America: My Time

Chapter 151 Ken-On
Chapter 151 Yan Yin

Although John's demands were a bit high, they were still within the acceptable range for most people, and the demands were also reasonable. Japan is a country located in an earthquake zone, and demanding high standards in construction is also beneficial to safety.

"No problem, Mitsui accepts!"

After Mitsui accepted, other interested companies quickly followed suit. Although the investment might be a bit high, seeing the returns from Disney, it was indeed a good investment project, and no one was willing to give it up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Universal Studios and Ocean Park projects have now been presented. As for whether they should be built simultaneously, that depends on your decisions. Universal Pictures and Phoenix Group will not force you to do anything; everything will be based on your decisions. Next, I will present the loan application for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Here is the proposal; please take a look!"

John prepared a business plan for the expansion of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and distributed it to the bankers present. In fact, those banks with real strength had already learned about the expansion plan of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This business plan was just a formality. Those who were willing to accept it naturally had no problem!
"First Commercial Bank is willing to lend to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and will offer the lowest possible interest rate!"

"Mitsui Bank is also willing to provide the Cultural Oriental Hotel with a loan at the lowest interest rate!"

"Thank you all for your trust. If there are no problems with the loan for the Cultural Oriental Hotel, we will arrange for professionals to discuss this with you. Today, I have another loan need. I don't know if any of you are familiar with Southern Company, which is 7-Eleven convenience stores. Now that I have fully acquired Southern Company, I need financial support for new developments. If any banks are interested in cooperating, please contact me. Moreover, if possible, I hope to expand the scope of cooperation!"

When John suddenly mentioned the Southern Company, some banks hesitated. They didn't know much about the Southern Company in the United States. After all, not all bankers in Japan kept a close eye on John and understood his crazy expansion plans.

John's reason for coming to Tokyo immediately was to leverage the power of Japanese banks. Entrusting the party to Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank was also part of his plan. Only in this way could he gather all the bankers in Japan, let them understand the expansion needs of his companies, and obtain sufficient development funds from their banks.

John's companies have no shortage of collateral; what they lack are low-interest loans, which is exactly what Japanese banks can provide. If they put all their loans into Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Mitsui Bank, it would be detrimental to the company's development and also unsafe for themselves. It would be much easier to put their loans into the entire Japanese banking sector.

John's expansion plans in Japan were already in place, and this wasn't the only one. However, this time it was for Universal Studios and Ocean Park, so he couldn't include anything else. Now that his plan had succeeded, as long as the banks had any interest, they would contact him and the companies in Japan—that was enough!

"Gentlemen, the plans for Universal Studios and SeaWorld need to be decided as soon as possible. How you allocate your shares is up to you. I won't say anything more. Please discuss it as soon as possible. I'll take my leave now!" With that, John stood up, bowed to everyone present, and left the meeting room.
The issue of loans has been raised, and judging from the responses of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Mitsui Bank, everything is not a problem; the only question is when the loans will be secured. The Universal Studios and Ocean Park projects cannot be delayed; the longer they are delayed, the greater the cost. Starting construction sooner means completion sooner and profitability sooner!
After John left the meeting room, the argument erupted. Various conglomerates were vying for a larger stake in the Universal Studios and Ocean Park project. Sony and John had an agreement, but the shareholding wasn't discussed, making this the focus of the dispute. Both Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank and other conglomerates were intentionally trying to suppress Sony's shareholding, not wanting the Mitsui Group to gain an advantage in the project or to take over its construction and management.

Such a heated argument shocked the local people in those cities in Japan. They had not expected that these conglomerates would attach so much importance to the Universal Studios and Ocean Park projects. This changed the minds of some local people who originally wanted to wait and see and were unwilling to offer the best preferential policies!

John paid no attention to the argument in the meeting room and returned to the party alone. He had to admit that the First Industrial Bank had made impressive preparations this time, managing to arrange such a scene in just one day. The party featured invited performers, including idol singers and stage actors. What surprised John was that they had even invited Takarazuka to Tokyo. Fortunately, the venue for the party was quite large, otherwise it would have been too much of a hassle.

