Important elements of Kusari politics (Archive: 827-830)

[Empire of Kusari]

Official media from Kōkyo, Imperial district, New Tokyo system, House Kusari.

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Important elements of Kusari politics - An overview

Governmental system - Overview

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The Emperor*



The current Emperor of Kusari is His Imperial Majesty Kogen Tetsuya, of the Nara branch, after succeeding his brother, the Imperial Majesty Kogen Jien upon their death in Exile in 819 A.S. - His Imperial majesty, through the strategic assistance of now deceased Shogun Sulu, led the exiled Naval Forces behind enemy lines and back home, ultimately overpowering the Republic forces backing the traitorous "democratic" Government.

Following the glorious reunification of Kusari and her people and the re-establishment of Imperial rule, His Imperial Majesty led Kusari into an age of reconstruction and stability. Having overcome the brief phase of border conflict with the house of Rheinland and having acted in revenge on Kusari's fallen brethren during the dishonorable Gallic onslaught on Sirius, His Imperial Majesty announced a broad-scale revitalization of domestic security efforts for the nearby future.
*//Please note that the picture is a sole player interpretation and is unrelated to staff views. The brief description mixes canon lore with propaganda.

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The Shogun



Imperial Shogun Yamato Ikeda became the successor of Shogun Sulu after his death in 825 A.S. - He is a veteran of the battle of New Tokyo 801 A.S. and was one of the serving Admirals at the frontlines during the Tau campaign against Bretonia. Following the defeat at the hands of the Gallic Royal Navy, Yamato was appointed by His Imperial Majesty Kogen Jien and then Shogun Sulu to act as figurehead of the exiled forces, should both of them fall into enemy hands. ´

Like any Imperial Shogun before him, Yamato commands the Imperial Guard, the personal retinue of the Emperor that ensures the safety of the Imperial Dynasty. Additionally, he serves as military advisor to the Emperor during war times - a role he fulfilled with great dedication and tactical wisdom during the campaign against Gallia in 827 A.S.

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The Prime Minister



The current acting Imperial Prime Minister of Kusari is Miyasu Sanae, a young woman in her early 30s and part of a long standing noble family of Kusari. She entered Kusari's political landscape during the Republic of Kusari and after the initial success of the Honshu Unity Party in the Republic election of 824 A.S. found herself as Minister of Health and Education - The adaptation of an elected lower chamber enabled the party to continue fledging in the new Empire, with the second electoral cycle in 827 A.S. concluding with a major victory of the HUP. Miyasu, as acting party leader received the confirmation by his Imperial Majesty and the Upper Chamber and thus became the first female Prime Minister of modern Kusari.

Her political view is known to be of a rather modest nature, considering a prosperous and internally secure and peaceful Kusari more important than expansionist ambitions - an opinion which put her at odds with the Shogun and the IAF repeatedly.

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The Ministers



Kusari's Minister of Defense, the man ultimately responsible for the management of the combined IAF, is Kogen Masamune, of the Nara Branch. As cousin of both His Imperial Majesty Kogen Jien and Kogen Tetsuya, he was raised with more of a military than a political career in mind. He was involved in the Kempeitai and later the Kusari Office of Intelligence. The fact that a direct blood relative of the Emperor is affiliated with the Sunrise Party, boosted their voter count significantly during the last electoral cycle.

As expected of an ex-Intelligence and Sunrise Party member, Kogen lobbies for a strong militarization of Kusari's borders and aims to utilize the economic powerhouse's resources to the fullest to push for a large defensive fleet, capable of withstanding a prolonged assault by any of the other houses, with special regards to a potential return of hostilities between Gallia and Kusari but also the possibility of tensions with Liberty.

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Minister of Internal Affairs & Justice, Yoshida Kensei, is a long-term Kusari politician active inside the Ministry of Justice since no less than four decades. During the Republic days, Yoshida took up the vacant Minister spot following the sudden retirement of Ishigaki of the People's Party. Not belonging to any of the political parties, nor possessing any known ties to the Keiretsu, marks Yoshida as an oddity among the Ministers.

His cold but objective nature and tendency to perfectionism granted him widespread support of any major party within Kusari, seeing as he recently entered his third electoral cycle as Minister of Internal Affairs & Justice with almost 90% of votes in his favor.

