"Who knows? But try this for an agenda: time to cut the crap, Noda's thinking, get rid of all the clumsy Western-style demokurasu charade, tighten up, lean and mean. Go back to the only system that's ever really clicked for Japan. Imperial rule. Make the 'Land of the Gods' sacred and invincible."
"This is getting wild." She lowered her voice. "But maybe . . . maybe you could be right. He just happens to locate the Imperial sword, and suddenly the emperor is resurrected from a discredited figurehead back to a symbol of Japan's greatness."
"Here comes that old-time religion. Everybody goes traditional, right on cue, and the nutty Japan Firsters are thriving again, just like the thirties."
"Good Lord."
"Doesn't it all fit somehow? Matsuo Noda started off by creating this shadow outfit, Dai Nippon, in order to get his hands on all his countrymen's money. Now the next step will be to start phasing out the demokurasu frills and the powerless prime minister and the MITI bureaucrats and turning the place into a kick-ass machine again. Look out world."
"One small problem. The emperor can't rule Japan. Not really. He's a living god. Which means . . ."
"See? That difficulty's nothing new. For a thousand years the emperor's had no real clout anyway. The nitty-gritty of running Japan was always the job of his stand-in."
There was a long pause. We both avoided speaking the word, but there it was. Finally she leaned back and closed her eyes, her voice barely audible above the din of the bar.
"Shogun."