Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 338 Change Begins with Me

"Yes, introducing you to Uno-senpai is the most successful business deal I've ever done in my life."

"Without your help, I don't know what would have happened to my sales performance."

Ichiro Haneda was filled with emotion.

He never imagined that his junior from elementary school, who initially only had a patent for a rolling suitcase, would be able to develop the company into a massive conglomerate that surpasses giants like Sony and Panasonic in less than 10 years.

The key point is that this junior is very sentimental and doesn't forget his roots. After he became capable, he continued to give back to those who helped him.

It's important to understand that people generally don't feel as much emotion towards those who help them, but they tend to be more emotional towards those they've helped.

"Not at all, senior, you flatter me. It's all what I should do."

"It is through our unity that we Waseda University students have been able to maintain our status as one of the two leading private universities."

Masato Takeshita initially had only tens of millions of yen in funds, besides a patent for a suitcase.

If it weren't for the help of three senior students, including Ichiro Haneda, it's hard to say how long it would have taken to grow and thrive.

Besides, the fact that he was able to speak with Uno Noriyuki on equal terms back then was partly due to their shared university background, but also because he was leveraging Haneda Ichiro's influence.

Haneda Ichiro agreed with his junior's words, nodding slightly and saying, "Indeed, in terms of unity, we far surpass the University of Tokyo and Keio University."

Although Waseda University is one of the two leading private universities, in its early stages, its reputation in Japan was slightly inferior to that of Keio University.

Later, through unity, they were able to barely contend with Tokyo University politically and Keio University economically.

While none of its individual strengths are the absolute best, it has at least earned the right to be on par with Keio University in terms of overall strength.

It was precisely because Waseda University was more united that he dared to take a patent to Industrial Bank for a loan.

Of course, his willingness to do this was also related to the information he possessed.

Even without a rolling suitcase, he could have risen rapidly through his financial ventures and other inventions.

If all else fails, I can simply leave Japan and move to the United States to develop my career.

Speaking of his alma mater, Ichiro Haneda couldn't help but ask, "I heard that you donated another new library to the school?"

"Yes, I've donated to both the public Tokyo First Polytechnic and the private Waseda and Keio Universities."

"I see. As expected of my junior, you are meticulous in everything you do."

"Forehead……"

Takeshita Masato was a little speechless; he hadn't expected to be praised for something like this. But being praised did feel good; no wonder his senior was so well-informed.

Perhaps the senior student realized he had gone a bit too far, so he ate his food to cover it up and then asked a casual, aimless question.

"Junior, you're so rich, when can you help the school set up a medical school?"

“When I meet with my colleagues from Keio University, people sometimes make fun of us about the medical school.”

The lack of a medical school is a perpetual regret for Waseda University students.

Generation after generation of Waseda University principals have tried to solve this problem.

"If there's no good opportunity, I can give it a push when the chance comes."

Young people are very interested in helping their alma mater improve its departments and faculties.

However, he also needs to gain something from this, such as permanently imprinting the Takeshita family's name on Waseda University.

Simply put, their family wants to own a portion of Waseda's shares.

Although the non-profit nature of the school will not directly bring benefits to Masato Takeshita, he can arrange for his own people to work at Waseda University after the family grows and expands, thereby further enhancing the influence of the Seikai Group.

"Yes, there's always a lack of good opportunities."

There was no need to talk about unhappy things during the meal, and the two quickly ended the topic.

"Junior Takeshita, do you think Tadashi Yanai's Uniqlo is worth investing in?"

"He's gone after Industrial Bank?"

Although he had the opportunity to gain an early advantage in business during his previous life, Tadashi Yanai still managed to develop Uniqlo into a very successful company.

The scale of the business and its growth rate are even faster than in the previous life.

This is normal, though, because in this life, Yanai Tadashi has been invested in by the Xinghai Group and has a lot of resources from the Xinghai Group to help him.

Yes, Xinghai Group not only develops its own apparel industry, but also invests in a large number of high-quality apparel companies, including Uniqlo.

This is also the practice of many established companies.

We need to develop our own business, but we can't miss out on external opportunities.

Like Tencent Games, it has its own game studios and also invests in game companies such as Ubisoft.

"Yes, they do seem to be inviting Industrial Bank to invest."

"As you know, I was optimistic about Uniqlo's development model a long time ago, and I had the company invest in Uniqlo."

"As for your Industrial Bank's ideas, I can't make the decision."

