Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 7 Getting Closer to You

Masato Takeshita was standing at the exit of Nishi-Shinjuku Station and immediately saw Izumi Sakai, who was wearing a white dress and a simple ponytail, and was shining in the crowd.

He was stunned for 5 seconds before coming back to his senses, then pretended to be calm, smiled, waved and shouted: "Kamichi-san, Miss Tanaka, this way, I'm over here."

"Hehe, Sachiko, your suitor is calling you there."

"Don't talk nonsense, they just invited the two of us to dinner."

"Oh, do you think it could be so simple?"

Tanaka Eri curled her lips in disdain and sneered at her best friend's explanation.

If a strange male suddenly treats you nicely and starts talking to you about personal matters, there is a 99% chance that he is attracted to you.

"Well, that's possible."

The more Sister Quanshui spoke, the lower her voice became.

Obviously, she herself didn't quite believe in her own judgment.

"Good afternoon, Kamaike-san, Tanaka-san!"

Masato Takeshita did not hear the two girls' whispers, but even if he did, he would not care, because his purpose was obvious and he did not intend to hide it.

He would be happier if it were simpler and more direct.

After all, chasing girls is still too difficult for him, an older blind date guy.

"Good afternoon, Takeshita-san!"

"Good afternoon, Takeshita-san!"

After two crisp greetings, Sister Quanshui bowed slightly and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry that you have to pick us up in the middle of the day."

"Uh-huh, sorry, please forgive me!"

"It's okay. I'm the host, so I'll have to come earlier."

The sushi restaurant that Masato Takeshita booked is near Shinjuku, less than 500 meters away from his rented apartment. It is a popular sushi restaurant with fresh ingredients and affordable prices.

Of course, he can afford a good one.

But Masato Takeshita, who knew Izumizu's personality well, took a step-by-step approach. The two of them were not familiar with each other yet, and if Izumizu Sakai suddenly went to a high-end sushi restaurant, she would have passed him over in her heart without saying anything.

Too abrupt and very inappropriate.

Masato Takeshita didn't want to dwell on this, so he smiled and changed the subject: "You two look very beautiful today, are you planning to debut as a star?"

Shinjuku is not as avant-garde as Shibuya in terms of entertainment culture, but thanks to its huge flow of people, it has also become a cultural and entertainment center in Tokyo.

Before becoming famous, many well-known Japanese artists were walking on the streets of Shinjuku, then suddenly spotted by a scout, introduced to an entertainment agency, and eventually became famous.

"Hehe, you have good taste." Tanaka Eri was very satisfied with Takeshita Masato's performance. After nodding with a smile, she raised her hand and said energetically, "It's impossible to be a star. Stars are only glamorous on the surface. If you are not a well-known big star, you can't make any money at all."

“And even among big stars, many can’t make any money.”

"As far as I know, many popular stars work nearly 20 hours a day, but they end up making less than a clerk in a random store."

Japan is a feudal society with strict hierarchy, and the entertainment industry is the most strict one.

Maybe it’s because of their shameful background, the Japanese entertainment industry places great emphasis on so-called seniority.

Those who sing bubuki songs look down on those who sing enka songs, those who sing enka songs look down on those who sing rock songs, those who sing rock songs look down on those who sing pop songs, and then everyone collectively despises idol singers.

The same is true for TV dramas and movies. Movie actors are superior, while TV idols are in the sewer. Yes, China, Japan and South Korea are all in a similar situation. Idol stars are always at the bottom of the contempt chain.

Idol stars are at the bottom of the contempt chain and need to rely on the company's resources to develop. This also leads to idol stars having no say and being exploited by the artist agency at will.

Take the recent scandals involving Johnny's idols as an example. Many of Johnny's popular idols still earn a monthly salary of only a few hundred thousand yen.

They can only get commission if the boss of Johnny's allows it.

This is still considered good. There are still many idol stars who are sold and still count money for their bosses.

Take, for example, an idol star in a previous life named Minamino Yoko.

The boss of the firm took out various loans directly in her name, but in the end, Yoko Minamino had to repay the loans.

"Hey, how do you know so much?"

In the 80s, information was not widely available, and many girls had no idea about the entertainment industry. They only saw the glamorous side of the stars, and knew basically nothing about what was going on behind the scenes.

"Well, my brother is from Dentsu, and he told me all this."

"Oh, no wonder!"

Dentsu is the largest advertising company in Japan, controlling the broadcasting rights of advertisements, and can be said to be the financial sponsor of TV stations. And TV stations are the sponsors of celebrities.

Dentsu employees naturally know all about the so-called stars.

"It's like this for actors and actresses. They are very dependent on the agencies, but they can also become singers."

TV dramas and movies require a lot of money, so actors are very dependent on investors. It's different for singers, who can just go underground.

Anyway, if we release a poverty version of the record, ordinary people can afford it.

"You also need to have creative ability. Singers who can only sing are not much different from actors."

Tanaka Eri is familiar with these things because she once dreamed of becoming a star. Unfortunately, both writing lyrics and composing music are a bit too difficult for her.

"That's true, but I think Kabuki-san should be able to do it."

Masato Takeshita smiled and nodded, then changed the subject to Sister Izumizu who was quietly watching the two of them from the side.

"I, I can't."

Izumi Sakai was very moved, but she kept shaking her head and saying no.

"Sachiko-chan, you can do it. Your Chinese grades are so good, and your writing is very beautiful. You are very suitable to be a lyricist."

Tanaka Eri knew that her best friend's dream was to become a singer, so even though she didn't know how talented her friend was, she kept persuading her to give it a try. Anyway, even if she didn't go to First Real Estate, it would be easy to find a similar vase job in Japan's current situation.

Japanese companies are now in great need of staff, and every year hundreds of companies choose to go bankrupt because they cannot recruit enough employees.

Not to mention junior colleges, even high school and junior high school students can find good jobs.

Sister Quanshui felt even more embarrassed, and explained awkwardly: "That was just something I wrote for fun, it's nothing at all."

Masato Takeshita noticed that Sister Izumi was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, so he smiled and changed the subject lightly: "Hey, that's the one in front, we're here."

"Oh, is it the one with the blue sign? It looks pretty good."

"Yes, that's right there."

Hearing the two people change the subject, Izumi Sakai couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. This kind of persuasion from a good friend was really hard to bear.

(End of this chapter)