King Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole presided over the opening ceremonies of the Pearl Harbor Lease Conference earlier this week, welcoming distinguished representatives from nations around the world. The Hawaiian government has recently decided to lease the main Hawaiian deep-water port to a foreign power rather than develop it directly. Representatives of over a dozen nations have come to the beautiful and isolated island kingdom to propose that their nation be allowed to develop the sea and air facilities at Pearl Harbor. Interested nations include the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, the Nation of Hollywood, the Empire State, Pacifica, the Maritime Provinces, Germany, the Atlantic Coalition, and the Soviet Union. Observers from many other nations are also attending in the interest of international peace and diplomacy.

The expected forerunners in the negotiations are the British, who were the original colonizers of the island chain; the Nation of Hollywood, a powerful neighbor of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean; and the Empire of Japan, a rising power in the Pacific. Whoever gains the port rights gets a highly valued centralized port in the vast Pacific Ocean, allowing refueling and restocking of ships and zeppelins during the long and dangerous trek across the empty sea.