Traveling through the Tokyo bubble era

Chapter 948 Contract Termination Frenzy
No one expected that Weekly Bunshun would suddenly "coincidentally" give an assist to the advertising war, turning the balance of public opinion completely in favor of Storm Advertising and Cloud Platform.

Don't underestimate the influence of Weekly Bunshun in Japan just because it's an ordinary magazine.

Bungei Shunju Publishing, the publisher of Weekly Bunshun, holds an extremely prestigious position in the Japanese literary world.

The Akutagawa Prize, the Naoki Prize, and the Kikuchi Prize, established by Bungei Shunju Publishing, are the most influential awards in the entire Japanese literary world and even the cultural world. It can be said that there is no other award among them.

Weekly Bunshun, a weekly magazine published by Bungei Shunju Publishing, also carries the "upright" temperament of a literary figure, and is known for its willingness to expose various political scandals, corporate secrets and entertainment gossip.

The news reported by Weekly Bunshun often generates a huge social response and causes a great public opinion sensation, enough to change the entertainment career or political life of the person being reported.

That's why Weekly Bunshun is called "Bunshun Cannon".

After Hideki Hanyu achieved fame and success, the industry remained tight-lipped about his love life, at most making some rumors, and rarely providing detailed reports.

But Weekly Bunshun dared not give Hideki Hanyu any face, even though Hanyu was one of its own in the cultural circle.

Not only were many of Hideki Hanyu's lovers exposed, but it was also discovered that Hideki Hanyu already had a child.

Capturing photos of Hideki Hanyu interacting intimately with women, or of female celebrities entering the Yorozuya, has become routine.

Although Hideki Hanyu, his fans, and admirers did not care about the exposure in Weekly Bunshun, the report, apart from confirming Hanyu's reputation as a playboy, did not have any substantial impact on him.

However, it is clearly impossible to say that Hideki Hanyu has no issues with Weekly Bunshun.

Originally, as a leading figure of the new generation of writers highly regarded in the Japanese literary world, Hideki Hanyu had a very good relationship with Bungei Shunju Publishing.

When Bunshun awarded the Naoki Prize to Hideki Hanyu, both parties seemed to be on good terms, displaying a mutual respect.

But now, Hideki Hanyu and Bungei Shunju Publishing House are no longer on good terms.

Actually, this description is inaccurate.

It seems that Bungei Shunju Publishing House treats Hideki Hanyu as always.

Reports on Hideki Hanyu's romantic scandals also carry a sense of disappointment at his lack of self-discipline, as if hoping that this literary talent of the new era can turn over a new leaf and become a great master.

For example, after the release of "I Am a Cat", Hideki Hanyu's status in the Japanese literary world rose sharply, and he was hailed as a contemporary literary giant. Bungei Shunju even generously awarded him the Akutagawa Prize.

However, Hideki Hanyu chose to ignore the flirtatious advances from Bungei Shunju Publishing House.

Even though Bungei Shunju awarded Hideki Hanyu the Akutagawa Prize, Hanyu maintained an attitude of "you gave it to me, I don't care, and I don't pay attention to it."

That's why Weekly Bunshun suddenly offered a helping hand, something that not only Dentsu didn't expect, but also Storm Advertising and Cloud Group didn't anticipate.

But no matter how incomprehensible he was, it did not stop Hideki Yuzuru from directing Storm Advertising and Cloud Entertainment to take advantage of the situation.

In the original "first-win" plan, the Cloud Group anticipated that the media attacks against Dentsu would be met with clarification and defense from Dentsu.

Therefore, they were prepared to prolong the negative scandals of Dentsu by using the method of extending the time frame in the battle of public opinion, so that it could continue to brew and spread among the public.

However, with the heavyweight media outlet Weekly Bunshun stepping in, a final blow completely crushed Dentsu, saving the "Shing" plan a significant amount of time in terms of public opinion buildup and dissemination.

