A former Paris spy and a Diet member.

 　At the counter of an Akasaka pub, I ran into a particular Diet member for the first time in 18 years. At that time, 18 years ago, I was a spy in Paris. Dispatched by the government to a certain  foundation, I was wining and dining French government employees and members of the media, gathering information.
There was a team of Americans I often ran into during the occasional receptions. They were engaged in the same kind of activities as I. One day, those Americans were forcibly deported for the crime of espionage. That was when I realized that I was a spy, myself.
　I shared my concern with an individual at the French ministry of internal affairs. I was engaged in the same activities, was that really OK? "We don't really care what Japan does," was the reply. It was in its way, humiliating.
　At that time, the American Clinton administration, which was pushing closer to opening up the movie industry, and the French Mitterrand administration, which insisted that movies were a part of the national culture, were clashing with each other.
　Even when it came to internet policy, America, which was aiming for hegemony through globalization, and France, which was preaching diversity of language and culture, found themselves in opposition. The enforcement of the espionage laws may have been a way of teaching a lesson. Of course they wouldn't have cared what Japan did.

　My work in France didn't only involve the French. Offering hospitality to guests from Japan was another part of my duty. One day, I was tasked with showing around a group of legislators from the House of Representatives. On that occasion, the Dietman from the pub was one of the guests who stayed out drinking until morning on the Champs-Élysée.  
　The conversational topic during that night of drinking was the pros and cons of a single-seat electoral system. I remember him shouting in a loud voice. Soon, the sun had risen. “It’s 6:00. We have a meeting with France Telecom at 8:30,”
　When I, worried about the time, told him this, his reply was “Then we can sleep for at least two hours.” I thought to myself that I didn’t want to work with these people.  “We’re always putting our lives on the line, here” they were all fond of saying.
　Now then, that Diet member had just had a run of bad luck. Sitting alone at that counter, staring off into the distance, wordlessly swilling a large bottle of sake. Another one of the group that had come to Paris would commit suicide shortly after. I have a great deal of respect for those who run for office.

　Sir, please take care of yourself, and keep fighting the good fight. I never did say hello to you that night.