Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 390 Patience is Key
In the golden autumn of October, the frost-covered forests are ablaze with color.

Takeshita Masato hosted a banquet for the Obuchi family at his mountain villa in his hometown.

"What, you're already thinking of giving up?"

The young man asked in a calm, soft voice, while serving Obuchi Keizo a cup of tea.

Keizo Obuchi accepted the tea and drank it down in one gulp, his tone filled with disappointment.

"Takeshita-senpai prefers Hashimoto-san, so I have no chance."

The Liberal Democratic Party has been out of power for more than two years, so leaders of various factions are getting restless and have begun to recommend faction members with good image and temperament to take over.

The Takeshita Club's main target of promotion has changed from Keizo Obuchi to Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is skilled in kendo, gives people a shrewd and capable impression, and is popular among both men and women.

In fact, not only the Takeshita faction, but the entire Liberal Democratic Party is promoting Ryutaro Hashimoto.

This is because he took a tough stance to protect national interests during negotiations with Japan. And the general public in most countries prefers politicians who are tough on foreign policy but moderate domestically.

As a result, the position of Keizo Obuchi, the original successor of the Takeshita faction and president of the Liberal Democratic Party, has become very awkward.

This year, he even lost his position as chairman of the prefectural federation in his hometown of Gunma Prefecture due to targeting by former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and Yasuo Fukuda, son of former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda.

Rumors began to circulate in his hometown that Obuchi's political career had come to an end.

As a result, Keizo Obuchi has been feeling very down lately, and has even considered retiring from the public eye.

"Are you willing?"

"There's nothing we can do even if we're unwilling; circumstances are always beyond our control."

Which politician wouldn't want to be the prime minister of a country and lead it forward?

He really can't figure out how to defy fate.

Especially a few days ago, when Prime Minister Murayama was preparing to hand over power to Ryutaro Hashimoto, he knew there was no room for maneuver.

"Mr. Hashimoto is a strong-willed person, like a sharp knife. But do you think that a strong-willed approach can solve the problems in the Japanese economy?"

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) still holds a dominant position among Japan's major political parties, but it has lost its former absolute advantage and needs to form a coalition government with other parties.

In such a situation, what is needed is a ruler with flexible tactics, rather than a strong prime minister who is very easy to offend people.

Furthermore, while strong-willed leaders are indeed more likely to ignite public enthusiasm, this enthusiasm is time-limited.

If this continues for a long time, and the public comes to their senses from the initial excitement, they will find that nothing has changed, or even that things have regressed, leading to even more severe backlash.

It can be said that Ryutaro Hashimoto was destined to become a transitional prime minister.

"I don't know, but I do know that both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Takeshita faction are willing to give it a try."

"Indeed, but hardline reformers with too many constraints are destined to fail. Therefore, Senior Obuchi only needs to wait patiently, and you will see the result you are most looking forward to."

Takeshita Masato continued to boost Obuchi Keizo's confidence, constantly encouraging him.

He doesn't want his most important investment within the Liberal Democratic Party to end in failure.

Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, it won't work.

"Alright, then I'll continue to wait for the opportune moment."

Keizo Obuchi took a deep breath and decided to act according to the plan of the young man and his political ally, Hiromu Nonaka.

"Come, have a cup of tea. This is the senior I know, Xiaoyuan."

After calming down Obuchi Keizo, Takeshita Masato took the opportunity to visit Takeshita Noboru.

"Senior, is it really true that Senior Obuchi has no chance of serving in the cabinet?"

Takeshita Noboru did not give a direct answer, but instead asked a question in a low voice.

"Would you allow someone who could threaten your position to lead the Xinghai Group?"

"Alright, it seems that Senior Xiaoyuan will have to wait patiently."

"Yes, Xiaoyuan has really bad luck."

If the Liberal Democratic Party hadn't been ousted from power, given the methods employed by Takeshita Noboru and Obuchi Keizo, he might have become the new prime minister of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Unlike now, where we need to consider both Ryutaro Hashimoto's governing ability and the opposition forces outside the party.

The two sat in silence for a while, and then Takeshita Noboru quietly took out a sweet.

"Don't think about it anymore. Things can't be rushed. But Xiao Yuan is still young, he'll have his chance to make a name for himself in the future."

Keizo Obuchi was his first choice for successor, and even for the sake of the Takeshita school's legacy, he had to push Keizo Obuchi to the position once.

It's impossible for the leader of the largest faction in the Liberal Democratic Party to be barred from becoming prime minister for life.

