Entering July, major newspapers in key countries all mentioned the Japanese general election. Although various countries had recognized the Republic of Japan, Ishiwara Kanji's administration was a military government, and its legitimacy was quite questionable. Reporters from Britain, France, and the United States stationed in China flocked to Japan to cover the birth of the first democratically elected government in Japanese history.

In present-day Japan, the power of the *Kazoku* (peerage) had been uprooted. When European and American reporters interviewed ordinary Japanese people, they found that whenever the currently ruling Future Society was mentioned, ordinary people immediately chose to avoid the topic. Conversely, when talking about some traditional Japanese constitutional figures, those Japanese willing to accept interviews would express some views.

British reporters generally believed that if there was no fraud in this election, the traditional Japanese constitutional faction would occupy a considerable number of seats. Some radical reporters even believed that the actual number of votes for the constitutional faction would exceed that of the current military government.

American reporters held similar views. Based on their experience, a feared leader could not be elected in the United States. What the American people needed was a president who was approachable, friendly, and charismatic.

China also sent reporters to Japan for interviews, but the content of Chinese coverage was entirely about the lives of ordinary Japanese people today. In the countryside, it went without saying that there was land reform, which Chinese reporters were very familiar with. Japan had copied the redemption-style land reform completely, even copying the redemption prices from China.

In the cities, Future Society President Ishiwara not only pushed for the minimum wage law but also ordered the construction of a large number of simple temporary residences. This kind of residence was a bit like the *Nagaya* (longhouses) of the Edo period, but when He Rui saw them, he simply smiled and said, "Tin-sheet *Danchi* (housing complex) houses." However, the staff looked for a long time and didn't see any tin sheets. These *Danchi* houses provided for workers to live in temporarily were generally two stories high. The floor slabs supported by cement pillars were originally one large piece, partitioned into small rooms with wooden boards, containing a kitchen and an independent toilet inside.

To move into a *Danchi*, one must have a certificate from the employing enterprise and confirmation from the local public office. Although the house was small, "the sparrow may be small, but it has all five vital organs" (it was fully equipped). More importantly, its low price was indeed a price that workers could afford. Before the Japanese Revolution, the accommodation provided by Japanese factories was just beds for rotating shifts. To save costs and improve efficiency, one bed was provided for workers on rotating shifts to host. A worker returning to rest had to wake up the workmate on the bed before they could sleep on it. It was during this process that many fights had occurred.

The *Danchi* was not just filled with small houses; it also provided services such as dining, haircuts, and laundry, and even established clinics. If there were no doctors practicing there, the Japanese government would dispatch doctors from hospitals to take turns visiting.

These supporting services were also policies copied from China. Chinese reporters could be completely sure they hadn't gotten it wrong. But Chinese reporters knew that *Danchi* meant facilities that, although hard and simple, could guarantee a basic livelihood. In big cities, even such simple *Danchi* were enough to let those newly arrived workers live a life with a home.

The Ishiwara government basically implemented the minimum wage system, the eight-hour workday, and workers' schools. Having been in power for one year, and also carrying out large-scale rural land reform, the execution of these policies was quite rough. Moreover, many policies were implemented by grassroots organizations of the Japanese Communist Party leading Japanese people who were trembling with fear because the Emperor's family had been killed. However, Japan had at least completed the work that a right-wing industrial government should complete.

Chinese reporters, who had an understanding of the basic situation in Japan, only introduced the current status of Japan and the various Japanese political parties participating in the election, and did not predict the election results. Because according to the work completed by the Ishiwara government, this result seemed to have nothing to predict.

Sure enough, in early August, the election results came out. The Future Society won 87% of the seats in local and central assemblies. Especially in the countryside, the seats won by the Future Society exceeded 95%, presenting a comprehensive crushing victory. With such election results, the Ishiwara government would be as stable as Mount Tai for the next four years.

Now, European and American newspapers published shocking headlines: "'Regicide' Wins Election", "The Power of Fear — Japan's 1928 General Election", "General Ishiwara Kanji's Government Gains Another 4 Years of Stable Rule".

Chinese newspapers simply reported the election results, while other reports on Japan were still about production and life at the grassroots level in Japan.

He Rui had long anticipated such a result. Since Ishiwara had gained another stable four-year governing period, the Asian order needed to be carried out as an important task. In order to give the new Japanese government a reason to push this matter forward, He Rui ordered the Korean restorationists and the leaders of the Korean Communist Party organizations to be invited to the capital.

At present, the best way to make Japan finally feel the pressure was not simple negotiations, but working together in two directions. Only if the Korean restorationists gave Japan enough pressure could the reflection of the Japanese people be promoted.

But this did not mean that He Rui only adopted military means. A Chinese delegation had also gone to Tokyo to begin secret negotiations with Japan. The head of the delegation was Qin Tingyu, who was responsible for secret contact with the United States. When in the United States, Qin Tingyu's identity was a Chinese businessman. Now, Qin Tingyu was already the Party Secretary of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Japanese government sent Minister of Foreign Affairs Yagyu Komei and Minister of Defense Yamamoto Isoroku to participate in the negotiations together.

The negotiation conditions brought by Qin Tingyu were a compensation plan. China could use military force to threaten Japan, but this threat was to make Japan accept China's conditions. If a big fight really broke out, cooperation with Japan could not be reached in the short term. If China and Japan continued to confront each other, the whole world would be happy. Even the Soviet Union would probably be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Even if Qin Tingyu did not like to see this agreement, some things did not shift according to personal will. What was even funnier was that in this world, only interests were common, and perhaps would also be eternal.

However, the question Yamamoto Isoroku asked from the opposite side was not about negotiations, but about a recent event. "The Chinese government has recognized that the sovereignty of the Assam region and Upper Myanmar belongs to the local people, but China will be responsible for the diplomacy of the two regions and help organize local governments. What kind of message does Your Excellency the Chairman wish to release to the world?"

Qin Tingyu was somewhat surprised by Yamamoto's question, but felt that with Yamamoto's ability and insight, it was not surprising that he would pay extra attention to this matter. He replied, "Colonialism is a cancer in this world. China does not believe there is any reason to choose colonialism."

Yamamoto pursed his lips. "But I believe that the assessments of Britain and France may not be unreasonable. Many countries completely lack the strength to form governments and operate nations. They need more experienced forces to manage them and bring these regions into modern civilization."

Qin Tingyu replied calmly, "Is a dog-eat-dog war not enough? Must the world be brought to destruction before Europe and America will stop?"

The Chinese and Japanese sides clearly had no consensus on this issue, and the atmosphere became depressing. Both sides remained silent for the time being, just looking at each other coldly.