This can be seen through the character of Mr. Naguchi, who wrote pro-Japanese war songs during the outbreak of war. Ishiguiro uses Mr. Naguchi as a metaphor for the harmful nature of nationalism once it is taken too far. Mr. Naguchi's suicide is a symbol for stakeholders to understand that although the Japanese government promoted nationalism at the time and expected everyone to act as patriotically as possible, these actions could have repercussions across the world. the future and guilt could take hold of the individual. This challenges the contextual value that nationalism is always best and shows the speaker that government should not always be followed blindly and that an individual should make their own decisions regarding what is best for them as well only for his own good.