So on Monday, June 25th, Weekly Bunshun provided the necessary support.

On Tuesday, June 26, the "First Victory" plan directly launched its second phase.

The long-prepared wave of brand contract terminations against Dentsu has officially begun.

If AIA International, a significant international luxury goods group, announced the termination of its cooperation with Dentsu to introduce the documentary by Cloud Satellite TV and guide the public to link the termination of cooperation with Dentsu's scandals...

After Dentsu's corporate scandal was fully confirmed, the subsequent wave of brand contract terminations became completely justified and well-founded.

On the morning of June 26th, Elf Entertainment, Japan's largest electronic entertainment giant, the world's gaming leader, and a dominant player in the global semiconductor supply chain, officially announced that, affected by Dentsu's scandal, it would cease all cooperation with Dentsu, including itself and all its subsidiaries.

In addition, Elf Entertainment called on all its partners and distributors not to cooperate with Dentsu until Dentsu seriously addresses its own problems and provides a satisfactory response to the outside world.

Although everyone knows that, due to the Cloud Group, companies associated with Hideki Hanyu will certainly not stand on the same side as Dentsu in this advertising war.

Especially Elf Entertainment, which is Hideki Hanyu's biggest trump card.

But no one expected that Elf Entertainment would take sides so quickly, and not only that, it even called on its partner companies to boycott Dentsu.

Ironically, because of Dentsu's own scandals, Elf Entertainment found itself on the moral high ground.

What's even more surprising is that Elf Entertainment's appeal is far more terrifying than the outside world expected.

On the very day that Elf Entertainment announced the termination of its partnership, more than ten related companies announced the termination of their partnerships with Dentsu.

Among them are small Japanese businesses that are not well-known to the average person, as well as some overseas companies that have operations in Japan.

At the same time, there are also some well-known companies.

For example, Sharp, a Japanese semiconductor giant that has extensive cooperation with Elf Entertainment in LCD screens and semiconductor components, announced on the same day that it would suspend its cooperation with Dentsu.

If we say that A&I International's termination of its contract was a "high-level" attack on Dentsu in the fashion industry, it might seem a bit distant to the average person.

The wave of contract terminations triggered by Elf Entertainment was so large and numerous that ordinary people truly felt the intensity of the advertising war.

What no one knew was that this was just the beginning.

The date was Wednesday, June 27th.

More than fifteen domestic and international companies have announced the termination of their cooperation with Dentsu.

Some of these companies claimed to have been invited by Elf Entertainment.

Some companies also stated that they made their decision after careful consideration because they could not agree with Dentsu's actions.

What embarrassed Dentsu the most was the presence of several emerging high-tech companies in America, such as Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, SenseTime, Apple, and others.

These companies at the forefront of global technology have all made statements, which can be said to have directly pushed Dentsu to the forefront of global public opinion.

In a short time, the corporate scandal involving Dentsu was not limited to Japan, but also began to spread to the world with the help of cloud-based media.

This directly led to a situation where, even without Hideki Hanyu actively promoting cloud-based advertising, storm advertising, and other initiatives, a large number of companies, under pressure from public opinion, began to choose to terminate their contracts with Dentsu.

Moreover, in this wave of contract terminations, Hideki Hanyu's companies have always been at the forefront, fueling the flames from behind and playing a crucial guiding role.

Thursday, June 28th.

As if influenced by Aiyi International, a wave of contract terminations by apparel and beauty brands has completely erupted.

More than 20 companies and brands, including LVMH Group, Dior, Chanel, Nike, Supreme, Uniqlo, etc., announced the termination of their cooperation with Dentsu, citing the Dentsu scandal.

This includes companies and brands under Hideki Hanyu.

Some companies, influenced by public opinion and concerned about their own impact, proactively announced the termination of their contracts with Dentsu.

Of course, there are also cases where cooperation with Dentsu is temporarily suspended through exchanges of benefits, with no guarantee that cooperation will resume once Dentsu overcomes its difficulties.

