Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 444 The First One, Taken Down
"I'm not worried about the currency collapsing; I'm worried about the chain reaction that a stock market crash will cause."

Takeshita Noboru shook his head, a worried look in his eyes.

He has always been an observer, and his understanding is clearer than that of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.

Japan's financial sector is extremely fragile; any further disturbance to the Nikkei could easily trigger a widespread collapse.

After all, many bank loans are secured by Nikkei stocks.

If the price drops too much, banks will only be able to recover a small portion of the principal, let alone the interest.

As a result, bad debts will rise again.

"This……"

Ryutaro Hashimoto quickly realized what was happening, but simply realizing it wasn't enough. The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan simply wouldn't cooperate with his financial reforms, not even in the face of a crisis.

No bank's leadership is willing to risk imprisonment to comply with government reforms until the very last moment.

"Sigh, all we can do is try our best in these situations."

Takeshita Noboru didn't have a good solution to this problem either; financial reform would mean sacrificing the interests of countless people.

Let alone Hashimoto Ryutaro, a non-factional prime minister, even if Takeshita Noboru personally intervened, it wouldn't end well.

If we don't reform when the financial environment deteriorates to a certain extent, we will really die.

Only politicians within the Liberal Democratic Party, civil servants from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, and bank management will choose the path of reform.

We haven't reached that dead end yet, so no matter what reforms Prime Minister Hashimoto wants to make to Japan's financial system, it will be difficult to achieve his goals.

"Yeah, I know, but I still want to give it a shot."

Prime Minister Hashimoto is fond of kendo and is known as the "Swordsman Prime Minister." Although he knows the future is uncertain, he will continue to persevere for the sake of his beliefs.

He is willing to take on challenges, no matter how great the storms ahead.

Takeshita Noboru was pleased to see Prime Minister Hashimoto full of fighting spirit again; he needed subordinates like this to support the development of his faction.

“Very good, then let’s take Yamaichi Securities as a starting point and try our best to persuade Mr. Masato to cooperate with our actions.”

Takeshita Noboru decided to do everything in his power to persuade Xinghai Group to take over Yamaichi Securities.

"I understand, thank you, sir."

"No, it's all what I should do."

Takeshita Noboru was already an old man, and his energy was waning. After the two finished discussing business, Prime Minister Hashimoto found a suitable excuse to leave.

As he watched the Prime Minister leave, Takeshita Noboru couldn't help but mutter to himself with emotion.

"You can't deny getting old, it seems the day has come for me to step down from my position."

Of course, he was just expressing his feelings. If he were to actually relinquish his position as faction leader, it would take him at least two years.

After resting for about half an hour, Takeshita Noboru finally dialed Takeshita Masato's private phone number.

"Huh, it's Takeshita-senpai?"

Takeshita Masato was surprised because Takeshita Noboru rarely made private phone calls to him.

Even if something happens, it's usually done through a secretary informing another secretary.

"Hmm, something big must have happened."

While thinking, Takeshita Masato quickly answered the phone and greeted the caller respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Takeshita-senpai."

"Hmm, hehe, is there something you need, senior?"

"How can that be? If you have time, I can go over tonight."

Takeshita Noboru said on the phone that he would take the initiative to visit him, but the young man naturally could not agree.

That would be extremely rude.

As a junior, it would be better for him to take the initiative.

As for why it can be done tonight?

The reason is simple: the two families are neighbors who live not far apart, so it is easy to visit each other.

"Ok, no problem."

"Okay, see you tonight. Takeshita-senpai, you go ahead and get busy."

After hanging up the phone, Masato Takeshita walked to the window and looked at the bustling traffic outside.

A little while later, he started muttering to himself with his eyes glazed over.

"I don't know if it's domestic or international; I need to trouble a senior to come and ask me for help?"

After asking himself a question, the young man quickly answered it.

"Yes, it should be domestically. Soros's attack hasn't had a significant impact on Japan yet, but the chaos in the domestic financial sector is alarming."

Japan's financial sector has far too many bad debts and non-performing loans. The investigation has only just begun, and all four major securities firms have already run into problems, as has Dai-Ichi Kangyo, one of Japan's top banks.

If we delve deeper, the entire Japanese financial sector will likely be turned upside down.

However, no country has dared to expose such a thing yet.

After all, every country's financial industry will face such a situation when it develops to a certain stage.

The City of London and Wall Street in New York City are both rife with fraudulent accounting and organized crime.

"But chaos is good, chaos is a ladder to progress."

Although he didn't know exactly why Takeshita-senpai had contacted him, he could guess the general idea.

