The Long Winter

The **Long Winter** (長い冬) was a period in the Yokoze Confederation characterized by frequent and violent clashes between anti-government protesters and the Yokozean military during the premiership of Prime Minister Kōya Shindō. It began on 7 December 394 when the Yokozean National Parliament, under the control of Prime Minister Shindō and the Unity Party, proposed and subsequently passed a law that heavily restricted the authority of the Yokozean Supreme Court and the regional State Courts. It officially ended when on February 7th when President Ryōhei Miura took unprecedented measures to dissolve Parliament and form an emergency ruling council.

## Timeline of Events

December 7: The *Revised National Security Law* is passed by the Yokozean Parliament.

December 8: Widespread protests and riots break out across major cities in the country, especially the capital Atsuki.

December 10: The Yokozean Military is deployed to forcefully remove protesters, causing violent clashes to occur. Bullets fired into protesting crowds by the military lead to at least eleven confirmed deaths.

December 12: The Yokozean Military arrests five members of the Atsuki city council and 4 members of the Iitate city council for their criticism of the government and the armed forces.

December 13: Evening curfews are enforced across all major cities in the country.

December 29: The insurgent group known as the Yokozean Patriotic Front takes control of the town of Tōma.

January 1: The Konwe Liberation Army, an ethnically Konwe insurgent group, seizes control of several villages in the southeast of the Hirota state.

January 4-9: Minor yet deadly battles between insurgent groups and the Yokozean military occur.

January 15: President Ryōhei Miura arranges a secret meeting with Shingōan Prime Minister Shōgo Kobayashi and Tsukimotoan President Han Yong-jin.

> Note: The office of President has traditionally been a mostly ceremonial role and officeholders have typically refrained from engaging in political affairs in the past. The office, however, still retains certain legal powers and authorities.
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January 20: Evidence of wartime atrocities perpetrated by the Yokozean government and the Yokozean military are brought to the Shingōan and Tsukimotoan governments respectively. The Yokozean government denies requests for Shingōan or Tsukimotoan observers to be allowed entry into Yokoze.

January 22: Citing the free movement clause of the Central Tōkai Union charter, the Shingōan and Tsukimotoan governments deploy observers protected by armed soldiers to document alleged wartime atrocities.

January 24: The Yokozean military launches an offensive against insurgent forces in the town of Tōma.

February 1: Evidence of military wartime atrocities are published. Newspaper companies are guarded by Shingōan and Tsukimotoan soldiers. Prime Minister Shindō refuses to resign despite domestic and international calls for him to do so.

February 3: The Yokozean Supreme Court unanimously finds the government's actions to be unconstitutional.

February 6: The Yokozean military, under the direction of the Shindō government, surrounds and arrests all members of the Yokozean Supreme Court.

February 7: President Ryōhei Miura takes unprecedented steps to dissolve Parliament and revoke Kōya Shindō's position as Prime Minister. An emergency governing council is formed by previous members of Parliament who had not collaborated with the Shindō government. Yukihide Ishii of the National Party becomes Prime Minister.