Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 380 The Murayama Conversation
Time passed by unnoticed, and it was now August 15, 1995.

That evening, instead of spending time with his lover and children, Masato Takeshita turned on the television in his bedroom to watch the day's domestic news.

Because this day marks the 50th anniversary of the victory against fascism, news that will have a global impact will emerge.

He wanted to witness this historic moment with his own eyes.

"So, it's really coming?"

When the young man saw Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, a member of the Socialist Party, take the stage, he unconsciously sat up straight.

"Not long ago, our country made a mistake in its national policy and embarked on the path of war, plunging the people into a life-or-death crisis."

"At the same time, colonial rule and aggression brought immense suffering and disaster to the people of many countries, especially those in Asia."

"Japan should humbly accept this undeniable historical fact and once again express its deep remorse and heartfelt apology."

"At the same time, we should also express our deepest condolences to all those at home and abroad who suffered during this period of history..."

Masato Takeshita was filled with emotion and felt immense respect for Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.

The world has waited far too long for this formal apology to the people of Asian countries.

If Prime Minister Murayama hadn't apologized despite pressure from both the Japanese government and opposition, it's estimated that no Japanese prime minister in future generations would have been the first to fulfill this mission.

It's important to understand that for the current Japanese prime minister, publicly acknowledging the aggression and issuing an apology on television would be tantamount to political suicide.

Even a brilliant politician like Kakuei Tanaka didn't have the courage to be a pioneer.

"What a good prime minister who cared about the country and its people, what a pity."

Tomiichi Murayama's formal apology laid the foundation for Japan's future diplomatic tone, allowing Japan to continue to survive on the backs of development in Asia.

However, as a member of the Socialist Party, he was utterly incapable of running a coalition government with the Liberal Democratic Party.

There's nothing we can do; the Socialist Party is a minority party.

His proposed policies are destined to fail due to obstruction from the Liberal Democratic Party.

This Murayama Statement was his final swan song as prime minister.

Of course, the Great Hanshin Earthquake at the beginning of the year was also a difficult hurdle that shortened his prime ministerial career.

If it weren't for this major earthquake, Prime Minister Murayama could probably have held on for a while longer.

It can only be said that neither the location nor the people were on the old man's side.

In addition to apologizing and reflecting on his actions, Mr. Murayama also mentioned the issue of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan.

He was very worried about the current political chill and economic warmth between China and Japan.

"Well said. A cold political climate with a hot economy is indeed a very serious problem."

The subsequent decline of Japanese products in the Chinese market was largely due to the cooling of political relations between the two countries.

Without political upheavals, Japan's television dramas, movies, and animation industries would not have been severely restricted in China, which in turn fueled the rapid rise of the Korean Wave.

In terms of industry, there are even more issues. The rightward shift in the overall situation in Japan has severely impacted trade between the two countries.

South Korean companies seized this opportunity and successfully captured the market share vacated by Japanese companies.

If it weren't for the negative impact of Japan's domestic politics, Japan might have been able to alleviate domestic pressure and achieve normal economic growth by leveraging China's development.

In this way, there will be no economic loss of thirty years; at most, it will be twenty or twenty-five years.

What a shame.

East Asian countries should live in peace and develop together in order to better cope with the various pressures from European and American countries, especially the United States.

As for those comments about Japan being willing to be a lapdog, anyone with a little political knowledge knows they are laughable.

Since Kakuei Tanaka, Japan has been constantly trying to reduce the influence of the United States.

First they invested in South Korea and Taiwan, and later in Southeast Asia and China.

Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn in Japan and the pressure of the United States' unipolar world order, it has never been able to achieve its goal.

First, Southeast Asia suffered from the financial machinations of the United States. Major Japanese banks and manufacturing companies suffered heavy losses.

China fared slightly better, but it was still unable to maintain the situation and ultimately suffered a complete defeat.

Not only is the semiconductor chip industry, which represents the future, in a slump, but the electronics industry, which is its core competency, has also suffered a near-total defeat.

The country that once dominated the global electronics market now only has upstream raw material processing and a few other sectors like automobiles that can still hold its own.

When the mobile internet era arrived, people even started to travel for economic reasons.

