Apocalypse Protocol

The Apocalypse Protocol (黙示録プロトコル in Japanese), also known as the "Suicide Pact" Law (「自殺条約」法 in Japanese) is a law passed in 2031 that allowed for the nuclearisation of Japan, and creation of three large deposits in Tokyo, Nagano and Takasaki. The law essentially allows the three cities and surrounding areas to be destroyed by nuclear means to prevent more breeding grounds like Africa.

The Law, summarised
The first portion of the law states: "In the event of an Akuma invasion past the established militarised border, the use of nuclear weapons is authorised. However, final approval of this decision is the responsibility of the acting Minister of the Japanese Demon Eradication Unit ("JDEU") and the acting members of the Japanese Ministry of Defence. The use should be limited to preventing insurgencies too massive for typical human ground units to handle, much like those seen in the invasion in 2026. Humans should be evacuated, if possible, with civilians taking top priority. High-ranking military members are second priority, and combatants are to be evacuated last unless ordered otherwise by superiors."

The second, more infamous portion of the law states: "Should the cities of Nagano, Takasaki or Tokyo come under attack by Akuma insurgents, the simultaneous activation of three large nuclear devices (roughly ten megatons each) at each city is required. Under no circumstances should the devices go unactivated. To prevent this, forty-eight individuals separate from the Ministry of Defence will activate the devices. Only sixteen are allowed to be on duty at any given time, with each group required to switch out every twelve hours to prevent fatigue. Five individuals per city must use their respective activation key at the same time, while the sixteenth individual is responsible for both receiving and confirming Apocalypse Protocol messages, and sending evacuation messages to every installation located in the cities and surrounding areas.

"The acting Minister and his respective Ministry of Defence cabinet members are not allowed to circumvent the Apocalypse Protocol. All nuclear deposits are to be heavily surveilled and maintained, and the sixteen individuals responsible ("Horsemen") are to be rotated every twelve hours and sustainably housed, fed and medicated. During shift changes, each member leaves one by one, with the communications officer leaving last. This is to make sure sixteen individuals are ready at any given moment. All Horsemen will be kept anonymous and have already been selected by the Ministry of ██████. A security force comprised of sixty-one specially-trained individuals must be present at all times."

Apocalypse Protocol transmission
As stated in the Law, a message must be sent out from the JDEU installation under attack. A scripted message was to be read out, with a classified callsign of the respective nearby nuclear deposit required for the message to be considered genuine. Tokyo was codenamed "Eye of Neptune," Nagano was codenamed "Charlemagne's Sword" and Takasaki was nicknamed "Toci". The callsigns were only known by the Horsemen and those stationed to send out the messages to the Horsemen.

The message required is as follows:

"(Codename of the "Listener Horseman"), Installation (specific ID) is no longer stable. Prefecture "(callsign)" demands activation of the Apocalypse Protocol. Confirmation code 8-7-14-(four-digit ID of messenger)."

For the remainder of the messenger's time (typically 2-3 minutes before detonation), if they were still alive or physically capable, they would read the following prayer:

"''As the sea of the underworld ravages the coasts of our plane, eroding rock with sin and consuming mountains with fear; as we face our demise in the face of unholy flame and soot, let our sins become forgiven by that which has created us. Allow our sacrifices to become stories future generations will speak of. The souls who have been unrightfully taken by the denizens of pain and hatred shall rest peacefully, watching over our fields, our trees, our waters, reminiscing on the joys of their lives. Our names will be engraved in the sands of time, allowing our honour to remain for eons to come. However we perish, it was not shameful. We will be accepted by the Heavens. Allow yourself to leave this mortal residence, for it is no longer healthy. You have committed a great service in the name of your land, your nation, your family, your people, and above all, your fellow man. Rest easy, soldier. The fields of serenity await you.''"

The prayer was notably finished being read and transmitted mere seconds before the detonation at Alpha-17. Its reader, Shigeru Kotoba, was held in extremely high and honoured regards for his service by the survivors from his installation.

Reception
The Minister at the time, Minamoto Ryozo, stated in a public speech shortly before his death: "The purpose of the Apocalypse Protocol is to create a nuclear Maginot Line, which would prevent further Akuma insurgence and the creation of another breeding ground like that in Africa. Nuclear destruction would turn the areas affected into an inhospitable wasteland, disallowing any living beings safe access for years to come."

After the speech, many referred to the Apocalypse Protocol as the "nuclear Maginot Line" (核マジノ線 in Japanese), although a more common nickname was the "'Suicide Pact' Law". Given that the 2026 invasion was a very recent memory for Japanese citizens at the time, there was little to no resistance of the law, although many questioned the use of nuclear devices in place of standard explosive ordinance.

Apocalypse Protocol in action
In 2046, major Tokyo installation Alpha 17-4 was invaded by a large Akuma force, resulting in the evacuation of surviving personnel, and the subsequent detonation of Tokyo's nukes. The invasion was so sudden and unexpected that the required "Apocalypse Protocol message" was almost not sent to Nagano, Takasaki and the top commanders of the JDEU. Survivors were given ample time to escape (roughly 20-30 minutes) from the extent of the blast zone, and all three deposits detonated simultaneously at 22:41 Tokyo time.

It is unknown how many lives were lost as a result of the Apocalypse Protocol. After the devices were activated, the sixteen Horsemen on duty at the time were executed by order of the Ministry of Defence; the other thirty-two were released to live in ██████ under heavy surveillance by the Minister.

Trivia

 * The Law, although modernised and brought to an extreme, is based on the Japanese act of seppuku or harakiri, which is the act of ritualistic suicide to preserve honour after a failure or defeat in battle; the act was typically performed by samurai.
 * The term "Horsemen" is a blatant reference to the biblical Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
 * There are sixteen Horsemen active at any given time, with sixteen being a perfect square reducing to four; in the New Testament of the Bible, there are four Horsemen (referred to War, Famine, Pestilence and Death).