japanese secrets and obtaining America's did not last. As the war progressed, the Americans, recovering from the tremendous blow of the Pearl Harbour attack, began to crack the seemingly secure Japanese ciphers and an increasingly efficient FBI caught many of Takeda's agents. The tide of war turned; soon it became apparent, not just to Takeda, but also to many in the military and the government, that Japan could not win the war. Some began to consider Japan's survival after the inevitable capitulation to the Allies!

The previous day a messenger had delivered a handwritten note from the Emperor himself; instructing Takeda to investigate the large explosive device that had been detonated over Hiroshima, and attend the meeting that he now sat in.

Takeda bowed deeply to the Emperor ‘It is a great honour to be here’ he said, in a voice devoid of emotion.

Hirohito acknowledged with a small gesture with his hand, and just said, ‘your report please.’

Before Takeda could begin, General Amani interjected ‘With the greatest respect, surely this report should be presented by the head of our illustrious intelligence service, not one of his subordinates.’ Takeda gave the elderly soldier a long penetrating stare and mentally made a note that a fatal accident would have to occur in the near future.

Just as Takeda was about to reply, Prime Minister Suzuki coughed gently, drawing everyone’s attention, and calmly said, ‘Due to his courageous past exploits, and the future plans of our great Emperor, Takeda-san is from today in charge of all Intelligence and security related matters. Especially those relating to the project that the Emperor wishes to discuss later.’

Takeda just managed to contain his surprise; this was news to him! He managed to control the urge to smile; he was now one of them, one of the elite. The General gave Takeda a long hard stare and reassessed the man standing in front of him as his equal, or maybe his superior?

As General Anami was turning over in his mind what had just transpired, others were also drawing their own conclusions. The importance of what was beginning to emerge suddenly became apparent to Foreign Minister Togo, obviously the Prime Minister knew the Emperor’s intentions. That might explain the tired look! Togo remained silent and waited for the story to unfurl.

With considerable control over the many questions that were turning over in his mind, Takeda continued, ‘Two days ago the Americans dropped on Hiroshima a new type of weapon called an Atomic bomb. We, as well as our German allies, have also been trying to develop such a bomb, Unfortunately the Americans, with British help, have won the race.’

‘This bomb is like nothing seen before and relies on a process known as fission to release large amounts of energy in an explosion,’ Takeda noticed that the General had a puzzled frown on his face, so he looked directly at him and said, ‘Perhaps I can explain further.’

The General nodded and asked, ‘I fail to understand how one aircraft could carry enough explosive to cause the large amount of damage that my staff inform me was inflicted.’

Takeda sighed; he felt like a schoolteacher trying to explain advanced algebra to a five year old, ‘The principle is different from anything before; it relies on using a fairly small amount of conventional explosive to compress a core of uranium or plutonium, resulting in an uncontrolled fission that releases vast amounts of heat and energy. This manifested itself at Hiroshima in the large fireball and the tremendous blast wave. There is also an additional problem in that the soil and debris sucked up by the explosion will drop back to the ground over the following days as deadly radioactive fallout. Which will probably kill as many as the original explosion, thus we now have the situation where one American bomber can kill as many people, or more, than the three-hundred plus bombers did to Tokyo during the big firestorm raid earlier this year’

‘You seem to know a great deal about our enemy’s weapons’ said the Foreign Minister, ‘how?’

Takeda thought for a couple of seconds and then replied, ‘what I am about to tell you must remain top secret, and must never be disclosed to anyone without my clearance,’ the implied menace was very clear. ‘Several months ago’ continued Takeda, ‘We recruited an agent at a junior level inside the American government.

The Foreign Minister raised his eyebrows in disbelief and commented, ‘We have always encountered great difficulty with our espionage activities in the United States, how did you manage it?’ Respect for Takeda was now evident in his voice.

Takeda sat down, and answered the question. ‘To be honest, mainly just good fortune. The military attaché at our embassy in Switzerland discovered that a junior official at the American embassy was having an affair with a secretary from the Soviet embassy, and he obtained some quite explicit photographs of their liaison. He correctly included details in his report back to Tokyo, but did not place much importance to it, due to the youth and apparent lack of position of the American, and also his own inability to think ahead. This matter was brought to my attention by one of the analysts on my staff, I then arranged for one of the captive Soviet seaman from the freighter that sank off Yokohama last year, to approach the American, and threaten to expose his sexual activities to his government. He quickly agreed to supply whatever information he could, also he asked for payment, which we agreed to. Our new agent has since returned to Washington.’