It's simply because they see that Xinghai Group is wealthy and want them to help domestic financial institutions.

Xinghai Group happens to have gaps in banking and securities, two of the four major financial sectors, and its insurance business only involves its own employees, indicating significant growth potential.

He was already eager to acquire the high-quality assets of financial institutions that still had assets, as well as some of the assets of insolvent financial institutions.

Just like the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Nomura Securities quickly became one of the world's top stock exchanges after acquiring its high-quality assets in the Asia-Pacific and European regions.

Seikai Group's ambitions are not as great as Nomura Securities'; at present, it only wants to become Japan's leading financial giant.

This is a private family dinner, so Sister Quanshui will be going along too.

However, while the two were discussing serious matters, Izumi-nee and Grandma Takeshita soon went to a place away from the study to chat about gossip.

"Senior, is it about finance?"

"Yes, it was Prime Minister Hashimoto who asked me to contact you."

Although the two were not close friends despite their age difference, they shared a stronger bond of mutual interests. Therefore, their conversation was very casual, and Takeshita Noboru readily revealed the person in question.

He then added further details.

"Of course, there are also personal factors involved here. I also want to talk to you about financial matters."

"Yes, no problem, please go ahead, Chairman."

Although he had some doubts about Hashimoto Ryutaro's abilities, since the promised Changxin Bank was nowhere to be found.

But it doesn't matter, things are completely different now than in 1996. The Japanese financial sector will soon be on the verge of collapse under pressure from both internal and external forces.

As long as an organization doesn't want to go bankrupt, it has no choice but to agree to Xinghai Group's demands.

"The thing is like this..."

Takeshita Noboru naturally agreed, and carefully recounted the matter of Yamaichi Securities, before asking hopefully at the end.

"How about it, is it okay?"

“No problem. Yamaichi Securities is one of the best companies in the Japanese financial industry. Our Xinghai Group is naturally happy to take it over.”

Unlike other financial institutions in Japan, Yamaichi Securities had positive assets until the day it announced its voluntary bankruptcy.

In other words, Shan Yi Securities does not need to go bankrupt and can continue operating.

Unfortunately, the conglomerates did not back it up, and the government, considering public opinion, was unwilling to take on this hot potato.

As a result, Yamaichi Securities, whose assets were still quite healthy, was driven to bankruptcy. This was the most valuable asset in the market, and Masato Takeshita was naturally eager to acquire it.

"So soon? Aren't you going to reconsider?"

Takeshita Noboru's mind didn't quite register it, and he blurted it out instantly.

"To be honest, our Xinghai Group has been paying close attention to the Japanese financial industry. We are very familiar with the situation of Yamaichi Securities."

Under the leadership of young people, Xinghai Group is definitely one of the world's most financially astute groups.

As early as when Nomura Securities was in trouble, the company began to conduct in-depth investigations into various documents.

When First Industrial Bank also encountered illegal issues, the senior management of Xinghai Group held repeated meetings to discuss whether there was an opportunity to get involved.

Groups without bank backing always make people feel insecure.

If anything happens to the group, there's no way to save it.

While the four major securities firms may not be as prominent as top banks, they are still financial giants capable of managing assets worth tens of trillions of yen.

Once Xinghai Group acquires the company, its ability to withstand risks will be further enhanced.

"As expected of Xinghai Group. Rest assured, with me here, I will definitely help your company achieve its goals."

With his baby face, Takeshita Noboru was very domineering at this moment, and told the young man very decisively that he would definitely achieve his wish.

The reason is simple: he is Takeshita Noboru, the leader of the largest faction within the Liberal Democratic Party and the most powerful and influential person in Japan.

Let alone a single securities firm, he could leverage even the most prestigious financial institutions with his full effort.

However, even now, there is no one worth doing this for.

Of course, transactions must be based on equality.

If he tries to seize something by trickery or force, no major financial institution will give him that kind of face.

"Yes, thank you, Takeshita-senpai. I'll leave the rest to you now."

With the full support of the Takeshita faction, senior executives of Yamaichi Securities arrived at the Xinghai Group headquarters within a few days.

"President Nozawa, this way please!"

Seeing this chairman, Masato Takeshita couldn't help but think of the expression on his face when he announced the voluntary closure of Yamaichi Securities, and the expression on his face when he cried while looking for jobs for his employees.

Chairman Nozawa Masahira is truly an unlucky fellow.

He had never studied abroad and came from an ordinary background; he was just a regular senior executive at Shan Yi Securities.

