New World Order

The New World Order (新世塾, Shinsejuku, abbr. NWO) is an organization in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.
==Profile==
According to Chief Togashi's confession, the foundation of the New World Order began 20 years ago, when Tatsuzou Sudou and his fellows of a small local company which was responsible for the construction of Honmaru Park unearthed the mummy of Kiyotada Sumaru (Gozen) from the construction site. They spread the rumor of the mummy's Kotodama (spirit of words) transmitted to their heads which enriched and gave them enough political power to move the whole country. Ultimately, they plan to escape in the spaceship Torifune underneath Sumaru City making it a utopia for a few chosen residents who do not have any original sin. Meanwhile, the leftover Earth will be destroyed due to the pole shift caused by the power of the Earth Dragons, who will be enraged by the Kegare released by the Order. In reality, this is actually a result of Nyarlathotep influencing rumors that guide humanity to self-destruction as an attempt to win a bet he scored with Philemon.
In essence, the New World Order is the counterpart of the Masked Circle from the Innocent Sin universe. Both Tatsuzou Sudou and his son, Tatsuya Sudou, received the voice from Nyarlathotep to do his bidding. Both organizations have gained sufficient followers and power to stage all the events which are crucial to fulfill a false belief or prophecy. Both sides aim at creating an ideal utopia for advancing the human species, but turns out to be completely delusional.
==Personnel==
===Executives===
Tatsuzou Sudou is the top executive of the Order. There are four other unnamed senior members who had unearthed Kiyotada's mummy with Tatsuzou. They were performing the Kotodama ritual regularly to embody the influence of the rumor. The other four members are eventually slain by Tatsuzou on the terrace of Sumaru Castle while preparing the Dragon Ritual to cause the pole shift. Immediately afterward Tatsuzou is transformed into a demon by Gozen and is defeated by Maya Amano and her fellows. Nonetheless all of them dies as sacrifices to the ritual. Gozen is awakened as a monster and its defeat opens the gate to the Collective Unconsciousness.
===Army===
General Sugawara is the army general of 15th Division of Civil Defense of Japan and director of the Order. Although not explained in the game, the highly equipped and trained Tenchu Army might be originally soldiers of national defense but joined the Order under Sugawara's order. The development of the X-series combat robots is also conducted by Sugawara. He harbors no loyalty to the Order and the sole reason he joins is to receive the reward of immortality. Upon boarding Torifune, he is transformed into a self-regenerating monster by Gozen and suffering the pain for eternity.
===Police===
Chief Togashi and Captain Shimazu are the higher-ups in the police force of Sumaru City who were bribed by Tatsuzou when Togashi and Suou's father were investigating his son, Tatsuya Sudou's arson attack 10 years ago. Togashi and Shimazu framed Suou and sent him to the jail. Both of them then joined NWO and surveil the investigations and public phone calls, particularly the calls of JOKER in order to track down the users of Joker Curse and collect Kegare from them. Togashi is tormented by his sin and decides to leak the truth of NWO when he knows his former colleague's elder son, Katsuya Suou, is investigating the Joker case on his own. Before he can reveals Tatsuzou's headquarter to Katsuya, he dies from the gunshot wound by Shimazu for betraying the Order. Shimazu is handcuffed as a criminal by Katsuya before he dies, who insists that Shimazu does not deserve the title of public servant.
===Entertainment===
Under the financial and publicity backups by the Order, Chizuru Ishigami spreads a pseudo fortune telling, Wang Long. Using her influence through the media and the weakness of people's heart, she announces anyone who has performed the Joker Curse will become Joker themselves, just after the death of Tatsuya Sudou, the first Joker. Later in a live TV broadcast with Muses as guests, she exaggerates it by telling anyone could become a Joker even if they have never called it, further increasing the victims infected by the Joker.
Ginji Sasaki resumes the producer of the Muses to promote Joker Curse and increase his fame to present the seminar of collecting Kegare from the public openly. It is from his seminar Maya Amano and her fellows learn the equivalence between Joker and Kegare.
===Mafia===
Tien Tao Lien is a mafia organization from Taiwan led by Yung Pao. They are contracted by NWO to handle all the dirty jobs including bringing Tatsuya Sudou into custody by force (albeit failed) and via contact from the police, kidnapping Joker Curse users for research on extraction of Kegare. They run an illegal casino in the innermost hall of Club Zodiac for earning and as a hideout. Yung Pao does all these because his younger brother has been holding hostage by Tatsuzou. When Tien Tao Lien has no more use to NWO, Tatsuzou setup a trap to kill them along with Baofu and Katsuya Suou by intentionally letting Baofu to wiretap his phone call as well as to testrun his new X series robots. Tien Tao Lien is supposedly annihilated in this incident but Yung Pao has managed to inform Baofu the location of Tatsuzou's headquarter, so Baofu can avenge him.
===Science===
Takahisa Kandori was brought back to life after the Order had performed the Kotodama ritual for his revival under Gozen's decree. He conducts the inhumane research with other NWO scientists on extracting Kegare from people infected by the Joker who are abducted by Tien Tao Lien. They have a science laboratory in Narumi District for research as well as a prison to keep all the abductees for experiment. Many of the subjects suffer the loss of personality and in the worst case, some subjects like Hiroki Sugimoto and Shiori Miyashiro turn into demons. After Kandori has improved the extraction process with little to no side effect, the Joker extraction machine is put into use for Sasaki's seminar. The Kegare is amassed then transferred to the chamber in Sumaru Castle, ready to be released to the ground.
Kandori and Ishigami have a romantic relationship and the latter believes the former should instead lead the Order. Kandori refuses because he is fully aware that Gozen is merely one of Nyarlathotep's gimmicks, just like he was revived from the dead under Nyarlathotep's influence. Both of them travel together to release the 12 seals of the Earth Dragons scattered all over the world. When they have released the last seal in the Undersea Ruins, Tatsuya Suou and his old adversary from Persona (either Kei Nanjo or Eriko Kirishima) also arrive the scene and are challenged in a battle. Kandori and Ishigami lose the fight but gladly die in the crumbling ruin.
==Etymology==
 is a conspiracy theory about the emergence of totalitarian one-world government.
Category:Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Category:Organization