The other men at the meeting were by now completely engrossed with Takeda’s explanation, and made no comment as they digested the contents. Finally, the Emperor was forced to ask what they were all thinking. ‘I fail to understand why you used the Russian, and not one of your own agents, also how could you be sure that he would do as you instructed and not run away, or warn the American? Was all the effort to recruit the American really worth it? You said that he is unable to tell us anything useful.’

Takeda smiled and thought to himself that these people showed a complete lack of foresight. ‘Good questions your Majesty,’ he replied,’ I will explain, Whilst this American was considered to be of little immediate use to us, he is well educated, and comes from a respected, but poor family, all the indications are that he will progress and maybe reach a much higher position of importance, helped where possible by our money. Thus, in the future, we may have an important agent deep in the United States government, it may take several decades, but both my analysts and I are confident it will happen. As the war is not necessarily going to our advantage at present, such a source of information may be very useful to us in the coming years.

As for using the captured Russian, he was given an injection of a harmless liquid, and told it was a poison that would kill him in twenty-four hours, unless we injected the antidote in time; he did exactly as he was told! Our strategy was that the American, despite his weaknesses, would never work for his country’s enemy, Japan, so he now believes that he will be supplying information to the Soviets, the Americans allies. We have given him a Russian code name, to reinforce his belief. All steps possible have been taken to make sure that any suspicions point towards the Soviets. I believe this is what our enemies call a false flag operation.’

‘What is his code-name?’ Asked Suzuki.

‘Ivan,’ replied Takeda, ‘not very inventive, but easily remembered.’

‘Outstanding,’ commented Suzuki, ‘can you tell us the name of this American?’

‘Unfortunately no,’ replied Takeda, only I and the agent I have selected to be the Americans controller know his true identity, it must remain this way to preserve the tight security such a source requires.’

Suzuki was about to protest, that surely the men in this room could be trusted, when the Emperor stopped further argument by simply saying, ‘I understand Takeda.’

General Amani, keen to show everyone that Takeda was not perfect, leaned back in his chair and said in an arrogant voice, ‘You talk about security, but what about all the other people that have been involved, such as our attaché in Switzerland and the Russian seaman?’

‘Ah yes,’ replied Takeda, ‘that matter has been dealt with; our military attaché was unfortunately involved in a fatal motor accident just outside Zurich.’

‘And the Russian Seaman?’ Prompted Suzuki, by now guessing the probable answer. ‘What seaman?’ Replied Takeda in a matter-of-fact way, confirming that another death had occurred.

‘Anything else Takeda-san?,’ asked the Emperor keen to get away from a subject that he found distasteful, and back towards the bombshell he was soon to drop.

‘Yes there is,’ replied the new head of Intelligence and Security, ‘I said earlier that our new American agent was too junior at present to obtain any useful information. This has proved to be an incorrect assumption on my part, which I apologise for, he has supplied some quite interesting reports already.’

‘Do not chastise yourself Takeda-san, how could you know that your agent would reap such quick results, what has he passed on?’ Responded the Foreign Minister, sensing, quite incorrectly, that at last some good news was forthcoming.

They are like children playing spy games, thought Takeda as he considered his reply, finally, he answered, ‘By good fortune our agent was included yesterday in a meeting between the Americans and British to discuss and agree if they will use another of these Atomic bombs on us.’

‘Will they?’ Asked the General.

‘Yes,’ replied Takeda, ‘they will.’

‘When? And what is the target,’ asked Suzuki, suddenly afraid of what the answer might be.

‘Tomorrow a second bomb will be dropped on Kokura’ replied Takeda ‘this is the primary target, there are secondary targets should the aircraft be prevented from reaching Kokura. These secondary targets are not known to us.’

‘Then we must act immediately,’ Suzuki quickly replied, ‘We must evacuate the city and deploy sufficient fighter aircraft to ensure that the American bomber is shot down.’ Suzuki was on his feet, and heading towards the door when a voice shouted.

‘No, we must do nothing!’ Takeda’s voice was firm.

‘Are you crazy, we had over fifty-thousand dead at Hiroshima, and probably more will yet die of their injuries, over half the city was destroyed, and you now suggest that we allow the same thing to happen to Kokura?’ These words from the Prime Minister were almost screamed at Takeda. The earlier respect had evaporated.