Uninterested in the stage play "John" and paying no attention, the business leaders at the party weren't really concerned with performances; they were focused on networking and securing opportunities. While many weren't qualified to participate in the Universal Studios and SeaWorld projects, these business leaders weren't there for that reason, but simply to use the party to meet more people!
After looking around the venue, John spotted Naoko in a corner, with Miko beside her and several other people. John crossed the hall and met up with Naoko in the corner. After they sat down, John realized he recognized most of the people around him, having met them just the night before!
There were also some people John didn't recognize. After all, it was impossible for him to know all the idols in Japan, especially in this era of diverse idols, where idols emerged one after another, and he could only remember a limited number. John didn't pay attention to the women's conversation, nor did he listen carefully. Instead, he sat there resting with his eyes closed.

Everything that had happened before was just the beginning of tonight's cooperation. Once the battle among the Japanese conglomerates was resolved, he would face a new round of negotiations. He wanted far more than he had initially stated. To successfully secure the loan from the Japanese bank, he needed to detail his development plan—things not included in the original proposal. John paid no attention to the women's conversation, but the idols' gazes kept falling on him before moving on. Although Naoko and the others discreetly chose to sit in a corner, so many beautiful women couldn't escape the notice of those with ulterior motives. At the same time, these people also noticed John's presence.

Most people were unaware of John's identity, but a few did, especially those within the agency. They were aware of Naoko's transfer and had some understanding of the situation. For any agency, no one would be uninterested in knowing the inside story after such a major event. After all, Naoko was a top idol, and the breakup was amicable, making it even more noteworthy. Naturally, everyone wanted to know who was behind Naoko and why they had such power!

The more you learn about them, the more likely there may be opportunities for cooperation in the future. In particular, as the elite agency develops, its hidden strength gradually unfolds, which is even more appealing to some people.

"Boss, Mr. Hanami Kaku of Ken-On wants to meet with you!" Just as John closed his eyes to rest, Yoshiko Koizumi came to his side and whispered. After exchanging ideas with various people at the party with Momoko Kikuchi, Minako Honda, and Yoko Minamino, Yoshiko Koizumi met with Ken-On's son, Kenichiro Nozaki, which led to the scene before us!

John opened his eyes when he heard Koizumi Yoshiko's words. He recognized the name Hanami Kagami from Ken-On Agency, but he didn't understand why she wanted to see him. Out of politeness, he nodded in agreement. His agency was similar to Ken-On's, both having just debuted, so it would be good for them to support each other.

The biggest contributor to Ken-On's rapid rise to success is its chairman, Hanami Kagami. He used to be a program director for a Japanese television station and was known for his shrewdness. It was he who single-handedly mentored Akina Nakamori in the 80s, making her a representative superstar of the 80s and laying the foundation for Ken-On's success.

John nodded slightly and said, "Please invite him over."

Soon, led by Koizumi Yoshiko, Hanami Kagami appeared in front of John. Although their statuses were not equal, John still stood up and shook hands with him, after all, the other party was older and had come with sincerity!

"Hello, Mr. John, nice to meet you!" As he spoke, a business card was handed out from Hanami Kagami's hand. Although he was older, Hanami Kagami did not act arrogantly. He knew how much influence the person in front of him had, and he also knew that in the other person's eyes, the entertainment industry in Japan was nothing.

"Hello, Mr. Hanami He, what brings you here?" John took the business card, then offered his own, asking with some confusion.

"Cooperation? Yanyin wants to cooperate with Elite Agency. Although Elite Agency has only been established for a year, Mr. John's generous investment is enough to prove that you attach great importance to it. Yanyin and Elite Agency are both newly established agencies, so we want to deepen our cooperation!"

Ken-On is not short of money and has certain resources. Elite Agency is also not short of money and has huge resources. Elite Agency controls TV Tokyo and has world-class media giants such as Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group behind it. It can be said that its resources are astonishing.

However, Elite Entertainment doesn't have many artists. Apart from Naoko, there are only four people who have debuted so far: three idols and one solo singer, and all of them are women. Such a large amount of resources cannot be consumed by these four people. Some of the remaining resources went to Naoko's original agency, while some were wasted. Therefore, Hanami Kagami wanted to cooperate with Elite Entertainment to share some of the resources.

(End of this chapter)