A/N: This chapter's main purpose is to explain the different history of the world in general which led to a less-isolated North Korea and soon, the remilitarization of Japan under US support as the reaction, beginning in the 1980s, the final decade of the Cold War. If you want this chapter to be expanded more, please write it on the comment section, Arigatou!

Watari's house, somewhere in Tokyo, 25th May 2018

At 4.00 PM. Watari is currently in his room, studying history for the tomorrow school exit exam, along with Tsubaki, his girlfriend. This is another study and date session for the couple.

"For me and her, I must do this well!" Watari said inside his heart. Both Tsubaki and Watari began to read their books.

"The 1980s saw global recession which greatly affected both the developing, and developed world. The United States and Japan went out from the recession early, while other OECD countries like the United Kingdom, continued to grapple with high unemployment until the second half of the decade. One of it's other consequences are rejuvenation of democracy movement in Asia."

"On 25 February 1986, the President of Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, was toppled in the People Power Revolution. Later. Soeharto from Indonesia was toppled in a sudden military coup one week after the EDSA Revolution, with the interim government led by former Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, began the transition of Indonesia to democracy and a UN-backed negotiation about the fate of East Timor, occupied by Indonesia in 1977, which later emerge as an independent nation in 1989. 

"A year later, in 1987, the EDSA effect soon influenced the negotiation for the end of military governments in South Korea and Taiwan. On the other hand, South Korea, oil-producing Middle East countries, both Soviet-aligned such as Syria, Iraq, Algeria, and Western-aligned which are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman,  and Kuwait, along with the newly rising China, with it's cheap and abundant household manufactured products and Western recognitions, enjoyed economic boom in this era"

"In the other side of the Iron Curtain, the era saw the Soviet war in Afghanistan, started in December 25th, 1979 and ended in February 15th, 1989, which widely condemned by the international community and mocked as "Soviet Union's Vietnam War" , which influenced the rising discontent in Baltic States and Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe, one of the main event was the martial law invocation in Poland. In addition to Afghanistan, in 1986 one of the reactors in Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in the Ukrainian SSR, suffered a meltdown due to inadequate safety standards, spreading radiations across the European continent, rendered 50.000 Soviets displaced, and one city nearby, Pripyat, has to be abandoned and declared as an exclusion zone, which are still for this day. The disaster was another impetus to the Mikhail Gorbachev's program of Glasnost (openness), and Perestroika (restructuring), which administration was inaugurated in March 1985. Gorbachev also began rapprochement with the West and several summit meetings were held with it's US counterpart, President Ronald Reagan, in Geneva, Valetta, London, Washington, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Paris, and Madrid, ushering the gradual defusion of Cold War tension."

"Soon, however, Gorbachev's reforms spiraled out of control and resulted in rising discontent and ethnic clashes between nationalities in the Union and later, in 1989, Revolutions in Eastern Europe that toppled Soviet-installed communist governments there, including the Die Wende in East Germany which outcome saw the Berlin Wall torn down, and the execution of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife in Romania. Other communist nations began to adapt in the changing economic reality in the mid to late 1980s, such as Vietnam, Cuba, and North Korea, including lessening restriction of small and medium scale businesses and permission of state companies to conduct foreign trade and accepting investments from non-government domestic sources, effectively no longer isolating themselves from the world market in general and resulted in the relative avoidance of famine and starvation in those countries after the end of Soviet aid."  

"In August 26th, 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait. As the result, a coalition of Western and Arab states was assembled by a UN resolution led by United States Army General Norman Schwartzkopf, and decisively defeat the Iraqis in February 26th, 1991. Exactly ten months later, at December 26th, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved." 

"Post-communist Eastern European countries, along with Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea which retain it's communist government went into economic malaise in the 1990s, further exacerbated by the Yugoslav Wars, which began in 1990.  At the same time Japan entered the era called the "Lost Decade" when the asset price bubble burst. Proper measures from the Bank of Japan and good oversight in the economic stimulus package by the government prevent further increase of public debt, which include a particularly unpopular measures; letting several companies who are insolvent and unable to repaid it's debt to banks, to fail (A/N: preventing "zombie companies/banks" to sprung up in the original timeline). Also, in order to reduce tension with South Korea. Japan officially renounced its claim on Liancourt Rocks, called Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, and repatriated Korean historical artifacts held in Japanese museums, while retaining its position on Senkaku Islands and Kuril Islands, While recovery seems imminent in 1997, supported by the overall growth in the American economy under Bill Clinton. the Asian Financial Crisis, started in Thailand dashed the hope of recovery of the Japanese economy for a while, and only in 1999 the recovery begins, in tandem with the recovery of Asian economics affected by the 1997 crisis. However, the recovery was short lived as in 2001, as Internet Bubble Burst (Dot-com bubble burst) occurred in the US, once again slowed down the world economy as a whole. On the other side, despite grappling with economic crisis on it's own , Yugoslav Wars, and rebellions in Chechnya, the newly independent Russian Federation, successor of the USSR in international relations, enjoyed a period of relative peace with the West in the 1990s and early 2000s"

