So it turns out the Remake added a direct connection to SMTV.
There are election posters for "Hayao Koshimizu" scattered through the city. And they have a crescent moon on them.

If you played V you know the game has references to devil summoner scattered throughout the game. This makes it pretty offical it's the same universe. Remember they said the proto-fiend project has been going on in Japan since anyone can remember.