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Muteki Ayame is the acting Minister for Health & Education of Imperial Kusari. Another member of the HUP, Muteki continues to push the Health and Education policies first established by Sanae Miyasu. However, she is frequent target of critics, stating that such a young woman, without a noble background, is unsuited to lead Kusari's education policies and would inevitably fail to preserve Kusari values. Additionally, Muteki was involved in a recent scandal regarding financial packages sent by the Ministry to Miyasu family owned hospitals on Planet Honshu.

The HUP stands firmly behind Muteki and argues that the mild, progressive educational policies will assist Kusari in eradicating domestic terrorism in the long-term, while also raising that the financial aid package included hospitals across Kusari, regardless of their political ties.

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Tachibana Masanori is the acting Financial Minister of the Kusari Empire; a long-term businessman with a history in highly speculative insurance deals by Interspace Commence and 12 years of work within Kishiro Technologies as investment adviser for Tau-29 affairs. Currently, the Finance Ministry is undergoing several rather drastic structural changes, aimed at promoting higher degrees of transparency and establishing a more fair distribution of investment funds to the both Keiretsu.

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Kusari's Minister for Economy and Industry, Nagao Daihinon, is far less known for the huge revitalization projects come to life under the new Empire but much rather for his hobby as a barkeeper in a small bar just two streets away from the Imperial district on Planet New Tokyo. Despite infuriated comments by authorities that his security is at risk, Nagao persists to pursue his hobby while attempting to steer the economic powerhouse Kusari in a mutual balance with the Keiretsu. Every so often, Nagao is target of claims to alleged bias towards one of the Keiretsu, which are quickly denied on by the opposing Keiretsu.

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Ono Takao, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Ocean policies is a born Kyushu Farmer who entered regional politics in the 790s. While sympathizing with the Farmer Alliance rather publicly, he harshly criticizes their violent branch and instead of following their example opted to pursue the position he now holds in order to make a difference to Kyushu's farmers.

Ono stated that he will cooperate strongly with Samura Heavy Industries to enable a secure and domestic food market, without the need of violently murdering Synth Foods employees. However, a rumor persists that Ono plans to convince other Ministries to place harsher restrictions on Synth Foods market access and at the same time financially promote Samura products with state money. Rumors are rumors, official spokesmen repeatedly told media outlets.

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Kojirou Toshinori is Kusari's infamous Foreign Minister, he led key diplomatic talks with a large variety of different parties - among them the Gallic Union, the Kingdom of Bretonia or the Crayter Republic.

His cunning diplomatic knowledge made him receive the support from a widespread of different politicians, but most importantly from His Imperial Majesty himself. Unlike other Ministers, Kojirou no longer has to worry about electoral cycles, as his recent successes caused him to be appointed "Minister on lifetime" by a special votum held within the Imperial Diet.

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Among the "more usual" Ministries, the Empire of Kusari posseses a special Ministry solely dedicated to the Sigma Cluster; the State Ministry for Okinawa and Sigma Territorial Affairs. Head of this Ministry is Higuchi Noboru, a key figure of modern Kusari politics. Higuchi led the diplomatic talks between the crumbling Republic of Kusari and His Imperial Majesty, as representative of the Republic. His work earned him greatest respect from the Emperor, as well as many historians who claim that without Higuchi, the Kusari Civil War would have lasted longer and would have grown much bloodier than it did.

Utilizing his extensive freedoms - namely that he only has to respond to the Prime Minister and the Emperor - Higuchi intends to re-negotiate the status of Sigma-21 with the Gas Miner Guild within the nearby future.

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The Political Parties

Prior to the fall of the first Empire and the brief Republican rule over Kusari, the political landscape was split mostly into two parties: The Keiretsu, Kishiro Technologies and Samura Heavy Industries. Following the Republican rule, a more diversified party constellation emerged within Kusari - with individual political parties rapidly gaining more importance, however they are still widely considered mere secondary elements, as the Keiretsu project their influence into virtually every political party existing today. The current political landscape is formed by the following parties:

Kusari Sunrise Party
Political Traits: Pro-military, Economic Protectionism

Description : here


Honshū Unity Party - 平和
Political Traits: Social Progressives, Economy Planning

Manifesto: here


Kusari Justice Party - 公明党
Political Traits: : National Conservatives

Description : here


Majima's Party
Political Traits: Radical Conservatives

More Info: here


Social Democratic Party of Kusari
Political Traits: Social Democracy, People's Government

Manifesto: here


Yūkōkai - Re-emergence Society
Political Traits: Local Autonomy, Economic Regulation

Manifesto: here

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The Governors



Lady Hakkera Tōko, only child of late Hakkera Shigeru from a Cadet branch from Seikan - one of Planet Honshu’s most prosperous regions. She was chosen over the primary heir of the bloodline: Kogi Hakkera whose loyalties were brought into question following a political scandal during the overthrow of the first Empire.

