PEACE in Harmony

Day 653, 09:50 • Published in Japan Japan • by Sophia Forrester

Two nights ago, President Minamoto asked me to serve, if he is reelected, as Minister of Foreign Affairs in his administration. This is an honor I had not expected, but if called I will do my utmost. It is my hope that, by forthrightly speaking with our allies and with nations worldwide whose ideals are compatible with ours, we can create more than a future with a place for eJapan -- we can create the change we each wish to see in the world.

In the past, I have spoken of my vision for PEACE GC, if only in the abstract. Since if appointed I would be in a position to act on that vision, it is my duty now to set forth concrete and inclusive ideas. I offer these ideas not as a limiting ideology or as binding restrictions, but rather as an indication of my hopes for the direction of our policies, and my intent to work with the entirety of our nation, and together with our allies, to achieve our mutual hopes.

PEACE GC was established in the wake of an invasion, to fight in defense while seeking peace in good faith. There are many around the world who argue that PEACE is the aggressor in this war, that we give only lip service to our founding ideals. I do not believe this to be the case. Each of us seeks to fulfill those ideals as best we can, within the imperfect visions of our own humanity.

Yet, has something been forgetten? If in the drive toward victory genuine opportunities for peace have been overlooked. then it is the role of all of PEACE GC's diplomats to seek those opportunities. If appointed, I will do my best under the direction of our President to help ourselves and our allies find such a chance for genuine peace and security. Mind you, that doesn't mean stagnation, or a ban on war -- it means trust, where nations may cooperate or compete in good faith without the raw shock and betrayal conjured up by the wars of invasion that have appeared in eRepublik for as long as there has been a war module.

As Minister, I will answer to the President. As a representative of Japan, I will answer to the people. And so, just as I will report to the President and abide by his directions, I will speak with the public and assess their mood. While I cannot please everyone, and will not try, I will do my best to harmonize with the reasoned sense of the people's discourse, a dialetic of ideas. This national conversation, the dialogue which did not occur before the Kyushu lease in any forthright way, is the key to rebuilding the bonds of mutual trust that will once again define us as a nation -- because when all of us forthrightly speak our reasons and convictions, then whether or not we all agree, we can all respect one another's motives.

Our nation needs PEACE GC, and we need it more than it needs us -- as it should be. A transnational alliance ought to be bigger than any single one of its members. However, there are ways we can be useful to PEACE beyond the scale of our strength of arms. Even as we build our military into a force capable of assisting our allies in time of need, we will also build our credibility. Our nation is hardly the only one seeking a way out of an endless seesaw of war. In the right circumstance, we can present that way out to others.

However, it is not Japan's role to dictate solutions to other nations. Even more than an advocate, I hope to be a diplomat: One who listens to other nations concerns and takes them to heart. The key is to never lose sight of one's nations own ideals, and the reasons for them -- because one who hides the concerns of ones country or ones countrymen cannot effectively and credibly communicate to those countrymen the concerns of others. I stand ready, if called, to offer an ear to our friends and allies -- a sympathetic ear, not a partisan one. More than that, it is not now for me to say.

Good luck to our nation, our alliance, and our ideals. Harmony, the coherent accord of different yet complementary musical themes, is yet in reach.