When it comes to matters involving large sums of money, even the closest friends shouldn't get involved.

What if something unexpected happens and we lose money?

He can only share his own investment philosophy; whether his friends listen or not is his business.

Of course, it would be even better if you also resent yourself for this.

You can see a person more clearly and then never see them again.

"I see. I'll think about it some more."

Thinking of his junior's brilliant achievements, Ichiro Haneda wanted to make a fortune and improve his own status in the company.

But considering that anything can happen, I felt that this was too reckless.

"Okay, let's take a compromise approach."

Having made up his mind, Ichiro Haneda showed a calm and composed expression.

“I’ve decided to hand the matter over to Senior Toyoshima and then act according to his instructions.”

"That's fine too. We can't get all the credit, but we can get the most credit."

Being the first to make contributions is actually quite good. Ichiro Haneda was promoted early on because of his outstanding contribution in investing in Xinghai Group, surpassing many of his colleagues.

Now he is the branch manager of the Kawasaki branch of Industrial Bank, a promotion that has been incredibly fast.

"I think so."

Haneda Ichiro smiled, and then brought up another major event in the Japanese stock market recently.

"SoftBank is preparing for an IPO. Are you interested, junior?"

"Masayoshi Son's SoftBank?"

"That's right, our company also secured a portion of the stock underwriting rights, and we can sell you up to one-third of it."

“Sure, just contact Mr. Jiaben of Xinghai Capital and tell him I want to buy.”

Young people are naturally interested in Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, one of the few new companies that rose to prominence after the bubble economy.

He had actually wanted to invest in SoftBank for a long time, but because SoftBank had deep ties with conglomerates such as Mitsui and Itochu, he had not taken any action.

Now that SoftBank is going public, Starsea Group has an opportunity.

"It seems that Takeshita is very optimistic about SoftBank's development."

"I actually favor Cisco more; Xinghai Group is a major shareholder of Cisco."

SoftBank Group's early rise was mainly due to its role as a distributor of Cisco routers in Japan.

However, unlike many sales agency companies, he later successfully led the group to transform into the Internet communications field.

"So that's how it is. Cisco is indeed a high-quality asset."

Every investor hopes that their investment target can achieve a monopoly, and Cisco is now a small giant that monopolizes the router market.

"By the way, isn't your company planning to retain some shares?"

"He will probably stay. There are many people within the company who are optimistic about SoftBank's development. Masayoshi Son is a genius and deserves our trust."

"He's really a genius; he could earn millions of dollars in college."

Masayoshi Son's early career story is very similar to Lei Jun's. Both made a lot of money while in college, and both started their own businesses after graduation only to lose everything.

The only difference is that Lei Jun chose to join a company to hone his skills, while Son Masayoshi chose to start a new business.

After all, Lei Jun's personality is more conservative, while Masayoshi Son is radical and bold.

After his first entrepreneurial failure, Lei Jun's bravest move was probably founding Xiaomi.

Even when he founded Xiaomi, he did so only after conducting thorough research and feeling confident that it was a sure thing.

Masayoshi Son is different; his style of doing things is full of adventurous spirit.

Often, assets can skyrocket this month and plummet to zero the next, resulting in dramatic ups and downs.

It can be said that, worldwide, Masayoshi Son's investment style is absolutely the most aggressive.

"Yes, I don't understand the world of geniuses."

After speaking, Ichiro Haneda glanced at the junior student next to him.

Compared to Masayoshi Son, Takeshita is the true chosen one.

"I don't know either. You know me; my grades in school were just average."

Young people are of average ability, and getting into Waseda University depends more on hard work than on natural talent.

Of course, compared to most ordinary people, he does have some talent.

However, they are no match for the geniuses from Tsinghua, Peking University, or Southeast University.

Even many Chinese undergraduates have higher IQs than him.

Of course, undergraduates are talking about the present, not the future.

The quality of undergraduate students in China today is at least at the level of a mid-tier 211 university.

The number of students admitted is too small; college graduates are mostly highly skilled professionals.

“Academic performance can only be assessed at a certain stage. It is even more rare to find someone like my junior who only showed amazing talent after graduation.”

"The Prime Minister I admire most, Tanaka, was only a primary school graduate."

"Prime Minister Tanaka only graduated from elementary school, but his talent far surpasses that of ordinary people."

Kakuei Tanaka lived in a special era; if it were today, he would at least be at the Waseda University level.