It's important to understand that tourism is not a good pillar industry; it's difficult for either a country or a city to reach its peak by relying on it.

Taking countries as an example, those that the EU heavily promotes for tourism, such as Italy and Spain, do not have very good economies.

As for France, another major tourist destination, its main focus is on industry and high technology.

The same is true in Asia; Southeast Asian countries that heavily promote tourism have generally not developed well.

Cities are easier to spot.

Taking China as an example, the most well-known cities with tourism as their mainstay are probably Sanya and Zhuhai.

As a result, these two cities can only achieve the best of both worlds: small and beautiful.

In other words, a good economy can only be achieved by maintaining a low population size.

Once the population expands, the economy will inevitably decline rapidly.

It can be said that the tourism industry is a good supplement to a country or a city, but it cannot be regarded as a pillar industry.

Countless thoughts flashed through Masato Takeshita's mind, but in the end he said nothing, staring blankly at the television in silence for a long time.

He didn't come to his senses until the TV program ended, and he sighed heavily.

"Sigh, I really don't want this conscience of the Japanese people to step down like this."

The young man was unwilling to accept this, but he was powerless to change anything.

Of course, in this life, Takeshita Masato still gave Murayama Tomiichi a lot of support.

Thanks to his personal influence, only half of the Liberal Democratic Party members did not participate in this Murayama Statement.

You should know that in the previous life, this number was more than two-thirds.

It's clear how much pressure Mr. Tomiichi Murayama was under during this conversation.

Tomiichi Murayama's speech was brief, yet it had a tremendous impact both domestically and internationally.

Major Asian media outlets broadcast the conversation and gave it high praise.

Even Japanese domestic media, apart from Fuji Television, have given positive reviews to varying degrees.

Among them, Nippon Television, controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun Group, received slightly more praise.

TV Asahi and TBS, on the other hand, gave it high praise.

TBS Television, in particular, under the influence of the Seikai Group, elevated this speech to an even higher level, calling it Japan's number one speech.

Xinghai Group has grown up and no longer needs to cower in the background. It can now clearly express the group's political stance.

Masato Takeshita was watching the news, as were many leaders and employees of the Xinghai Group.

Upon witnessing this groundbreaking speech, Shingo Ando of Xinghai Foods, who was having a drink with friends, couldn't help but gape.

"You're really outspoken. What do you think, Mr. Nishi?"

In 1990s Japan, public participation in politics was quite high. Later, participation declined year by year because people felt hopeless about everything.

Whether it's economics or politics, even if you participate, you can't change anything.

Thousands of words can ultimately be condensed into four words.

Let's not talk about state affairs!

"Of course I support it; the prime minister should have apologized long ago."

Masato Takeshita's left-leaning political stance naturally influenced the entire company.

Putting aside everything else, the fact that people with left-leaning political ideologies are given priority in promotion is enough to change the political landscape of the Xinghai Group.

The King of Chu favored slender waists, and many starved to death in the palace.

Those in positions of power wield significant influence over areas they can control.

"That's right, if they had apologized earlier, there wouldn't have been so many messy attacks."

Within the Star Sea Group, the Prime Minister's apology was mostly well-received. While other places may not have reached the same level as the Star Sea Group, the overall evaluation was generally positive.

Because when the economy is doing relatively well, most people tend to be more virtuous and are willing to apologize for past mistakes.

This is also the basis of the Murayama Statement, which has the support of the people.

However, this support from the public needs to be questioned.

If the Seikai Group can change the fate of Japan's long-term economic stagnation, then this support will expand.

If not, and the Japanese economy remains stagnant as it was in the previous life, then the domestic situation will become a balance of power between the left and right.

Everything seems fine at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it's actually not quite right.

Unlike the left, the right is more united.

In a situation where the forces are evenly matched, those who fight individually will only be defeated one by one.

The reason why Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, a member of the Socialist Party representing the left, cooperated with the Liberal Democratic Party was because the divided left side was marginalizing the Socialist Party.

He can only realize his political ideals by cooperating with the Liberal Democratic Party. He is willing to accept the collapse of the party.

As for the right to completely overwhelm the left, the national economy would need to collapse completely, and Japan is not at that point yet.

