

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?


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question
gate
Who, specifically, did Yanagida mean by "half the world"?


[![Things Yanagida
says](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8lrqtm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8lrqt.jpg)

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](http://www.li.suu.edu/library/circulation/Stathis/HaasAgeOfNonpolarityFall11.pdf)
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.


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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](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Xk0Od.png)

> **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](https://i.stack.imgur.com/koUIY.png)
>
> **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](https://i.stack.imgur.com/unJJv.png)

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.


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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.


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