"During that time, discovery of possible evidence that North Korea are developing nuclear weapons sparks the "nuclear crisis" and after a series of summit the Clinton administration, under US-North Korea Agreed Framework treaty, relented and provide modern light-water reactors and fuel oil, to the North Koreans to address its energy shortages in return of the freezing of all reactors under construction. As the United States are reluctant to support the ensuing construction of the replacement reactors especially after the Republican Party took control of Congress in 1994, Canada stepped in, under US approval, along with Sweden, to provide funding and necessary technology for the construction under the banner of an international consortium, Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), meanwhile Algeria and Libya (in real life were not the case), along with US, began to ship fuel oil to the country. But in August 31st, 1998, North Koreans launched a Paektusan-1 rocket in a launch attempt of their first indigenous satellite the Kwangmyeongseong-1. As analysts suspect the launch was a ruse for an ICBM test, the missile flight path over Japan caused it to retract 1 million USD worth of aid for the civilian reactors."

"Further allegation of violations of the agreement, and George W. Bush labeling of North Korea as "Axis of Evil" caused the United States to cut off the oil shipment and pressure other oil-producing countries to do the same. Agreement Framework breaks down, but the reactors has been completed in December 2002, ahead of schedule before the North Koreans withdraw from the NPT in January 2003.

"September 11th, 2001 changed the world forever as terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, US Department of Defense headquarters. As the result, the Bush administration launched Global War on Terrorism, and invading Afghanistan, when the Al-Qaeda leaders believed to hide."

"After that, came the Iraq War, the most controversial war ever fought by the US in the 21st century. The conduct of the war and post-invasion occupation and reconstruction, along with persistent sectarian violence and insurgencies resulted by the presence of US forces and allies severely polarize the American society and the government"  

(I decided to left out the rest of the history lesson here as most of next events are mostly the same as our real world timeline; such as 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami, North Korean nuclear and missile tests in 2006-2017, Fukushima earthquake and tsunami along with the ensuing nuclear meltdown, the Arab Spring, rise of ISIS, the migrant crisis in Europe and rise of Donald Trump.)

26th May 2018, 16.30 hour, Okita High School, Tokyo, Japan  

Watari and Tsubaki are among the students waiting the results of that day's test. Thankfully, they managed to reach good score. 85 and 92 respectively. 

"Well, that's a pretty tough test. You know I am somehow bad at memorizing facts like this" said Watari to Tsubaki and two of his new best friends he meet in high school, Jiro Mizutani and Go-Il Jeong. "You two are like stamps and letter, and my sources had seen you extensively do your own date while studying." Said Jiro to the couple. Tsubaki's fellow softball team member and best friend, named Haruka Megumi, agreed with Jiro's statement.

Tsubaki can only laugh and blushed at the same time.

"You know me too well, Jiro" Watari replied to the shorter, black-haired male in front of him, while patting his head. 

"By the way, to those who already choose which university they will attend, have you all making the necessary preparation?" Jeong asked the small circle.

"I am already accepted an offer from Doshisha (a real life Christian university in Japan)" Haruka said.

"Me and Tsubaki already got a lot of offer for scholarship here in various places like the Nippon Sport Science University (also a real life university)"

"Bloody hell" Jeong said in awe upon Watari mentioned one of the prestigious sport-related university in Tokyo. 

"Tonight, we celebrate together, as this is our final day of exam" Tsubaki said. 

"By the way, you two?" Watari asked his best friends, which also members of the school soccer team. Jiro played as defender, meanwhile Jeong as right-midfielder, and, under Watari captainship, bringing national school soccer cup into the school. 

"Joining the Rikujou Jietai (JGSDF). And as you know, the article 9 will be revised. I mean it's certain. And I am willing to serve abroad. Especially if we talk about my own ancestral land (Korea) which are one of our allies. I might one day shoot some commies. I am 100% Japanese in heart and head, but I'm also a Korean in blood. So if one day those Juche-Marxist shitheads attack the South and Japan, which are increasingly likely these days, they must first step on my dead body." Jeong boasted. 

"Good for you" Tsubaki replied, with encouragement, but Watari warned "Beware what you wish for, Jeong. I'm no pacifist and understand your wish to do your part to reunify your ancestral land. But you must know that war is hell. Our grandfather and great grandfathers has paid the terrible price for their war they started decades ago."

"Meanwhile I must go back to Naha (in Okinawa) and attend university there. My father was recently suffered a stroke and required constant care, so I need to be closer to them" Jiro said, solemnly.

"I can only wish you luck in your life, Jiro" Tsubaki said.

After a small celebration in a nearby Starbucks, they went their separate ways to their home..

A/N: The inclusion of new characters is for expansion of the story and besides, because Watari, Tsubaki, and Kousei attend different schools, they definitely acquire new friends on the way. while not forgetting the old friendship. 

Further readings about North Korean nuclear program:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_North_Korean_nuclear_program

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Framework

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-party_talks