That would be a huge blow not only to Keizo Obuchi, but also to the Takeshita faction.

"Yes, what Takeshita-senpai said is right."

The young man naturally knew that Keizo Obuchi would rise to prominence sooner or later, and he was even more confident than Noboru Takeshita, one of the behind-the-scenes manipulators of Japanese politics.

His visit was primarily intended to demonstrate the commitment of Liberal Democratic Party politicians such as Takeshita Noboru and Obuchi Keizo, letting them know the Starsea Group's principles.

Even politicians who seem to be failing will continue to receive investment and support.

In this way, even if Xinghai Group encounters difficulties, many political friends are willing to help without harming their own interests, or even if the harm to their own interests is minimal.

In addition, young investor Keizo Obuchi also valued Obuchi's emotional nature.

After Obuchi Keizo came to power, he disregarded opposition from both inside and outside the party and directly placed his less experienced friends in important positions.

Another aide, Hiromu Nonaka, also wielded great power during his tenure.

When one person attains the Tao, the chicken and the dog ascend to heaven.

Despite the turbulent political and economic landscape in Japan, the rapid development of the Xinghai Group remains unaffected.

Even Xinghai Venture Capital, which was previously relatively unknown, rose to prominence with Netscape's IPO and Yahoo's ever-increasing valuation.

Of course, there are also companies that have become a laughing stock worldwide.

Many ignorant people mocked Xinghai Software for abandoning the European and American markets, causing its own products' earning power to shrink by 90%.

In other words, the company is not listed on the stock market. If it were listed, it would probably plummet to the level of a junk stock.

Of course, those within the group know their own affairs, so things are quite calm inside Xinghai Group.

"Have you found out which organization it is?"

The Starsea Operating System incident happened so long ago, so its sudden re-emergence must indicate a problem.

Masato Takeshita naturally wouldn't pretend he hadn't seen anything, and he's been having the company investigate for the past few days.

"President, this is the information we have found so far."

"Wow, that's fast! Let me see."

The young man was very satisfied and prepared to see who had the audacity to act so recklessly.

"A Japanese businessman who lost money and went bankrupt doing business in China?"

"Yes, this is the result after verification from multiple sources."

"This is interesting."

Masato Takeshita is really speechless. Just because his investment in China went bankrupt, he hates Xinghai Group, which has invested the most in China.

It makes no sense, but sometimes reality is just that absurd.

"Is there a solution?" "The propaganda and public relations departments are preparing to use suggestive methods to subtly guide the public to know the truth and arouse the patriotic feelings of the people."

"No, this approach is too vulnerable to domestic backlash and international suppression. Are there any better methods or means?"

Xinghai Group is pursuing an international strategy, so it cannot engage in too much inflammatory propaganda domestically, as this could give its foreign counterparts an opportunity to exploit the situation.

You can do this on the first day of the lunar month, and others can do it on the fifteenth.

"Then we can only find an entertainment star and a company to expose the scandal."

"Let's go with this one. It's an old trick, but it works."

Large corporations that excel at public relations must possess damaging information about other companies or entertainment stars.

If it's a minor matter, then expose the celebrity's dirty secrets to divert everyone's attention.

If it's a big deal, then expose a company's dirty laundry. Food and pharmaceutical companies, in particular, are the easiest to divert the public's attention.

After all, these two things are closely related to people's health, and most people care about them.

"By the way, the companies exposed should not be too large, to avoid serious problems."

"Yes, President!"

Xinghai Group's public relations efforts were very effective, and people quickly stopped caring about the trivial matters of Xinghai Software.

With the public no longer paying attention, Xinghai Group naturally had to take action.

On one hand, they lobby government departments to expedite the sentencing of the bankrupt businessman; on the other hand, they take action against several newspapers and magazines that reported on the matter.

Masato Takeshita could not tolerate the Japanese news media's hateful propaganda against the Xinghai Group.

"We have neglected our communication with the domestic news media industry for some time now, and we cannot repeat the same mistake."

"In this way, we can donate a sum of money to all the news agencies in Japan, big and small, to prevent similar incidents from happening again."

Although it was an undeserved disaster, and Xinghai Group's retaliation was reasonable, some things are just beyond our control.

If Xinghai Group doesn't spend money to appease the media industry, similar hidden dangers will definitely arise.

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman."

After such an incident, Xinghai Group's publicity and public relations department naturally had to be even more careful.

However, many things are beyond human control, and unexpected situations may occur at any time.

We can only try to avoid it as much as possible; completely eliminating it is entirely impossible. Especially with the development of the internet, it's even more impossible.