‘Sit down everybody,’ commanded the Emperor, in an uncharacteristic firm voice, all obeyed. We will deal with the subject of Kokura later.

‘It is time to explain to you all the real reason for this meeting, I think that Takeda-san has guessed part of it, am I not correct?’ The Emperor looked towards Takeda.

‘All I know is that you had a meeting yesterday with the Presidents of most of our leading companies to discuss the formation of a new very large Corporation. It was agreed to form this Corporation and shroud it in great secrecy. This Corporation will indirectly control all the others, and be the future of Japan.’ Takeda stopped to watch the reaction of the others.

‘You know more than I thought,’ commented the Emperor, ‘How?’

‘I had a listening device installed in the office where the meeting took place,’ Takeda said, and thinking quickly he continued, ‘if I am to be responsible for security for this new Corporation, which I assume is your intention, then I must know everything. Takeda was by now, using that well-known American expression, bullshitting, survival within the Japanese establishment meant keeping one step ahead of the rest, hence the bugging of the meeting. The relevance to today's events was just plain good luck.

The Emperor smiled, ‘I see that I have chosen the right person, and yes, your assumption is correct. In future, you must be fully aware of all aspects of the Corporation, or anything that affects the momentous task that lies ahead of us, of you.

The General, who had been carefully listening to the dialogue, could contain himself no longer, ‘please explain your strategy,’ he asked.

Knowing that at last the moment had arrived, the Emperor took a deep breath and began; ‘It is quite clear that we cannot win this war. Therefore, in a few days’ time, I will announce our surrender; we must look towards the future and plan for the eventual victory of the Japanese nation. It is evident that it will always be difficult to win a war against the United States and their allies, even more so now that they possess such terrible weapons. Consequently, we must adopt a different strategy, one that will enable us to employ our strengths and exploit others weaknesses. Thus yesterday the Mitsoma Corporation was formed. Nobody in this room will have any direct connection to it, with the exception of Takeda-san, who will be not only responsible for security, but will also be the President of the Corporation.’

Takeda was unable to stifle a gasp, ‘I am deeply honoured, but I am not qualified for such an important position, my experience of business matters is poor’

‘Do not worry, you will have the best commercial and technical minds in Japan working for you,’ assured the Emperor, ‘you are a born leader, and you will learn quickly what is needed, anyway a man with your ruthless talents is required.’

Takeda stood and bowed slowly, sitting back down he felt exhilarated at the prospect of achieving what he now felt was his destiny.

Continuing, the Emperor outlined the future, ‘Success will not come quickly, and it may take many decades before the final phase is ready for implementation. In those decades the Corporation must grow and control not only Japan, but also the economies of many parts of the world, we must become like a giant with many arms; we must expand our commercial activities in a way the world has never seen before.

After the Americans occupy us, I have been unofficially informed that they will assist us in rebuilding our manufacturing base and economy.’

‘Surely they are not that stupid,’ remarked the General, ‘we will never be allowed to be a threat to them again, there must be conditions imposed!’

‘Whilst the Americans are at times naïve, they are not stupid,’ replied the Foreign Minister, ‘my advisers tell me that plans for the occupation have already been made, details are unclear. Nevertheless, it appears that the Supreme Allied Commander that we have already been told about will be General MacArthur, and that one of his first acts will be to demand that the Zaibatsu, our industrial and financial conglomerates be broken up. This we can reluctantly do, it will be difficult, but not impossible to still retain the original structure for use by the controlling Mitsoma Corporation.’

This is exactly what happened, the new giant Keiretsu effectively replaced the Zaibatsu, welded together by shared values, business ties and complex webs of cross-shareholdings the Mitsoma Keiretsu would reign supreme, above the likes of Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Sanwa and all the others.

‘I am pleased that you are all thinking in the right direction already’ said the Emperor, ‘but let me continue, the substantial funds that we will no doubt receive in order that our economy can be rebuilt, must be carefully directed to the Corporation to allow it to grow. The Corporation will become the government of Japan, only by another name. In the future when the time is right the final military solution can be implemented.’

‘What military solution?’ Uttered a surprised Foreign Minister, ‘Have we not had enough of bloodshed?’

‘We are a small island,’ retorted the Emperor, ‘much of our land is too mountainous to be of much use, and only around eleven per cent of our country is arable land. We have few natural resources, and a population that our experts estimate will reach more than one-hundred million by the year 2020. We will be forced to watch our people starve, and our country stagnate.

