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In episode 4, Yanagida tells Itami that the suits back in Nagata want to know whether the Special Region is worth turning half the world against Japan.

Who, specifically, consitutes "half the world" here? As of this point in the anime, we haven't been told much about the political situation surrounding the Gate. Is there a particular bloc of nations that opposes Japan's activity in the Special Region? Or is this more of a figurative "lots of people will be angry with us if we colonize the Special Region" sort of thing?

senshin
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3 Answers3

4

Things Yanagida says

In the manga, in chapter 7, Yanagida mentions:

Is there something here that's worth turning America, China, and Russia... half of the world into our enemies?

It's been mentioned that (emphasis mine):

The major powers, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Russia, and the United States, contain just over half the world's people and account for 75 percent of global GDP and 80 percent of global defense spending.

So he's likely to mean most of developed countries that are world powers. Most notably America, China, and Russia.

кяαzєя
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Around 12 minutes through Episode 4, It shows an Asian-looking (possibly Chinese?) President (Dechou Dong, as the intro badge says) in a car, discussing The Gate with his secretary:

Dechou Dong

President Dong: "Why did the gate open in Japan? We're the ones who need it, don't you think?"

Secretary: "That's correct, President. We can't let Japan have it all to themselves."

President Dong: At first, we'll maintain friendly relations with Japan, and see where this goes. Ideally, I'd like to send half our population to the Special Region."

In Episode 2, around 14 minutes in, you see the American President (noted by the flags beside him) also discussing it with his secretary, saying

President: "The Gate is the new frontier. There must be more resources on the other side than we can imagine. It's a treasure trove."

President: "How about it? Why don't we send our army in?"

POTUS

Secretary: "That might not be a good thing. Many nations anticipate Japan's defeat. We ought to let Japan take the risks for us."

President: "Yeah, we should avoid having our nation seen as an accomplice."

Where the following image is shown:

Protesters

Showing people openly protesting against invading the Special Region.

It seems the world's powers are either in it for unclaimed space, or resources.

Most likely, when Yanagida says half the world's people, he either means people will be divided on which side to take, or, the world's powers will either to decide to get involved, or condemn the actions of Japan.

Most probably, the world's powers.

Community
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Quill
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  • Take the term "unclaimed" with a grain of salt. There are a lot of people and estabilished countries on the other side of the gate. It seems they are wanting to colonize it XV century-style. – Mindwin Remember Monica Aug 03 '15 at 15:49
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By half the world, Yanagida either means what everyone has been suggesting - all the major world powers, like the US, China, the EU and Russia, or he could be suggesting, in simpler terms, every country in Itami's homeworld that has a motive for wanting access to the GATE.

In the canon storyline, China's motive is apparently having a population of 3 billion people, which is obviously unsustainable. The US wants it purely for it being, as President Direll(Manga) puts it, a treasure trove. Russia and the EU, however, are not given any specific motivation to want to invade, most likely for resources. Russia is said to be capable of being bold enough to hit the GATE with a SLBM.

kudokikiran
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