One wave subsides, another washes over.

Before the Xinghai Software issue could be completely suppressed, Xinghai Hardware encountered another serious problem.

"Didn't Amber and HP give a reason?"

"No, I suspect that manufacturers from Taiwan stole our orders."

Xinghai Hardware, which mainly produces computer components such as mice, keyboards, and motherboards, has always had Taiwanese companies of the same type as its biggest competitors.

These companies have tried to poach Xinghai Hardware's employees multiple times, but Xinghai Hardware has always managed to thwart their attempts.

There must have been some serious political issue this time for the two major computer manufacturers to cancel all orders without even asking any questions.

"Is that so? It seems that Washington has put in some effort."

The United States is strongly supporting Taiwan's electronics and semiconductor industries, and naturally cannot allow Taiwanese manufacturers to become peripheral companies in this field.

IBM and Xinghai Group have a good relationship, and Dell has received a lot of investment from Xinghai Group, so HP and Amber are naturally easier to manipulate.

"The chairman is right, but we don't know what price they paid."

"What other price could there be? Accepting Amber and HP's investment."

Amber and HP wouldn't act for some vague American interest; there must be a greater incentive to tempt them.

If IBM weren't so large and powerful, and weren't no longer pursuing diversified expansion, it's estimated that IBM would have given up on hardware procurement from Xinghai.

Soon, Masato Takeshita's guess was confirmed. HP and Amber acquired stakes in ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI in Taiwan.

After the information was confirmed, Masato Takeshita visited Xinghai Hardware again.

"Don't worry, Mr. Gao. The company plans to launch Xinghai Computer next year. Although it won't be able to completely make up for the lost market share, it will be able to supplement it."

The absence of HP and Amber left Xinghai Technology with no more concerns about entering the computer industry.

As long as Xinghai Computer does not enter the US market on a large scale, American computer companies will not have much of an opinion on this.

As for NEC and Fujitsu in China, there's not much they can do even if they object.

Because these two companies do not follow Xinghai Hardware's route for computer components; they conduct their own research and development and production.

"Yes, President!"

Yoshiaki Takayama felt a little relieved, and from then on, Xinghai's hardware was basically guaranteed.

I just don't know how many Xinghai computers can sell. If it's too few, it's better not to have any at all.

"Also, do some research on computer companies in China. If you find a suitable one, you can invest in it."

American computer companies are too expensive to invest in, but it's different in China.

Even Lenovo, the leading domestic computer company in China, doesn't have a high market value compared to Xinghai Hardware.

"Yes, Chairman, I will make the time to conduct the investigation."

"Yes, we must pay attention to this. If we can capture the Chinese market in the future, even if all American computer companies are taken over by Taiwan, we will still be the industry leader."

"Yes, understand."

Xinghai Hardware suffered a blow, and its performance this year is expected to decline, but this will not affect the business of its parent company, Xinghai Technology.

This is because Xinghai Technology's two flagship subsidiaries, Xinghai Electronics and Xinghai Chip, have both seen significant improvements in their performance this year.

Among them, Xinghai Electronics successfully broke through the $160 mark in revenue by relying on mobile phone built-in antennas, flip phones, and miscellaneous small businesses.

Xinghai Chip also achieved a revenue of over 40 billion yuan thanks to the support of its own various businesses and a small portion of procurement from external sources.

While still a ways off from Intel's revenue of over $150 billion, it has come a significant step closer.

In addition, Xinghai Technology's subsidiaries, Xinghai Wafer and Xinghai Manufacturing, have also experienced significant growth.

However, these two companies are somewhat like left-hand to right-hand, mainly undertaking their own business.

If we want to go further in the future, we will need to connect with businesses outside the company.

Xinghai Manufacturing has a relatively strong advantage in this regard, as investing more in construction in China can attract more customers.

Because the main expense in manufacturing is wages, and no country can compete with China in this area.

Countries with lower wages than China are experiencing political instability, while countries with higher wages than China face higher costs. Naturally, the only option is China.

However, other construction sites also knew this, so they all invested in building factories in China.

For example, Motorola established an electronics manufacturing base in Tianjin early on.

Another example is Nokia, a rising star, which also invested in building factories in cities and counties next to the special economic zone.

If Xinghai Manufacturing wants to get more orders from outside, it can only take on more small customers who are unable to build factories in China.

As for Xinghai Wafer, it is relatively more difficult and will test the management ability of Zhang Rujing, the president of the second wafer company.

(End of this chapter)