The two chatted for a while, and unconsciously started talking about the Japanese economy again.

When do you think the Japanese economy will recover?

"I don't know, it may take some more time."

"That's it."

Ichiro Haneda understood; his junior was not optimistic about Japan's resurgence.

Indeed, the international and domestic environment is not friendly to Japan, making it extremely difficult to recover.

Of course, Japan is not without its own opportunities.

If we can take advantage of China's development and get on the right track, we still have a chance to get out of our current predicament.

After asking the big questions, Ichiro Haneda then talked about emerging industries that he was very interested in.

"Xinghai Technology is developing so well, when do you plan to go public?"

"I haven't decided yet; it will probably take a few more years."

The fact that Xinghai Group is not a publicly listed company will be a powerful weapon for Masato Takeshita. He will use it to acquire more assets that are less likely to decline due to technological changes.

However, the timing is not right now, and we need to wait patiently.

"Okay, when you're preparing for the IPO, you must include our company."

"I know, don't worry."

The two companies have always had a pleasant working relationship, so the young man was naturally not foolish enough to refuse.

Since it's the same no matter who you give it to, you should naturally give it to someone you're closer to.

There was so much to talk about in terms of economics, but the sluggish domestic market gradually dampened their enthusiasm.

"Hey, junior."

"Well, what?"

Takeshita Masato raised an eyebrow, looking at his friend whose expression had suddenly become serious with a puzzled expression.

Will Xinghai Group conduct large-scale recruitment this year?

"Probably, but the main positions will be geared towards STEM fields."

Xinghai Group currently has a large number of scientific research projects to carry out, such as LCD screens, LED technology, communication manufacturing, lithography machines, etc., and is in dire need of science and engineering talents.

As for humanities positions, although they are not yet saturated, the number of openings is only one-fifth of that for science and engineering positions.

We will only recruit more liberal arts talents once a large number of projects developed by Xinghai Group are launched on the market.

After all, the products produced ultimately need to be sold. And in these fields, people with humanities backgrounds are often more specialized.

Of course, this applies to countries like the US, Europe, and Japan.

If it were an engineering-focused country like China, science and engineering would have the advantage in every aspect.

"What's wrong? Is there something you need?"

Takeshita Masato was puzzled as to why his senior would suddenly be concerned about college students' employment.

Even Xinghai Group could only offer limited assistance in this matter.

"It's nothing, I just thought about how many junior students can't find suitable jobs after graduation, and I wanted to help them out."

"It's difficult. The overall environment is bad, and even a few companies can't change it."

Xinghai Group has indeed helped many college graduates, but it can only help increase the employment rate by 3%.

Of course, if we include the supply chain companies that rely on Xinghai Group for their livelihood, Xinghai Group made an 8% contribution.

From the perspective of a single company, it is indeed very large.

However, the rise of Xinghai Group will also suppress the development of similar domestic enterprises.

Therefore, overall, the employment rate of Japanese university graduates only increased by 4 percentage points.

Although it was a very good result, it still couldn't salvage the current situation.

"Yes, we still need to improve overall."

Although he couldn't understand why his senior had suddenly become so melancholic, he still smiled and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Don't worry, except for a few who really don't want to work, most of our graduates can find decent jobs."

In the previous Japanese university student unemployment crisis, only two groups suffered the most.

One group consists of highly educated master's and doctoral students, while the other group consists of graduates from less prestigious universities.

As one of Japan's top private universities, Waseda University offers graduates an average undergraduate degree, which at least guarantees them a job at a mid-level company.

As for the big companies, they really have to rely on luck these days.

Most companies are cutting costs, and reducing hiring is one of the most important measures.

"It's not as optimistic as you think. Many people now have no choice but to take the postgraduate entrance exam."

"That's good too. Our company is currently in dire need of PhD students."

In my past life, taking the postgraduate entrance exam in Japan was a one-way street, but in this life, the Xinghai Group can improve things a lot.

Xinghai Group has no shortage of undergraduates, but it really lacks higher-level graduate and doctoral students.

Of course, those who are merely pretending to be competent will still be eliminated, just like in the previous life.

The enrollment of master's and doctoral students has expanded too rapidly, increasing three to four times in just a few years, resulting in a large number of students with poor academic performance.

Therefore, apart from a few top private schools, Xinghai Group only recruits master's and doctoral students from public schools.

The quality speaks for itself.

(End of this chapter)