"Just to set the record straight"—I decided to do a little parrying of my own—"you have nothing to say about any kind of MITI involvement? Including Marketshare - 90?"
"Well, this Marketshare - 90 proposition you refer to probably should be thought of as merely one of the ministry's more ambitious trial balloons, nothing more. It has the quality of—how do you say it?—woolgathering. Whatever its purpose, it should in no way be confused with Dai Nippon's objectives." Such was Noda's reply. Then in a remarkably convincing tone he added, "How could the ministry's planning possibly have anything to do with our program here?"
Tam wasn't buying. "Looks to me like it has a lot to do with
it."
"Dr. Richardson, since I am no longer directly affiliated with MITI, I am not in a position to speak for every proposition arising there. However, we both know that the ministry's responsibility is to provide long-range industrial planning. They often circulate scenarios for comment. It's part of their job."
We were rapidly losing our footing. Noda was top-ranked swordsman. He'd kept his discipline and revealed nothing. He was telling us we hadn't found an opening. He was right. It was a classic standoff.
Or it should have been. Strategically, we should have taken that moment to back away and analyze Noda's style, searching for his weakness. But instead Tam made what turned out to be a fatal move. She struck, exposing herself.
"Since according to you MITI is not involved in this program, there should be no problem if I contacted them directly and talked this over. In Japan."
I wanted to yell no, don't tell him anything.
But it was too late.