Editing Debt of Honor (section)

==Plot ==
Japanese industrialist Raizo Yamata has been plotting to bring back his country to a position of greatness for years, partly as revenge for the death of his family at the hands of American forces [[Battle of Saipan|invading]] the island of [[Saipan]] during [[World War II]]. His opportunity comes when a car accident in [[East Tennessee]], caused by faulty gas tanks made in Japan, results in the deaths of six Americans. The incident leads to the swift passage of a law allowing the U.S. to mirror trade practices of the countries from which it imports goods, cutting off the American export markets upon which the Japanese economy depends. Facing an economic crisis, Japan's ruling [[zaibatsu]], led by Yamata, decides to take economic and military action against the United States. Along with covert support from [[China]] and [[India]], they plot to curtail the U.S. presence in the Pacific and re-establish the [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere]]. After the [[Prime Minister of Japan|Japanese Prime Minister]] Mogataru Koga resigns in disgrace due to the economic situation, the zaibatsu installs Hiroshi Goto, an aggressive nationalist and critic of the U.S., to succeed him. Meanwhile, Japan has covertly developed nuclear weapons, and with [[UR-100N|SS-19]] designs bought from the former Soviet Union, has fabricated and deployed several [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBMs]].

Japan launches the first phase of its assault, sending [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|Self-Defense Force]] units to occupy the [[Mariana Islands]], specifically Saipan and [[Guam]], without casualties. Also, during a joint military exercise, Japanese ships "accidentally" launch torpedoes at the [[United States Pacific Fleet|U.S. Pacific Fleet]], destroying two submarines and crippling two aircraft carriers. An immediate retaliation is forestalled by the second phase of the Japanese offensive: an [[Economic warfare|economic attack]], where Japan engineers the collapse of the U.S. [[stock market]] by hiring a programmer who is a consultant for an exchange firm to insert a [[logic bomb]] into the system, which when triggered blocks the storage of all trade records made after noon on Friday. They also assassinate the President of the [[Federal Reserve Bank]]. The Japanese government then immediately [[suing for peace|sue for peace]], offering international talks and seemingly free elections in the Marianas to delay a U.S. response.

Meanwhile, [[Jack Ryan (character)|Jack Ryan]] is pulled out of retirement from government service by U.S. President Roger Durling, who appoints him as [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]]. Despite his typical focus on military issues, he advises the president to deal with the economic crisis first, realizing that Japan's deletion of trade records could be an advantage in responding to the economic threat. He engineers a "do-over", where all of the transactions that were deleted on the day of the mass deletion are ignored and all trade information is restored to its condition at noon of that day. The U.S. stock market is successfully restored with only minor disruption, and a group of U.S. [[Investment banking|investment banks]] start a massive economic unloading of Japanese investment products, effectively eliminating any gains made by the zaibatsu.

The United States military then proceeds to launch a counterattack on their Japanese counterparts using whatever resources they have. In a staged accident, [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] operatives [[John Clark (Tom Clancy character)|John Clark]] and Domingo Chavez blind two incoming Japanese [[Boeing E-767|E-767]] pilots with a [[Dazzler (weapon)|Dazzler]] that causes them to crash upon landing. The [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] then proceeds to eliminate the rest of Japan's [[Airborne early warning and control|AWACS]] system through low-profile military attacks using widely dispersed U.S. assets, allowing [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2]] bombers to destroy the hidden ICBM silos. They later use an attack by stealthy [[Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22]] fighters to further damage Japan's air defenses. An [[Special Forces (United States Army)|Army special operations]] team is airdropped into Japan to support covertly inserted [[Boeing–Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche|Comanche]] helicopters.  One helicopter is used to attack another AWACS plane with air-to-air missiles while several others use [[AGM-114 Hellfire|Hellfire missiles]] to kill members of Yamata's cabal. Meanwhile, Admiral Robby Jackson liberates the Marianas with few casualties by using a combination of cruise missiles and carrier air attacks to severely damage the Japanese aircraft stationed on the islands, which forces the Japanese commander to surrender his troops.

Outmaneuvered and cornered by the United States' military and economic response, Goto resigns, ceding power to his predecessor Koga, who was rescued earlier by Clark and Chavez from Yamata. Yamata and his surviving conspirators are arrested for treason, and the new Japanese government accepts the generous U.S. offer of ''[[Status quo ante bellum|status quo ante]]''.

Throughout the book, President Durling faces another political crisis: [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] Ed Kealty is forced to resign after being accused of rape. With the crisis over, President Durling nominates Ryan as vice president for successfully handling the crisis. However, an embittered [[Japan Air Lines]] pilot, driven mad by the deaths of his son and brother during the conflict, flies his [[Boeing 747]] directly into the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] during a special [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint session]] of Congress. The president, as well as nearly the entire Congress, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], and many other members of the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]], are all killed in the attack. Ryan, who was on his way to be sworn as vice president after being confirmed, narrowly escapes the explosion. He becomes the President of the United States and takes his oath of office before a district judge in the [[CNN]] studios in Washington.