If Dentsu could have swallowed its pain and kept the limited investment in public advertising by other semiconductor companies, except for Elf Entertainment, then...

For apparel and beauty brands that invest the most in advertising, the wave of contract terminations on Thursday has had an immeasurable impact on Dentsu's image and economic losses.

Moreover, when it comes to indirect impacts, such as Dentsu's status and influence in the industry, the losses are so severe that it made Dentsu's president want to vomit blood.

To give a simple example, Dentsu can sometimes manipulate talent agencies in the Japanese entertainment industry because it has a large number of advertising contracts.

Among these, the advertisements for numerous clothing and beauty products, especially top luxury brands, are the most valuable.

With these brands terminating their contracts, Dentsu has completely lost its trump card.

Losing influence in the entertainment industry is just the beginning. The lack of advertising projects will directly result in Dentsu having no ads to distribute to its media partners.

Traditional print media, and even television stations, are now facing a situation where there are no advertisements to schedule or broadcast after their contracts expire.

However, the combined punches from the second phase of the "Win First" plan are far from over.

Friday, June 29th.

Japanese energy and industrial giant, Origin Group, announced the termination of all business cooperation with Dentsu.

One of Japan's fourth largest logistics companies and the world's ninth largest logistics company, formerly known as "Ōki Logistics" and renamed "StarMap Logistics" after being consolidated into a group, has announced the termination of its cooperation with Dentsu.

Sky Telecom Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest telecommunications service operator, announced the termination of its partnership with Dentsu.

Japanese conglomerates Marubeni Corporation and Shingetsu Corporation also announced the termination of their cooperation with Dentsu.

In addition to these, several major Japanese companies, including Toshiba Group, Fujifilm, Daikin Industries, Mazda, and Rakuten, have announced the termination of their cooperation with Dentsu.

In addition to these, other overseas giants such as South Korea's Samsung Group, SK Group, and Italy's Lamborghini Group have announced the termination of their cooperation with Dentsu.

The reason these companies terminated their cooperation was naturally due to Dentsu's corporate scandal.

Although many other companies announced the termination of their cooperation with Dentsu on this day, their names were completely ignored by the media and the public amidst the wave of contract terminations by so many giant companies.

For example, those companies under Hideki Hanyu that may become powerful in the future, but are still relatively "weak" now.

In short, starting with the help of Weekly Bunshun, the four-day continuous wave of contract terminations drove the media into a frenzy and gave the onlookers a good show.

Of course, these successive contract terminations, along with the accompanying global public opinion crisis, left Dentsu completely bewildered and disoriented, utterly unsure of how to respond.

Brands, media, public opinion, official agencies, and public protests—all these require Dentsu to deal with and resolve. However, Dentsu, which has only known how to fight when things are going well after years of monopoly, has become like a headless fly in the face of such a headless situation.

Even though Dentsu itself is a slush fund for many of Japan's upper echelons, a platform they use to make and launder money.

Thanks to their efforts in mediation, many long-established Japanese companies and conglomerates have not yet announced the termination of their contracts with Dentsu.

The problem is that if the Dentsu scandal is not resolved in the short term, the public's anger will not be vented, and the public outcry will not be quelled, then these companies, under the pressure of public opinion, probably will not be able to hold on for long.

And then the last day of June arrived.

After a full week of "bottoming out and rebounding" in the Japanese stock market, with a continuous increase of more than 12%, investors were completely caught up in a frenzy.

Many organizations in Japan with close ties to the government finally succumbed to public pressure and, under the influence of Hideki Hanyu's upper echelons, began to sever ties with Dentsu.

Examples include feminist organizations such as the 'Japan Women's Rights Alliance', the Parent-Teacher Association, and the Japan Environmental Association, among other civil society organizations.

Over the weekend, with numerous related organizations speaking out, Dentsu's corporate image and social reputation plummeted under the influence of a series of scandals.