Whilst we can achieve much by expanding our business activities, and dominating the worlds industries in the end we must be able protect our interests and expand our sphere of control. This can only be done by force! One day we will have to expand to survive, we will need more space, another country. Once the countries in Europe recover from the war, they will begin to work together and may eventually become what is in effect one large country, the federal states of Europe maybe? If this ever happens, they will have power and an economy to rival the Americans. We must be part of that arrangement or we will be left out in the wilderness, with only Asia as our marketplace, we can never reach our destiny. Thus, we must control a country in Europe. As we are an island race that country should also be an island, the only suitable one in Europe is the British Isles, which is our target!’

The implications of what had just been proposed were running through each person’s mind. They all knew that there were many truths put forward, and that their options were limited, nevertheless, could they pull it off? It seemed too audacious, too risky. Slowly each person nodded his head to the Emperor, and so the great gamble began.

‘What about Kokura?’ Asked Suzuki, ‘we must send out a warning without delay?’

Takeda responded forcefully, ‘If we do anything we risk exposing Ivan, it would be easy for the Americans to expose him as only a very few senior people, plus Ivan, are aware of their intentions. So we must allow the bomb to drop, also the dropping of a second weapon will work to our advantage.’

‘How does killing many thousands of our countrymen work to our advantage?’ Spat out Suzuki angrily.

‘All must make sacrifices,’ replied Takeda in a firm voice, ‘in addition to protecting Ivan, the use of such a terrible means of war for the second time will swing world opinion in our favour, and only increase the amount of money that the guilt ridden Americans will give to rebuild us. The advantages of dropping the second bomb far outweigh the loss of a few civilians.’

Seeing that this argument could go on for hours, the Emperor decided that he must make a decision; this decision must be the one that ensured the future greatness for Japan. So with a heavy heart he said, ‘For the very reasons just stated by Takeda-san, nothing must be said, no warning will be given.’

Silence reigned for several minutes, every one jumped when there was a sharp knock on the door, ‘Enter,’ commanded the Emperor.

An aide entered, bowed deeply to the Emperor and approached Takeda. Handing him a message, Takeda read it, folded the message in half, and placed it in his breast pocket.

‘Any answer, or action to be taken Takeda-san?’ Asked the aide.

‘No’ replied Takeda, ‘You may leave.’ The aide left being extremely careful to shut the door quietly.

‘Well Takeda-san, what now?’ Asked the Foreign Minister.

‘Ivan is proving most useful, he this morning, passed a message to what he believes are his Soviet masters, informing them that the American Government was pleased that the Soviets intend to break their non-aggression pact with us and declare war on Japan today!’ Takeda leaned back in his chair to observe what the response would be.

‘What, the traitorous dogs,’ bellowed the General, ‘Is it true?’

‘We shall see sometime today, it is too late to do much now, I guess that the Russians see the opportunity for easy pickings and they will try to seize Manchuria and other areas quickly, before the war ends. So this will be a good test of Ivan’s information,’ replied Takeda in a cold matter-of-fact way.

‘Again I suppose it is not possible for me to let my commanders know what is about to happen?’ Said the General, by now feeling powerless to do anything.

‘I am afraid not general, we cannot risk Ivan, replied Takeda.

‘Unfortunately we have secretly brought back many of our troops from Manchuria to protect our home islands from invasion, so there is nothing to stop the Soviets anyway,’ the dejected General concluded.

‘Lastly,’ said the Emperor, ‘I order everyone to give their complete commitment to the development and growth of the Mitsoma Corporation, and to obey the instructions of Takeda-san. Secrecy is of paramount importance, if the Americans or their allies ever become aware of our true intentions, before it is time for the final phase, then we will lose. There is great honour for all those associated with this enterprise. We may not be alive when the time comes to carry out the final phase, the military option, but our descendants will be, and they will remember this day with great pride. The final phase will be called Operation Showa.’

Showa, thought the Prime Minister, meaning ‘enlightened peace,’ the official designation of Emperor Hirohito’s reign, hardly a true description of what was planned!

