Anna Luzhkova sat inside, alone at a desk. She stood in surprise. “What is this?”
Sherlock stepped in. “There is a very good reason for my visit, I assure you. I have come to ask that you return Japan’s copy of The Complete Work on Russian Natural Sciences.”
Shevich, who was attempting to detain him, stopped short, a curious expression on his face. “Return?”
Anna smiled, but the muscles in her jaw seemed tense. “I have no idea what you mean, Mr. Holmes. The Complete Work has already been delivered. There were several witnesses. If you visit the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce you will find the book is still there, I am sure.”
Sherlock stared at Anna. “I came from the ministry now. A book was there, but not the book that Japan officially received. Once the translation was completed, Minister Mutsu and Mr. Kubo brought the volume to your office. Mr. Chekhov gave them a new copy in exchange. The original book did not return with them.”
“The chapters of the original book had all been removed,” Anna said, flustered. “And it was soiled, there were notes over all the pages. We exchanged it for a clean copy.”
“I would still like to request the original book. The copy that Russia gave to Japan.”
“Yes, well,” Anna said, “I’m afraid it has already been disposed of.”
Shevich furrowed his forehead. “Disposed of? That book contains national secrets. You do not have permission to dispose of it. Nor to replace it with a different copy. All copies of The Complete Work on Russian Natural Sciences are inscribed with a serial number, and the number of the book that was given to Japan has been officially recorded.”
Sherlock glanced around the room. “Where is Mr. Chekhov?”
Anna’s voice trembled. “He is out. Perhaps this can wait until he returns…”
“You were there, too, when the book was exchanged. As were two young men. According to Mr. Kubo, their names were Akhatov and Denikin.”
Shevich looked questioningly over his shoulder at Kanevsky. Kanevsky shook his head. It was clear from their faces that neither was familiar with those names.
“Mr. Chekhov told Minister Mutsu that if he had any questions while translating the book they should speak with him,” Sherlock said. “But considering the size of the book, it was only natural that they should have questions. And it follows that they would bring the book with them to ask those questions. With a translation of this scale, you must have foreseen the condition in which the book would be returned. In short, Mr. Chekhov contrived to switch books all along, and replaced the first copy with an original, unaltered version from your homeland.”
Anna’s voice cracked. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I thought you would say as much. Ambassador Shevich, by your leave I will now lay out the facts of this case.”
Shevich grimaced and nodded. “Please do.”
“So.” Sherlock returned his attention to Anna. “The book the Japanese originally received differed from the original in at least a dozen places. Of those differences, three entries dealt with extremely important issues currently under discussion at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. In 1878, large numbers of ayu fish began dying in the Watarase River. On August 12, 1885, the Choya Newspaper reported that the cause was unknown. On October 31, the Shimotsuke Newspaper ran an article detailing how trees in the Ashio area had begun withering throughout the previous year. Then rice paddies also started to be blasted, both in the countryside fed by the Watarase River and in fields where flooding has washed over the sediment from Ashio.”
Anna’s face grew stiff. “Those are Japan’s problems. We have nothing to do with them.”
“But you were aware of them. And you knew their causes. If either situation worsened they would probably be brought up before the Diet. But of course they would consult the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. The ministry would then offer an opinion, based on the latest research in natural sciences. Their opinion would be that the situation is not serious.”
A shock ran down Ito’s spine. “Of course… the Ashio copper mine!”
Sherlock nodded. “Precisely. The phenomena I described are likely Japan’s first introduction to public nuisances.”
“P-Public…”
“Public nuisances, as they are commonly called. The term pollution, however, would be more accurate.”
“Ah, a public nuisance. Yes, of course. Public contamination, inconvenience and injury. We might translate it as kogai in Japanese, if need be.”
“Pray that phrase becomes common knowledge throughout Japan then, Chairman Ito. So long as people remain unaware of the concept, your entire nation is in danger.”
How awful. Pollution. The possibility had never even occurred to Ito.
The Ashio copper mine had been operating since the Meiji Era. After the fall of the Bakufu, however, output had slowed and the mine had even been shuttered for a time. But due to recent advances in technology, a number of promising veins had been rediscovered since 1881. Development of the Ashio copper mine—as well as the Hitachi mine, run by the Kuhara conglomerate, and the Beshi copper mine, run by the Sumitomo family—had accelerated drastically, with support from government policies designed to stimulate Japan’s economic and military strength.
“The mines likely harvest nearby trees for timber and fuel,” Sherlock said. “The factories that refine the mined ore emit smoke, which leads to air pollution.”
“Air pollution…?”
“When you visited London, you saw the the thick winter fog. Smoke and soot from burning coal mixes with mist in the air and settles over the ground, resulting in a number of respiratory and health disorders.”
“I remember the air being thick, but I do not recall ever hearing that the problem was so grave.”
“The government resists admitting there is a problem. The same is true in all the Western nations, and not just England. The newspapers and printing companies receive industrial support and so prefer not to run articles on the matter. As a result, few are aware of the severity of the issue.”
“I have read several monographs that suggest emissions from factories could have negative effects… These papers were still at a hypothetical stage, however. I assumed the issue would not yet concern Japan.”
“That is where you are wrong. Japan is developing at incredible speed, having achieved in 20 years what took us over a century. But the development has also caused damage at a similarly accelerated pace. In the case of the Ashio copper mine, waste from ore refinement has contaminated water sources in the surrounding mountainside. The extent of the damage was increased by flooding, to the watershed below. You should assume that water and soil in a broad area around the mine is being polluted, even as we speak. Naturally, the same is likely occurring at other mines in Japan.”
A chill ran down Ito’s back. It was as though he’d learned of a new and as-of-yet-unknown plague rampaging through the country. Factories operated throughout Japan, day in and day out. And no one, not even the managers and workers, had any idea at all of the pollution they were causing. Since the Restoration, Japan had been far too busy to consider such things.
Sherlock cast a hard look at Anna. “The entries were altered in a very clever manner. There were not only theories, but also records and figures, to make it look as though real experiments had been carried out. There were even opinions from supposed specialists. But these figures and quotes were all made up to coincide with whatever was happening around Ashio copper mine. If Japan’s scientists were to rely on the information in this book, even should they investigate it is unlikely they would ascertain the true cause of the phenomena. As other scientific branches advanced, they might realize the truth in ten years or so, but by then much of Japan’s natural environment would have been poisoned beyond repair.”