Prime Minister Yoko Kayabuki is the prime minister of Japan in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society. She is Japan's first female prime minister, and was elected by the ruling coalition, which retained its majority in the 2031 general election, as a replacement for the previous prime minister, whose administration had become tainted by the Yakushima corruption scandal. On the surface, she was chosen for her strong conservative views to project an anti-corruption stance, and her administration is described as "ultra-hawkish", but in truth her colleagues intended her to be a figurehead for her more powerful Cabinet under Chief Cabinet Secretary Takakura. In 2032, two years after the raid by Umibozu commandos on Section 9's headquarters, Kayabuki finally honors the deal Daisuke Aramaki struck with the previous administration and reinstates Section 9 following the unit's successful resolution of a hostage crisis at the Chinese embassy. Kayabuki later becomes a target of Hideo Kuze of the Individual Eleven and is involved with Section 9's investigation into the case. Meanwhile, with the American Empire's economy in shambles and Japan thriving, Kayabuki's administration takes the opportunity to strike up a new security treaty with the Americans with advantageous terms for Japan. During the Refugee Crisis, Kayabuki and Aramaki are arrested on the orders of Takakura and charged with treason for requesting a United Nations nuclear inspection team to verify that Dejima had obtained nuclear weapons. After Section 9 thwarts the plans of Kazundo Gouda to destroy Dejima, Kayabuki regains power; Takakura is arrested and Gouda is later killed after attempting to defect to the American Empire. Kayabuki is still prime minister in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society in 2034, and apparently increased Section 9's funding sometime after Major Kusanagi left. However, at some point in the next decade under Kayabuki, Section 9 is officially disbanded for the second time for unknown reasons. Kayabuki is reelected and serves multiple additional terms until 2045, when Chris Otomo Tate succeeds her as prime minister in Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045.
Ghost in the Shell
In the year 2029, Niihama City has become a technologically advanced metropolis. Due to great improvements in cybernetics, its citizens are able to replace their limbs with robotic parts. The world is now more interconnected than ever before, and the city's Public Security Section 9 is responsible for combating corruption, terrorism, and other dangerous threats following this shift towards globalization. The strong-willed Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 spearheads a case involving a mysterious hacker known only as the "Puppet Master," who leaves a trail of victims stripped of their memories. Like many in this futuristic world, the Puppet Master's body is almost entirely robotic, giving them incredible power. As Motoko and her subordinates follow the enigmatic criminal's trail, other parties—including Section 6—start to get involved, forcing her to confront the extremely complicated nature of the case. Pondering about various philosophical questions, such as her own life's meaning, Motoko soon realizes that the one who will provide these answers is none other than the Puppet Master themself. [MAL]
