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Shimamori · 05-19-2021, 03:54 PM,

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Artefact Trade in Kusari. Legalise Cannot Forbid

Konnichiwa! This is Ito Fumihiro and you are watching "Hi no ki” (//Mood of the Day) on All Honshu Network. We are offering news on the latest developments in Kusari and beyond. Today in the spotlight of our programme is the artefact trade in Kusari.

Recent weeks have seen the increase of the volume of artefact trade throughout Kusari. The police records indicate that the trade flow directed both inwards and outside Kusari with transit throughout it has almost doubled as compared to the statistics of the previous year. Official position on the artefact trade remains ambiguous with Kusari corporations and the Hogosha formally having the right to transport the artefacts while foreign entities with the artefacts aboard are treated as contrabandists with respective entailing legal repercussions. Is this official stance adequate, what does it mean for Kusari, and should it change? Today we will be investigating the matter with our guest, his grace Marquess Shimamori of Haneda, planet Honshu.

Greetings, Shimamori-dono. Welcome to our studio and thank you for joining us. As you are from Honshu, you must be close to the trade routes of the artefacts. Have you seen the increase of the artefact trade personally?

Greetings, Ito-san and thank you for having me in your studio. I think, I am becoming a frequent guest here *chuckles*. So regarding your question: indeed, I have seen an increase in artefact trade. I must give credit to the Hogosha: one can rarely see their vessels and they try to haul their cargo discreetly. It can be attributed to their shady manner of doing business, of course, but in this case they are not violating the law and could be delivering the artefacts openly. Yet they prefer not to raise awareness of the artefact trade and in doing so benefit Kusari. The increase of trade that I witnessed was primarily in Sigma 19. The corsairs were seen delivering large loads of the artefacts to “Hawaii” where the Hogosha would buy the trinkets to haul it further in Kusari. It appeared the Orbital Spa & Cruise were if not indifferent but supportive of such business.

You said that the Hogosha doing the business discreetly helps the Empire of Kusari. What did you mean by that?

Well, you see, generally when the Hogosha are taking care of something in a discreet manner one can assume they are up to something and that something is questionable and can be if not persecuted than investigated by the law enforcement. The Hogosha have an ambivalent reputation: on the one hand, one can see them as an amalgamation of small and medium enterprises contributing to the welfare of Kusari by paying taxes and creating jobs. On the other hand, the nature of their business endeavours is quite often questionable, such as gambling or kyabakura (//brothels). Not all of those are legal but to persecute them one must first prove that those businesses have an affiliation with Hogosha, that those are illegal in the first place, etc. The authorities appear to ignore their minor transgressions because of the benefits of the Hogosha in war against the clearly illegal entities such as the Golden Chrysanthemum and the Blood Dragons. One can also argue Hogosha’s links to Samura are also a factor.

Nevertheless, in case of artefact trade the Hogosha are indeed showing commitment to the benefit of the Empire: they keep their Cretan business partners away from Kusari, and they keep it down. As you know, the artefact trade is prohibited in the other Houses, except for Gallia. The reasoning for such a ban is pretty solid: the Nomad War of 800-801 and fears that these alien trinkets can lead to more cases of infestation or however you call it with drastic consequences that we saw 27 years ago. Seeing Kusari corporations openly engaging in artefact trade can sour their and Empire’s reputation on the whole with those Houses who remain our important partners on many levels. The artefacts are in huge demand and the business must be very lucrative, so I can’t blame the Hogosha for engaging in it, especially since it is not technically forbidden within Kusari. By trading the artefacts discreetly the Hogosha are doing the Empire a favour by sparing the headache of international miscommunication while also contributing to the treasury coffers.

How about Samura and Kishiro? Have you seen their vessels engaged in the trade?

No, not that I have heard of. I doubt Kishiro would be able to engage in this business. Samura will not let the Hogosha trade with Kishiro, and the Hogosha will not tolerate the Corsairs deal with Kishiro. As for Samura… I believe Samura can benefit from the trade indirectly, being the partner of the Hogosha. Still, even they can be prone to reputational losses, so using the Hogosha as a proxy, if they do so, is wiser in my opinion.

Speaking of reputational losses, do you think the authorities should continue to allow the artefact trade?

A tricky question, that is. I do understand the concerns of the other Houses. I bet, most of the people in Kusari do - we had a Rheinland fleet knocking on New Tokyo’s door in 801 A.S. Still, the artefact trade in Kusari has persisted for decades and nothing extraordinary has come of it save for profit and academic interest in the trinkets. However, there is more to the artefact trade than simple profit and alleged alien threat.