‘Before we depart, I have a gift for Takeda-san,’ said the Emperor. He reached into his briefcase and took out a small dagger in a scabbard. ‘This was given to me by Adolf Hitler himself during a meeting we had several years ago, ironically to discuss how we would divide the world after we had won the war!’ The SS dagger had an exquisite ornate handle showing an eagle’s crest. Engraved on the blade in Japanese were a few simple words, roughly translated, In this warrior we trust. ‘This is a symbol of the trust Japan puts in you, Takeda-san, keep it with you always. When the time comes for you to hand over the running of the Corporation to another, pass this dagger to him, so that he may continue to uphold the trust of the people of Japan.’

‘Thank you’ replied Takeda, taking the dagger carefully, as though it was a magical talisman, ‘I will not fail.’ Thus the Mitsoma Corporation was born.

Later that day the Russians declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria, Ivan was correct!

Kokura, Japan.

9 August 1945.

Bocks Car, the B29 Superfortress carrying the plutonium core atomic bomb, was commanded on this flight by twenty-five-year-old Major Charles ‘Chuck’ Sweeney, instead of Captain Frederick Bock, its normal commander, who the bomber was named after. For some reason best known to the military, Bock was for this mission flying the accompanying instrument plane, the Great Artiste, this plane carried a number of observers, including the person destined to become well known after the war for his dedication to helping disabled people, Group Captain Leonard Cheshire.

The sky above Kokura, on the Northern tip of the island of Kyushu, was obscured by dense smoke being blown over it from an earlier B-29 raid on nearby Yawata and was outside the mission parameters. Therefore, Sweeney, becoming increasingly concerned at his dwindling fuel level, decided to proceed to the secondary target on the Western coast of Kyushu, Nagasaki!

Nagasaki, Japan.

9 August 1945.

Nagasaki was a city of around two-hundred-thousand, spread over precipitous hills; its port faced out towards the East China Sea and was famed for its spectacular beauty. The people below, going about their everyday business, were oblivious of Bock’s Car, high above them.

Major Sweeney was becoming worried, Nagasaki was also overcast, it had been a long flight from Tinian Island and he was getting dangerously low on fuel, barely enough to fly back to Iwo Jima. Suddenly there was a clear opening in the clouds revealing the Mitsubishi steel works in Mori-machi, the designated ground zero. A quick decision was made, and at 31,000 feet the bomb, Fat boy, was released, just over fifty-three seconds later the bombs barometric switches decided that the predetermined altitude had been reached and sent a signal to the arming and firing switches, who in turn released a high-voltage signal to the detonators.

The conventional high explosive caused an implosion that compressed the separate sections of plutonium together. In turn, the now extremely dense plutonium sphere compressed a tiny ‘initiator,’ composed of beryllium and polonium. Alpha rays emitted by the polonium acted on the beryllium, which sent a flood of neutrons into the surrounding dark-grey metal, the chain reaction began.

With an estimated yield of up to twenty kilotons, equivalent to twenty thousand tons of TNT, the expected degree of destruction was enormous. The bomb exploded slightly to the North of the target point, over a tennis court in Matsuyama-machi. Over thirty-five-thousand Japanese died as a direct result of the immediate heat and blast effects, with many more to follow in the weeks and months that followed owing to the lingering radiation effects.

Playing tennis with her daughter, Yumiko Takeda looked upwards at the bright flash, they then both ceased to exist.

Tokyo

10 August 1945.

Hiroshi Takeda stood by the window looking out across the city of Tokyo. He was in the new offices of the Mitsoma Corporation, small at present, but destined to expand at a prodigious rate. His mind was not on the many things that required his attention, but rather on the report lying screwed up on the floor, the report that detailed the destruction of Nagasaki. He knew that his wife had planned to take his daughter to play tennis that fateful day; he also knew that the bomb had detonated over the tennis court. He looked at the photograph held limply in his right hand, and felt a tear running down his cheek. Looking back out of the window he said to nobody in particular ‘If only I had considered what the secondary targets might have been.’ At this moment, he was on the verge of losing control of his emotions, but drawing on a deep inner resolve he returned to his normal cold demeanour.

Again talking to a non-existent listener he calmly said, ‘The Americans and British will pay dearly for this.’

He returned to the problems of the Mitsoma Corporation, a new more dangerous purpose was evident in all he did. In the years that were to follow, the drive and commitment of Takeda-san would become legendary within the staff of the Corporation, as would the charismatic deadly aura that existed around him.

He was now confident that Ivan would prove invaluable to Japan, and at only twenty-two years of age, he might well serve for another fifty years, or more!

