ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (2)

National Institute of Magical Research

September 13

Prime Minister's Office Conference Room, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

Two days have passed since the September 11 Incident, a series of unprecedented events that included an attack by a mysterious group of saucers and a wild dragon crashing into a high-rise building. News stations were still reporting on the events, and the public was feeling a vague sense of unease and distrust toward the government. On the same day, the cabinet ministers gathered in the meeting room of the Prime Minister's Office. The topic of discussion was, of course, the incident that occurred two days earlier.

"I would like to explain the situation regarding the dragon that hit the Tokiwabashi Central Tower building."

Minoru Suzuki, an assistant to the Minister of Defense, began to explain to the ministers about the flow of the September 11 Incident. The talk began with the discovery of the dragon.

"The dragon was spotted at around 07:00, the radar site at the Mineokayama Sub Base confirmed that it was approaching from the southeast. Later, at around 09:00, two F-2 fighters were scrambled from Hyakuri Airfield, as it was certain that the dragon would enter the air defense identification zone. The dragon is estimated to be 40 meters from side to side with its wing spread, and about 50 meters from head to tail, making it one of the largest dragons in the world. The initial plan was to drive the dragon away according to the protocol, but it showed no interest in the fighters and continued to fly toward the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, so the F-2s continued to monitor the dragon."

After explaining the situation up to this point, Suzuki took a breath.

"At 09:47, a large number of saucers attacked from the east, and in order to deal with them, a total of F-2 and F-35A fighters were deployed from Misawa and Hyakuri Air Bases to the waters off Kujukurihama. The two F-2s that had been monitoring the dragon also left their mission and joined in. At this stage, the dragon showed no sign of disturbance and continued to move toward the Kantō region at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour over 8.000 feet, 330 kilometers southeast of the Boso Peninsula."

He continued.

"The dragon's behavior changed abruptly when it was just over Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. The dragon, which had been flying unchanged and was expected to traverse the Japanese archipelago in a northwesterly direction, suddenly began to dive... and was about to crash. The scene was witnessed by numerous residents of the city, causing panic among those who predicted that the dragon would crash into the ground. However, just before hitting the ground, the dragon changed its course horizontally and slammed into the nearby Tokiwabashi Central Tower with the momentum of its fall. This change in behavior was completely unexpected... there was no way we could have foreseen it. In addition, it descended from 8.000 feet to the ground at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, taking less than a minute to reach the ground... it is very difficult to deal with."

Suzuki emphasized the fact that the dragon's collision was inevitable.

"If we had shot down the dragon as soon as it entered the skies over the Tokyo Metropolis, we could have prevented such a situation, right?"

Reigo Kurusu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, pointed out the incompetence of the SDF's response. If they had shot down the dragon before it reached the skies over Tokyo, as he said, such an incident would never have occurred in the first place. Suzuki explained why the SDF did not do so.

"...There are several uninhabited islands in this Far East where dragons live. And as you all know, the crossing of the Japanese archipelago by a wild dragon itself has occurred eight times in the past twelve years, all of which passed without incident. It is speculated that this migration is probably seasonal, similar to that of migratory birds. This season is the end of summer... come to think of it, that dragon's movement northward at this time was indeed strange. However... since dragons are usually in packs, if we shoot down one, its brethren may sense it and retaliate. For this reason, it is decided that shooting it down is only a last resort... only if it clearly shows signs of attacking the ground. In this case, too, we followed the protocol," Suzuki replied.