She had already proven herself to be a no-nonsense and resourceful individual, managing to maintain her family’s importance and influence as her father died in the aftermath of the Bretonia-Kusari war, and when the nobility's rights were cut down by the short-lived Republic.
As Honshu’s newly reinstated Governor, she intends to strongly cooperate with the Kishiro Keiretsu - which her family owns considerable shares of - in order to further entrench Honshu as de-facto capital of Sirius hi-tech business.

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Lord Hirokazu Satou is the current head figure of the Hirokazu family and Governor of Tottori.
The Hirokazu family gained a status among Kyushu's nobility in the early 730s due to their revitalisation project of the Kumamoto area - a once rich region which lost its glory due to the fading wealth of Kusari's rice farmers.

Satou was never a true man of politics and pursued a military career instead. He served during the Tau campaign against Bretonia and was one of the few lucky enough to escape the Gallic onslaught, which granted him to return to Kusari. The sudden disturbance at home caused by the overthrow of the Empire forced Satou into politics. Utilizing the funds of his family, he attempted to stabilize the region his ancestors so carefully rebuilt economically.

His dedication earned him the respect among many Farmers, and through extensive lobbying by Samura Heavy Industries, Satou was appointed Governor of Tottori in 829 A.S. - Aiming to assist Samura in their efforts of securing Tottori, Governor Hirokazu pledged to dedicate everything he can muster to finally deter the Blood Dragon siege on Planet Tomioka and speed up the construction of vital infrastructure in the Tottori system.

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Shiraishi Mitsuaki is the eldest of 6 children born to Hayate Shiraishi, head of Mirai Enterprise. The Shiraishi family is a long line of “old money”, gaining their fortunes from various investments with companies such as the Renzu Corporation and Samura Industries. Mirai Enterprise, and by extension Mitsuaki, have dipped their hands into multiple industries. These include ship construction, movement of industrial goods, and investment firms.

Mitsuaki, being the oldest male of the family, was given heirship of the Shiraishi fortunes as well as a spot on the board of directors for Mirai Enterprise. Mitsuaki’s foray into politics was brought by a push from Hayate’s wish to create a family legacy beyond just financial gains from his predecessors. Mitsuaki began in a mayoral position on Planet Junyo, securing his spot from a lack of other candidates.

Through cajoling and swinging his family’s influence, Mitsuaki found his way up the ladder of Shikoku, gaining positions on the provincial and planetary level. After the previous Governor of Shikoku’s resignation, Mitsuaki was heavily recommended as his replacement. After securing his new position, Governor Mitsuaki aims to use the stability of this core system to relax policies to ensure that local business runs smoothly. Additionally, he set his eyes on cooperation with the State Police and the Renzu Corporation regarding various investment ideas.

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Nosaku Kouki is the head of the Nosaku family and chair for the Nosaku Corporation. The Nosaku lineage dates back multiple centuries to the initial growth of Planet Kyushu as an agriworld and the primary source of food production in Kusari. During this time, the Nosaku Clan was given formal nobility status, cementing them in the future of Kyushu and Kusari.

Wishing to capitalize on the investment in Kyushu while standing out, Nosaku did not invest in land or direct farming but rather machinery and chemicals used to grow and harvest. The "Nosaku" brand of farming equipment is widespread as a result, the Nosaku Corporation staying as close to the forefront of innovation.

During the Civil War, Kyushu descended into a political nightmare for two years, allowing for major shifts and non-standard moves in the political landscape. Kouki Nosaku leaped into the typhoon of politics and emerged a powerful figure once the conflict settled. With the accords made the population remained reeling after the political upheaval. Due to his part in the efforts to stabilize the system more-so than other figures, Nosaku was appointed Governor of Kyushu. Nosaku's platform boasts revitalization plans for Planet Kyushu, though the exact methods remain unknown. However, for the system at large he plans to restablish the system as the Barrier Gateway, a direct thorofare into the Borderworlds.

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