Designer Memo- Keika-in Family

Chapter 32

The Keika-in Family

There is no original family to begin with.

Keikain Hikomaro's father was the last of the genro [Elder Statesman], and he was placed in the police department of the Ministry of Home Affairs to involve him in the Sorge* Incident.

[T/N- The Sorge Incident refers to the activities and eventual capture of Richard Sorge, a Soviet spy who operated in Japan during World War II.]

At the same time, due to his achievements, he was retained after disinheritance by the main family, which led to a connection between the Keika-in family and the Eastern Bloc.

Because of the misinformation "Japan has decided to go to war with the Soviet Union," the Soviet Union's advance towards Siberia was delayed, leading to the defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad. However, Germany was already too exhausted to continue its offensive.

Hikomaro, who established his position through the Sorge Incident, emerged on the public stage by inheriting the title of Duke and the Keika-in family, which had lost its lineage, and he got involved in peace negotiations.

He participated in the palace coup, which started with the assassination of the prime minister before the Battle of the Philippine Sea, on the side of the coup and worked to intentionally obstruct the investigation.

Due to this internal government chaos, the Combined Fleet could not sortie, and the Mariana Islands fell.

The air raids began, accelerating the pace of peace negotiations.

Although the Allied forces secured the Mariana Islands, they couldn't advance further. The failure of the Normandy invasion and the significant damage to the US fleet from a massive typhoon during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which was a preliminary battle over the Philippines, raised the momentum for peace talks with the Allies, who wanted to prioritize the war against Germany.

Since it was unclear how the army would react at the end of the war, Hikomaro mobilized the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to arrest and detain dangerous individuals and armed the special police force to guard the Imperial Palace, earning him a place among the elder statesmen at the end of the war.

It is said that the sight of three modified Type 97 medium tanks secretly supplied by a manufacturing conglomerate and police officers with machine guns stationed in front of the police department led the citizens to whisper about "the revenge of February 26th."

[T/N- also known as the "Ni-Ni-Roku Incident " was a significant event in pre-World War II Japan]

Additionally, when confronted by the army about the tanks, he managed to brush it off by saying, "These are not tanks! They are special vehicles!!" This led to the formation of the Metropolitan Police Department's special vehicle unit and eventually to the establishment of the National Police Reserve, which later became the Self-Defense Forces, illustrating the unpredictable ways of the world.

In October 1944, Japan declared war on Germany simultaneously with its peace agreement with the Allies.

This was effectively a surrender, but it retained not only the national polity but also the military forces, which were then dispatched to Europe to shed blood until Germany's surrender in August 1945.

He would later become a behind-the-scenes power broker in post-war Japan, utilizing his police network.

When the Manchurian War and the Chinese Civil War broke out, he realized the lack of military power directly under the cabinet and sought to correct the flaws of the current ministerial military system by placing military power under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

His proposals to establish the National Police Reserve and the Maritime Safety Agency led to intense conflicts with the army and navy, especially over jurisdictional disputes involving rapidly advancing air force capabilities.

This power struggle ended with the intervention of the Allies, resulting in the dissolution of both the army and navy and the Ministry of Home Affairs, a resolution of mutual destruction. However, a National Public Safety Commission was created under the Cabinet Office, with the National Police Reserve, the Maritime Safety Agency, and the Air Self-Defense Force placed under it, finally curbing the military's unchecked power.

His ability to carry out these activities can be attributed to the fact that his wife's family owned a pharmaceutical company.

Using connections from his days as a police bureaucrat, he sold opium-based stimulants that circulated in the underworld, later marketing them as methamphetamine-based stimulants, amassing enormous wealth during the war, which he used to fund his political maneuvers.

Even after these drugs were regulated by the Narcotics Control Act, he argued for controlled distribution to minimize the damage seen from the widespread drug abuse during the Manchurian and Vietnam wars.

By securing a monopoly on the sale of these drugs under tacit approval, he successfully laid the foundation for the Keika-in Group.

As drug enforcement intensified after the Vietnam War, Keika Pharmaceuticals entered the camphor market, which had recently been deregulated, making it their main product.

Following the Vietnam War, he became involved in post-war politics, mainly through the Privy Council.

When the House of Councillors was opened, many of the nobility moved to the Privy Council, and he intervened in the conservative-liberal conflict in Japanese politics after the dissolution of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association.