At this moment, no one or company dares to stand up and speak for Dentsu.

Even those people and forces behind Dentsu who have interests in Dentsu would not stand up for Dentsu for the sake of their own future and reputation.

Conversely, a large number of opportunistic public figures began to publicly criticize Dentsu, attempting to use the incident to their own advantage.

At this very moment, Hideki Yuzuru, who had just finished his inspection tour of Taiwan, was lying on a chair on the terrace of Bai Jianshi's mansion, listening to Kaoru Chiba's report while enjoying a massage from Huimin Zhou's soft hands.

"...Mr. Yuzuru, this is the situation. How should I respond to the request from Japan?"

After listening to Chiba Kaoru's report and the questions that followed, Hideki Hanyu fell into deep thought.

Currently, as the "first victory" plan continues to advance, Dentsu is facing increasing contract terminations due to scandals, leading to a desperate situation in public opinion.

Seeing that Dentsu was on the verge of collapse, many people became restless.

Some opportunists and fickle individuals began to secretly collude with his faction, hoping to pledge allegiance to him in advance.

Of course, some people are concerned because this advertising war has had such a wide-ranging impact, affecting not only the normal operation of the Japanese business community but also Japan's international reputation. Therefore, they hope that Storm Advertising and Dentsu can temporarily cease hostilities and sit down to resolve the issue through dialogue.

Faced with this situation, Shota Yoshioka naturally contacted Hideki Hanyu immediately, hoping that Hanyu could offer advice and make a decision.

A moment later, Hideki Hanyu chuckled softly.

"Hehe, judging from Dentsu's current reaction, they are clearly still unwilling to give up and do not want to admit defeat."

I suspect that Dentsu, now that it can't resolve the scandal through normal channels, is already considering finding a scapegoat to silence the media and quell the public outcry.

Upon hearing this, Kaoru Chiba asked with some confusion, "Then why didn't Dentsu find someone to be a scapegoat from the beginning?"

Upon hearing this, Hideki Hanyu gave a mocking look and retorted, "In your eyes, what kind of company is Dentsu?"

"An advertising company?"

Kaoru Chiba tried to answer.

Hideki Yuzuru laughed and said, "You're right, but it's not just an advertising company. First of all, its business is not limited to advertising."

Most importantly, in Japan, a country that claims to be a democratic society and a free economy, a strange monopoly like Dentsu has emerged.

Its market monopoly is not achieved through commercial competition or technological monopoly, but rather through illicit vested interests.

Therefore, in such companies, ability will no longer be the primary criterion for entering senior management.

What they value is background and whether someone is one of their own.

In the current situation, to quell the negative public opinion and anger, it is necessary to select a high-ranking official with sufficient influence.

For Dentsu, this was clearly a very difficult choice.

"So that's it."

Chiba Kaoru nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "So what should we do?"

"We should remain unchanged in the face of all changes and proceed according to our plan."

Then please tell Yoshioka-san that what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table.

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Kaoru Chiba quickly replied, "I understand, Mr. Hanyu."

Kaoru Chiba turned and left to contact the Japanese mainland, leaving only Hideki Hanyu and Emi Zhou on the terrace.

Seeing that Zhou Huimin had fully recovered from childbirth, the scumbag pulled her into his arms and began to fondle her beautiful legs, which he liked the most.

This action immediately reminded Zhou Huimin of the memory of not being able to get a good night's rest after Hideki Hanyu arrived in Hong Kong yesterday.

Then, the beautiful woman, who was already a mother, blushed involuntarily.

The next moment, the scumbag's voice rang out.

"Why is Vivian blushing? Is it because you're thinking about Se Se?"

"No," Zhou Huimin said in a barely audible voice.

"I don't believe it, I have to check it carefully."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, his large hands, with eyes fixed upwards, began to act strangely.

Then, the enchanting voice of a beautiful woman rang out from the terrace.

(End of this chapter)