The trade presumes dealing with the Corsairs, who have a dubious, to say the least, reputation in Houses’ space. Even our populace has suffered Corsairs’ raids over the centuries. Still, the recent developments allowed to broker a sort of a ceasefire with the Corsairs. This was possible mostly because of the artefact trade, I think. This kind of “normalisation” with the Cretans can be beneficial to the security of our civilian population, especially in Honshu, but can also sour our relations with the GMG. If we seize the opportunity and strike, say, a peace agreement with the Corsairs - it can infringe our relations with Bretonia and Rheinland, both had previously suffered Corsair raids. However, in the case of Rheinland which recently showed us its predatory grin during the invasion into our space. I do not wish any harm to the people of Rheinland, but given House’s previous external policy I would sleep better knowing that the Rheinland fleet has to go through the fierce Corsairs before attempting any hostile moves against Kusari.
The artefact trade also keeps the Hogosha afloat, whether for better or worse. Despite their already mentioned previously questionable business practices, one cannot deny their contribution to the safety of Kusari space. Besides, the artefacts fuel our xenoarchaeology and xeno-sciences overall, which is always a good comparative advantage for the Empire.

In the end, it all comes down to weighing all the pros and cons to such a permission. My personal opinion is that so far the negative effects of the artefact trade have been minimal. The benefits were not that striking either, so treating the artefacts as a simple commodity with licences to deal with the commodity due to its sensitive nature to certain stakeholders is a way I see it should be handled. As for reputational losses in particular - we have not yet received any notes of protest from the Houses of which I know. Besides, if the trade is directed mostly at Kusari, then we are talking about the internal matters of the House and the principle of non-interference stands. Even the Blood Dragons can exploit the legal status of the artefact trade to blame the government in an attempt to undermine its reputation, although I doubt anyone would listen to them, especially given their connections to the drug-dealing Chrysanthemums. Still, it is also a reputational liability to keep in mind. This said, the decision-makers should still consider that even though we have not received any protests from the other Houses in the past, we will not receive them in the future. That is my opinion only, however, and I suppose the authorities would need to investigate the opinion of the general population as well as of key stakeholders in space trade for a balanced decision.

The artefact trade is inalienably connected to the Corsairs. Do you see it feasible to reach a lasting peace with the Corsairs?

The matter of peace with the Corsairs is multifaceted, the artefact trade being only one of the aspects to it. Theory tells us that two entities engaged in a mutually beneficial trade are less likely to engage in hostilities against each other not to lose this beneficial trade, so theoretically speaking the artefact trade can induce the Corsairs to have a softer approach to Kusari. In turn, it can enable our forces not to engage each other and allow us to slowly build mutual trust to prevent bloodshed in the future. Perhaps, accepted by one House and having means of legal trade the Cretans will finally have the opportunity to assume the mantle of Hispania’s successors and normalise the relations with the other Houses. This is a very optimistic view, of course, which some can call naive. Yet I believe that if there is an opportunity for peace - we must try to use it.

As I mentioned, however, there are other facets to the matter of peace with the Corsairs. One of the most important ones is the fractured nature of the Corsairs and the lack of a unitary administration. From what is known to us, there are multiple prominent Corsairs’ groups, each with its own agenda and stance on international relations. While some might be interested and willing to consider and negotiate peace with us, the others are still eager to engage into a fight with Kusari. My recent experience of encountering the Corsairs in Sigma 19 ranged from head-on aggression to a civilised parley. Unless Crete has a unified administration to approach with the negotiations to, our peace-building efforts can be severely hampered.

Another facet is an elephant in the room to be addressed - the GMG. The GMG has recently been pursuing a more independent from New Tokyo line of diplomacy. For example, following the conflict with Rheinland of three years ago, the GMG did not lay down the arms when a diplomatic solution between Rheinland and Kusari was reached. I assume the Guild’s reaction to a deal between Kusari and the Corsairs will be similar. The Corsairs have been a thorn in Guild’s operations in the Sigmas for ages and striking a deal with Crete can be viewed as betrayal of the Guild’s interests by Kusari, aggravating already present tensions. The only way with the GMG which I can see is brokering an agreement between the GMG and the Corsairs with the purpose of joint resistance against the Outcasts who have been another thorn in the side of the GMG in the Sigmas for ages as well. In any case, working tightly with Kishiro, the GMG will shun any deals with the Corsairs who are linked to Samura through Hogosha. If the government of Kusari is up for the task to vouch for the Corsairs and actively play the role of the mediator between the parties, then maybe it can work. It will be a long and complicated process and the chances of success are slim. But again, if there is an opportunity to build peace within Kusari and on its borders in Sigmas, and to foster safer business for the GMG - I believe with should take a leap of faith and try to overcome our bias and at least try to find a peaceful solution for this lasting conflict.

Thank you very much for your comments, Shimamori-dono. This will conclude today’s programme. I hope that the topic of the discussion was of interest to our viewers and, as always, we encourage our audience to reflect on the information presented, be critical of it, and make their own conclusions. How do you feel about the artefact trade in Kusari and possibility of normalisation of relations with the Corsairs? Do you think that trade should be legal and that a peace can be reached? Share your thoughts with us! This was Ito Fumihiro for AHN. Thank your watching and sayounara! This programme was brought you by

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