During the Anpo protests, he pursued a hardline approach, supporting the political foundation for the suppression by the Special Vehicle Unit and the Teito Metropolitan Police Organization (commonly known as Teito Police).

This simultaneously encouraged the rise of the left, prompting him to work towards conservative unity, successfully establishing the Constitutional Government Party (Rikken Seiyu Party), abbreviated as Risseito.

This Risseito built a long-lasting government that contributed to Japan's economic prosperity.

However, his glory days began to wane from here.

The issues began with the suppression of the Anpo protests in 1970 and the military reorganization with the establishment of the Ministry of War. He was held accountable for an uprising involving the Teito Police and some Self-Defense Force personnel, led by a literary figure of the Showa era, which forced him into retirement.

He spent his remaining years quietly and passed away at the peak of the economic bubble in 1989.

Had he been alive, Runa's father might not have committed suicide.

Keika-in Kyomaro is the current head of the Keika-in family, having inherited the family business over his half-brother.

His mother became central to Keika Pharmaceuticals, and Kyomaro devoted himself to the pharmaceutical business, contributing to the growth of the Keika-in Group.

Expanding from pharmaceuticals to chemicals, he established Keika Chemical Industries post-war.

He founded Keika-in Shipping, aimed at owning tankers for the manufacture and sale of petrochemical products, Keika-in Marine Insurance to handle marine insurance, Keika-in Warehouse for product storage and management, and Keika-in Trading Company for sales.

These companies, centered around Keika-in Pharmaceuticals, steadily expanded.

As Kyomaro's wife comes from the Iwasaki conglomerate family, they used Iwasaki Bank as their main bank.

During the bubble period, although recommended to increase loans by the main bank, Kyomaro refused.

This decision saved the Keika-in Group, though he self-deprecatingly claims it was merely because he couldn't make flashy moves like his father.

During the bubble collapse, he absorbed the Far Eastern Group, founded by his half-brother, which was rumored to have connections with the Eastern Bloc, though it was riddled with bad debts.

While discussing bad debt handling with the main bank, the situation progressed without his knowledge, and the Far Eastern Group's bad debts were resolved, leading him to take notice of Runa.

Particularly, he couldn't overlook the significant deals, such as the merger of Hokkaido Development Bank with Far East Bank and the acquisition of Ichiyama Securities, happening outside his knowledge, initially believing it was orchestrated by the Ministry of Finance using Runa as a front.

This led to internal family discord regarding Runa.

Under threats disguised as suggestions from public security, he came to realize that Runa was indeed orchestrating these moves.

His only son, Keika-in Nakamaro, was the one tracking the flow of money related to Runa.

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Glossary 

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[LAST GENRO]

Had he lived a little longer, there might not have been a Pacific War.

However, he likely never imagined his grandson would become a Soviet spy.

[T/N- He is Him]

[Battle of Stalingrad]

Germany won here by the skin of its teeth, but the southern army was already exhausted. The Soviet army likely aimed to annihilate the German army in the Caucasus by targeting Kharkov and Rostov.

If so, the timeline shifts, leading to Germany's defeat at Kursk.

[Prime Minister Assassination Incident]

Apparently, this was actually planned.

This part is an homage to the fictional war history "Is Leyte Burning?" by Tatsuro Akizuki, published by Cosmic International.

[Typhoon Hits US Forces]

This is also a fictional war story element.

I've forgotten the book, so if anyone has information, please provide it.

[Special Vehicle Unit]

Inspired by "Mobile Police Patlabor."

They belong to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Security Bureau. This is crucial.

[Teito Police]

Inspired by the "Kerberos Saga."

Thus, the setting of the Special Vehicle Unit suppressing the Kerberos uprising is quite thrilling.

[Showa Era Literary Figure]

This refers to Yukio Mishima's Tatenokai incident.

I created this setting, but what was this country doing?

While he was just a catalyst, the narrative is that the Teito Police responded to his uprising.

[Pharmaceutical Company]

Inspired by the movie version of "The Inugami Family."

In the novel, the Inugami family is a wealthy family involved in the silk industry.

[Iwasaki Conglomerate]

The well-known conglomerate.

Likely has connections in the chemical or banking sectors.

I tried making it like a fictional war chronicle. Maybe that's why you feel like you've seen it somewhere before.

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Translator Note

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 I need to be Japanese to explain what all the anime/media in the Author Note ! As it not directly related t story I will just leave it be ! Google it if you are way to curious about this things ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ.

And this chapter explain us what changed between real world and This World Japan history!