The next morning, Masato Takeshita gave Miho Uchida new instructions.

"Notify all company leaders at the department head level and above to attend a general meeting on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the large conference room on the fifth floor."

"Yes, President!"

Miho Uchida had some vague suspicions about today's meeting, but she had no intention of revealing them.

The best path for a secretary-general to succeed is to honestly and diligently perform their duties.

Time always flies by, and the day of the meeting will soon arrive.

Before the meeting started, the management of Xinghai Group speculated about the meeting's content with their acquaintances sitting next to them.

"I think it must be the Prime Minister's speech some time ago. It seems like this is the only major event that has happened recently."

"I think so too. The day after the Prime Minister's speech, we were notified to have a meeting."

"Yes, but I don't know what the president's attitude is now."

"Duh, of course we support it! Look at the reports from the Mainichi Shimbun and TBS TV, are you still so clueless?"

The vast majority of Xinghai Group's senior executives are aware of their chairman's political leanings.

Only a few politically insensitive individuals and a very small number of newly arrived high-ranking officials are unaware of this.

Therefore, a tacit understanding was quickly formed among everyone during the discussion.

Today's meeting is expected to be a conference of ideological integration. From now on, the company will more unequivocally support the voice of peace.

At 3 p.m., Masato Takeshita leisurely arrived at the podium.

He first greeted everyone, and then got straight to the point.

"I personally agree with Prime Minister Murayama's remarks. If you make a mistake, you should admit it. There's no need to be vague and cause misunderstandings."

"From now on, our company will also clearly express its stance. If you do not agree with the company's actions, you can choose to leave the company."

At this point, Masato Takeshita paused slightly.

He then slowly scanned the surroundings until everyone felt uneasy, before continuing to speak the harshest words in the gentlest language.

"However, if I find out that anyone is outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, then don't blame the company for being ruthless."

Japan's lifetime employment system is gradually disintegrating, and firing an employee who does not conform to the company's ideology no longer has a serious social impact.

Besides, there's no need to fire him; just transfer him to sub-Saharan Africa for development, and he probably wouldn't be able to hold on.

Of course, there are exceptions to everything.

If that person has top-notch technical skills, even if their ideas don't align with their wishes, they can only grit their teeth and accept it.

All ideas must give way to the company's technological advancement.

"Some people might complain in their hearts, while others might disagree."

"But what I want to say is that the company's ultimate development path is the Three Rings World."

The young man then began to explain what his Three Rings World was.

The first link, naturally, is Japan itself.

However, although this market is the foundation of Xinghai Group's development, its global share is destined to shrink year by year.

Even if Masato Takeshita reverses Japan's economic stagnation, the situation will remain the same.

Because the economic growth rate of developed countries lags behind that of developing countries, even if their economic weight increases relatively, their share of the world economy will shrink.

The second link is the huge Chinese market.

Xinghai Group primarily develops basic industries related to clothing, food, housing, and transportation, as well as high-tech industries such as electronics, semiconductors, and the internet.

China will be a major hub for these industries, and Xinghai Group must be deeply involved.

Adhering to the Murayama Talks thus became a kind of inevitability.

The third link is the United States and the European Union.

These two American victors, who only suffered losses in Hawaii, paid little attention to the specific ideas of the Japanese.

As long as the situation in China doesn't occur, then nothing else matters.

The EU is too far away, and with so much time having passed, it no longer pays attention to changes in Japanese thinking.

After explaining what the Three-Ring Development Route was, Masato Takeshita's voice rose again.

"China may not seem very prominent at this time, but if we pay attention to the development history of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan after the war, we will find that China at this time is roughly equivalent to Japan in the 1950s and 1960s."

"The per capita level is very low, but the growth rate is extremely rapid. It is estimated that in another twenty years or so, it will reach the current level of our country."

"Everyone can easily imagine how huge the Chinese market will be at that time."

"Therefore, we cannot afford to offend China, especially Chinese users. Because in the future, the Chinese electronics market will be larger than the combined market of the US, Japan, and Europe."

"With such a large population, the sales of electronic products will naturally become more and more exaggerated."

(End of this chapter)