You reign, I rule. That is the Japanese way.

If you will give me a copy of the letter, I will have the foreign minister prepare a reply.

You carry a very heavy burden, Prime Minister. You carry the hopes and dreams of every Japanese alive today and those of our honored ancestors. You literally carry Japan upon your back.

The government must speak for you, and the nation, which are the same. That is the law.

Do not speak to me of law. Not after what you have told me.

That, Your Excellency, is precisely the problem. As long as we are buying Russian oil, we are at their mercy. Japan must have its own resources.

You are born to your position, … What do you know of struggle, of triumph?

Ignore it. No answer is necessary, Your Excellency. The president does not know his place.

Forgive me, Excellency. The fact you do not know is that Japan also is a nuclear power. I am convinced that Russia will not risk nuclear war to retain a wasteland that has never earned...

Your Highness, we are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history. The disruption of our oil supply was the final straw. It wrecked the economy. Japan is in ruins; millions are out of work....

Our hour has come, … We are a small island nation, placed by the gods beside a growing Chinese giant. We must have oil.

But you have signed an agreement with the Russians! They will sell us oil.

Your Excellency, I am aware of my responsibilities,