Tokyo

15 August 1945.

At noon, Emperor Hirohito broadcast to the people of Japan and announced their surrender. Earlier that day the War Minister, General Anami committed seppuka, apparently unable to accept the surrender.

Two of Takeda’s security staff each earned a bonus for ‘assisting’ the General.

Washington, USA

15 August 1945.

Ivan sat at his desk and considered events; he was pleased that the information he had given to the Russians had earned him several thousand dollars at little risk. They should have already known most of the information; he was too engrossed at his own good fortune to wonder why they did not already know. He smiled as he remembered that the ‘Russians’ had tried to blackmail him, he had no loyalty to his country, and had no reservations whatsoever about betraying it, and they need not have bothered with the photographs. Money and the power it bought was his weak point. His sharp mind realised that now the war was finished, there was every possibility that the uneasy alliance between America and the Soviet Union would develop in a race for supremacy. Thanks to some information given to him by the ‘Russians,’ concerning political events in Japan, he was now considered a highflyer within the government, who possessed good political insight. The future, assisted by ‘Russian’ money, looked very promising for him.

Chapter Two - The Early Years.

Following the meeting, Takeda, assisted by the best business minds in Japan, set to work. The framework for the Corporation was established, and it began to grow. Slowly at first, as the allied powers were in occupation and the Japanese had to be careful. As expected the Zaibatsu, the mighty industrial and financial conglomerates that had fuelled Japans war effort, were at the insistence of the occupation forces broken up. However, by the careful use of ‘cross shareholding,’ the resultant companies, the new Keiretsu, maintained their links, nothing had changed! The Corporation prepared itself for the end of the occupation, and the freedom it would then get.

Tokyo

1951.

The massive economic aid that had been flooding into Japan from the United States finally ended, unknown to the Americans a large proportion of these funds had been channelled to the Corporation. Takeda could not believe the stupidity of the United States, and during his yearly report to the Emperor, he shared his view. ‘It is unbelievable, your highness, they spend billions of yen defeating us, and then give us money to rebuild the industries they destroyed and may one day rival their own industrial might.’

‘Yes’ replied the Emperor ‘The Americans are a strange race, so hard in war, yet charitable to the defeated, they appear embarrassed to have won.’

‘It has been our great fortune,’ reported Takeda. ‘Thanks to the co-operation of all, helped by your kind pressure, we have received sufficient funds to enable us to establish the Mitsoma Corporation. The Americans and Europeans are complimentary to what they see as a new Japanese company, dedicated to business enterprises and world trade.’

‘That is good, but you must be very careful that nobody finds out our true intentions’ reminded the Emperor, ‘At least not until we are ready. The United States may appear to be soft and easy on us, but we must at all costs avoid awakening a sleeping giant until the time is right.’

‘I have taken over control of our Defence Intelligence Agency completely now, and am carrying out reforms to turn it into the best intelligence gathering organisation in the world,’ stated Takeda.

‘I don’t understand Takeda-san,’ replied a perplexed Emperor. ‘You already had control, and what reforms?’

‘Ah’ grumbled Takeda ‘Several low-level staff were discovered to be in the employ of the Americans, and several more appeared to have communist leanings.’

‘Did they know anything?’ Queried a concerned Emperor.

‘Fortunately they did not, all information is rigidly compartmentalised, and a need to know policy is maintained,’ however, to be safe all the staff concerned have been liquidated. I have now realised that direct control of our security apparatus is important, thus I have appointed a small number of fellow members of the Kokuryukai to oversee our internal security.’

The Kokuryukai or Black Dragon Society was a secret organisation of ultra-nationalists, founded in 1901, and named after the Amur (Black Dragon) River. The society supported the expansion of Japanese influence, and possessions, and had been very active during the war. The allied occupation forces had tried unsuccessfully to dissolve the society fearing its influence. Takeda had been a member for many years, and had risen to become one of its leaders. He knew he could trust the handpicked members to preserve the integrity of the Corporation, and later on, the Showa project. Many of its members were recruited from the Kempeitai secret military police that had so completely installed a sense of fear in the Japanese during the war.

It had been Takeda’s intention, right from the first historic meeting in Tokyo, that the Society be a Major part of developments. He had taken an oath to further and protect its interests, and he took his oaths seriously, including the one he made concerning the United States and England following the death of his wife.

Tokyo

1960.

As Takeda left the imperial palace after his yearly report to the Emperor, he stopped on the bridge over the moat. He stood there gazing at the numerous large ornamental Koi carp that swam