Unexpectedly, one day he was promoted to the position of president, skipping several levels.

Masazawa Nohira was naturally very happy to be appointed as the company president.

As soon as he took office, he was informed by a higher-ranking manager that the company had concealed 2600 billion yen in debt from the government and the public.

Yes, as things could no longer be concealed, the top leadership of Shan Yi Securities came up with the idea of ​​finding someone to be a scapegoat.

And Nozawa Shohei was their chosen target.

It can only be said that when a company is on a downward spiral, there are huge pitfalls to getting promoted.

They don't want you to be in power; they want you to die in their place.

This was the situation Nozawa Shohei was in at that time.

However, he vaguely remembered that he took office in July after the Asian financial crisis broke out, but he didn't expect it to happen earlier in this life.

Of course, although he was filled with sympathy, Masato Takeshita did not show it in his eyes.

After entering the conference room, he exchanged a few polite words and then directly presented the terms that Xinghai Group had agreed upon.

"President Nozawa, our Xinghai Group's conditions are very simple."

"A 75 billion yen investment will be exchanged for a 750% stake in your company. At the same time, Xinghai Investment will also provide Yamaichi Securities with a five-year loan of 1000 billion yen."

Shanyi Securities is already a hot potato, and no one except Xinghai Group is willing to take it over.

Since no one knows how long this financial shock will last, and people are still struggling to raise funds, how can they possibly invest abroad on a large scale?

Under such circumstances, Xinghai Group naturally has a stronger position.

The 750 billion yen investment was all based on the reputation of Yamaichi Securities.

Because it won't be long before Yamaichi Securities becomes a junk stock, with its share price falling below 100 yen.

"Impossible, we cannot agree to this condition."

Nozawa Shohei immediately retorted, rejecting the offer decisively.

He simply couldn't explain the 750 billion yen figure to the major shareholders behind the scenes.

The two then engaged in a heated exchange of words.

In short, Shan Yi Securities wanted to sell at a high price by leveraging its brand recognition, while Xinghai Group wanted to complete the acquisition at the lowest possible cost.

Both sides fully exchanged their opinions and finally concluded that the food in Xinghai Group's canteen was very delicious.

The first negotiation ended in discord.

But that's alright, Xinghai Group has plenty of time and is in no hurry to wait.

On the contrary, Nozawa Shohei quickly became restless.

Because of the probing in February and the full-scale attack in June.

Thailand looks like it's about to collapse.

The domestic stock and real estate markets are in a continuous decline, and even the foreign exchange market looks like it could collapse at any moment.

If Thailand falls, the stock prices of Japanese companies that have partnerships there will definitely plummet. Yamaichi Securities, which has invested heavily in companies expanding into Southeast Asia, will also fare poorly.

As for minority shareholders, they are more willing to cooperate than major shareholders.

The shadow of a person, the name of a tree!
Anyone in Japan involved in finance knows about Seikai Investment.

They hope that Yamaichi Securities can regain its position as the number one securities firm in Japan with the help of Seikai Investment.

As for the current stock losses, so be it. It's better than losing everything.

It's worth noting that in Japan, several medium-sized securities firms are already on the verge of bankruptcy.

This is also a key factor that makes the major shareholder behind Shanxi Securities willing to accept Xinghai Group.

By handing it over to Xinghai Group, they did indeed lose control of Shanyi Securities and also lost a significant amount of paper profits.

But in the near future, they may gain even more wealth. It's better than ending up with nothing.

Power is important, but so is wealth.

"Are the conditions still the same?"

"Yes, the conditions remain the same."

While Masato Takeshita did not agree with many of Akio Morita's ideas, he did approve of his idea of ​​acquiring Columbia Pictures.

If I value a company at $10 billion today, I won't easily change the acquisition price because of a financial crisis or other macroeconomic conditions.

For a large corporation, achieving its goals is far more important than saving a little money.

The acquisition of Shan Yi Securities by Xinghai Group is a case in point; continuing to push down the price did indeed manage to reduce it somewhat.

Even with further pressure, it would only save a hundred or two hundred million dollars.

It would be better to complete the acquisition sooner and try to eliminate the bad reputation of Shanxi Securities by having Xinghai Group endorse it.

It's important to understand that the most valuable asset of Shan Yi Securities is its brand.

He feared that if the delay continued, even the prestigious Xinghai Group wouldn't be able to save it.

"Thank you, thank you, Chairman!"

Nozawa Shohei was very moved. Since the conditions had not changed, he could say that he had given an explanation to the shareholders and company employees.

(End of this chapter)