In this passage, the novel begins to explain its alternate reality: after World War II, the victorious Japanese colonized the entire west coast of the U.S. San Francisco, where Childan, Tagomi and Frank live, is now the capital of this new region. Though the Pacific States are nominally governed by white people (the
pinoc), all meaningful political power belongs to the Japanese. As Frank considers the situation, it also becomes clear how deeply the political and the personal are intertwined. Though Frank has merely had a spat with his boss, even such a seemingly small interaction could have major repercussions for Frank given Mr. Wyndham-Matson’s political ties.