America: My Time

Chapter 1173 Nikon's Concerns

Chapter 1163 Nikon's Concerns
Don't be fooled by the current calm in the United States; beneath the surface, undercurrents are surging. Nikon of Japan has been closely monitoring the situation there, fully aware of the upheaval that its participation in the EUV lithography machine project will cause. Leaving aside domestic US lithography machine manufacturers, just getting past John is a difficult hurdle. Having invested so much, Nikon naturally doesn't want to see failure in the end, so they are eager to know the outcome in the US.

Although a preliminary cooperation agreement has been reached, it's not set in stone. Until a final decision is reached, anything is possible. The people at Nikon are all eager to join the project, even if it means contributing a portion of the research and development funding.

Of course, this wasn't entirely Nikon's own idea; there was also support from the Japanese government. The reason was simple: they had given up their collaboration with Hughes Aerospace years ago, missing out on a crucial opportunity. Now, comparing the gains of the Middle Eastern tycoons to their own from the US, the disparity was stark, a fact that had always pained them. Now that Nikon had the chance to participate in such an important project as the EUV lithography machine, how could the Japanese not be excited? However, they still had to overcome John, their biggest concern!
John didn't care much about what the Japanese guys valued so much. It wasn't that he didn't want it, but under the current circumstances, John knew he had no chance unless he gave up control of ASML. However, the project wouldn't make any money for the next twenty years, so how could John possibly accept their demands?

They didn't care about Nikon, but it was a different story for John. He saw it as a meticulously planned conspiracy against him. If he agreed to their demands, they would have even more schemes and calculations, constantly seeking ways to seize his shares in high-tech companies, and even mining and energy enterprises. John dared not be careless with these guys; he had to be cautious even with a small matter, let alone something as significant as this!
"They've agreed! The US has already made a decision. John is no longer pursuing the EUV lithography machine issue; they've reached an agreement!" Having been closely watching Nikon, they were thrilled to finally receive the good news they'd been waiting for, their eyes brimming with joy!
Before the New Year's party at the White House even started, the old guys from Rockefeller's group had already given in. Faced with the stubborn John and Morgan's constant pressure, they had no choice but to accept it. After all, if things really escalated, it wouldn't be good for them either. No one thought John would be merciful or let such an opportunity slip by.

"Great, that's the best news we've heard. But John agreed so readily, does that mean he doesn't have faith in the EUV lithography machine project?" Soon, the Nikon guys in Japan had a new idea. After their initial excitement, they began to wonder if John didn't have faith in the project, which was why he reached a settlement with those old guys like Rockefeller.
That's human nature. These guys from Japan always have all sorts of thoughts and worries, and they're not very magnanimous and tend to be petty. But at this moment, they're overthinking it. It's not that John doesn't believe in this project, but rather that the development time is too long, making John unwilling to pay such a high price.

Now those guys in the US are even betraying their own people, all eyeing ASML. Wouldn't they be eyeing Nikon too? If this project really yields results, John believes those guys in the US will definitely scheme against Nikon. They won't give Nikon all the benefits. Moreover, John doesn't think Nikon has the ability to support the production and manufacturing of EUV lithography machines on its own. In the end, it will inevitably follow the same path as ASML.

John has twenty years to wait, so why should he bother with these guys now? It's completely unnecessary. If he has a plan, he'll have plenty of opportunities to make arrangements and schemes against them later. Right now, he should focus on getting the benefits of reconciliation first and getting everything he wants!
"Are we overthinking this? Based on our information, such a situation simply doesn't exist!"

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but we can't let our guard down against this guy. You all know Sony's situation; even if they wanted to back down and admit defeat, it wouldn't work. If they focus their attention on Nikon, I'm afraid our fate won't be good either. Our camera market is already suffering a significant blow!"

"Perhaps we should ask the authorities to intervene and have them talk to Mr. John. This is no longer just our own issue; it concerns many Japanese electronics companies. We've encountered considerable resistance in the US, and this resistance comes entirely from them. We've even been suppressed in retail, which is not a good thing!"

"Yes, the situation in the US is indeed very unfavorable for us right now. They're putting pressure on us with their control of retail channels, and other retail companies are starting to have their own ideas. If this continues, our market will be eroded bit by bit! It's all because of Sony's stupidity; they've completely destroyed the good relationship built by Akio Morita back then. Now, even if we wanted to communicate with them, we don't have the channels!" "Leaving aside those bastards at Sony, what we need to focus on now is our own problems. With Taiwan's rapid development and expansion in the semiconductor industry, and their increasing presence in China, these will all become threats to our development. To be honest, I'm not sure if this cooperation was the right thing to do!"

There are significant internal disagreements within Nikon regarding this collaboration on lithography machines. Some are skeptical, while others see it as an opportunity. After all, Nikon has fallen behind ASML in the lithography machine field and is no match for ASML in market competition. The reason is simple: the growth and expansion of the semiconductor chip industry in South Korea and Taiwan have led them to choose ASML, not Japanese lithography machines. This has had a significant impact on the two major Japanese lithography giants, greatly affecting their market share.
Taiwan's government has an agreement with John, as has South Korea's, and even the UK's. In the lithography machine market, companies that have cooperated with John, as well as those controlled by John himself, occupy a significant share. And these companies all choose ASML instead of Nikon from Japan!

If Nikon didn't have Intel's support, they would be under even more pressure right now. After all, in today's semiconductor industry, most people think that ASML's lithography machines are the best and have the highest cost performance. Otherwise, no one would be eyeing ASML!

Upon returning to the United States, John focused his attention on controlling the retail market, starting with targeting Japanese home appliance companies and gradually suppressing them to reduce their market share in the US. Although the Japanese were aware of this, they were powerless to do anything about it; the initiative was not in their own hands!
The American companies completely ignored all of this, and some even secretly supported John. After all, they were also hostile to those Japanese companies. This wasn't just a US sentiment; it was gradually spreading to Europe as well. Europeans hated Japan even more, since those Japanese companies had plunged them into crisis. Now that someone was standing up against these Japanese companies, they were naturally happy to see it and could accept it. Even if that person was John, they would accept it!
Don't be fooled by John's less-than-stellar reputation in Europe; it's not his fault, but rather a matter of conflicting interests. However, if Europeans had to choose between John and the Japanese, they would naturally choose John over the Japanese, since they see John as "one of their own" and the Japanese as the enemy!

To many people's surprise, when John returned to the United States, he did not do what they had guessed: continue to consolidate the company. After dealing with ASML, John returned to Hollywood again to put pressure on Cameron, demanding that Cameron complete his projects on time without any delays.

John's actions left many people completely baffled, wondering what he was trying to do. Even if he valued media and entertainment, there was no need to waste his energy on such a small project or make such a big fuss. Was this a smokescreen, or was this John's true intention?

Many people want to understand John's thoughts, but unfortunately they can't do anything because they can't get in touch with him. John is no longer the high-profile person he used to be. He has now retreated behind the scenes, and his name can no longer be seen on many companies. They have been taken over by offshore companies and funds.

John was well aware of those who had been watching him, so after returning to the United States, he never contacted Hurricane Investment or even Integrity Bank, completely putting on the appearance of starting a new media and entertainment business. This was hard for many people to understand and accept!

(End of this chapter)