Word: yonai
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...Admiral Yonai was himself amazed at the Emperor's choice, the people of Japan were more so. The White Elephant was certainly a dark horse. The appointment of General Shunroku Hata, War Minister in the fallen Cabinet, had been so generally taken for granted that afternoon that newspapers came out with extras announcing his appointment as a fact. Office seekers prematurely crowded the Hata home to congratulate...
...first things knowing Japanese noticed was that Premier Yonai hailed from Iwate Province. Only two Iwate men before him rose to the Premiership. Both died at the hands of assassins. But neither public surprise nor superstition dampened Mitsumasa Yonai's confidence. He felt sure that by inventing a few metaphors neat as chopsticks, by continuing to mouth nebulous phrases about the New Order and completion of the China Incident (taking steps meanwhile to prolong it), by playing ball with the Army-in short, by emulating most of his recent predecessors-he would make as good a Premier...
...that was six weeks ago. Not until last week did Premier Yonai see the immense inadequacy of that first estimate, realize that he had stepped parachuteless off a precipice into an utterly new, bitterly abysmal Japan...
...journalistic embarrassments did not discourage Mitsumasa Yonai. He waded out into the public ring slugging. His first speech before the Diet was a huge success. He said nothing, and said it briefly, elegantly, forcefully. He was not worried about financial matters because he had achieved the major political triumph of persuading former Finance Minister Sotaro Ishiwata to demean himself to be the Premier's own secretary; nor about military matters because the Emperor had taken the spectacular, unprecedented step of calling in General Hata to bid the Army obey the Cabinet...
Last week Premier Yonai still had his confidence and his office. Because of the former he could probably keep the latter. But the Japan he had inherited, and the three-legged stability he had promised for it, had deteriorated in four dizzy weeks into something very close to chaos...