America: My Time

Chapter 188 Internal Struggles in Japan

Chapter 188 Internal Struggle in Japan
"That's right. Sony can't monopolize everything and take all the benefits. You Sony got the VCD manufacturing contract, you Sony got the arcade machines, you Sony got Universal Studios, and now you have shopping malls and advertising partnerships. Don't you think Sony is taking too many benefits, Mr. Morita?"

"What, you Toshiba have your own ideas? If you have ideas, go and handle them yourselves. All of this is Sony's deserved benefit. You reap what you sow. Didn't you Toshiba receive an invitation from the gaming world back then? You did, but you didn't take it seriously, which is why Sony, Hitachi, and Panasonic had their opportunities. As for VCDs, it's the same. Who told you you didn't have the ability? If you're so capable, you can go and build relationships and build connections!"

Faced with Toshiba's provocation, Akio Morita showed no mercy. He saw no way Toshiba could possibly steal market share from Sony, even though they were both part of the Mitsui Group. The market was only so big; if Toshiba took a larger share, Sony would have less. He was already being generous by not sabotaging Toshiba; how could he possibly let them have the benefits?
The storm that swept through the United States stirred up ideas in many Japanese people, but unfortunately, they were blinded by greed and failed to see the bigger picture. They were only thinking about getting more benefits from John, which was wishful thinking. In contrast, Akio Morita was much calmer than these people, and he was also one of the people in Japan who understood John best.

Everyone only saw Akio Morita using Naoko Kawai to get closer to John, but they didn't see Sony's efforts. They only saw the benefits and always had the ridiculous idea that they could do it too. In fact, even if they were given the opportunity, they might not have been able to gain John's approval.

"Gentlemen, Sony has done everything it can. If you want more benefits, you can fight for them yourselves. Don't even think about taking anything from Sony; it's impossible. Sony doesn't owe you anything. You've only seen Sony's development over the past year, but you haven't seen the sacrifices Sony has made!" In just over a year, Sony's market share in the US has been steadily increasing, which inevitably squeezes the market share of other companies. It's normal for some people to have reservations!

Over the past year, not only Sony has been increasing its market share in the United States, but Hitachi and Panasonic have also been steadily increasing theirs. In contrast, Japanese home appliance companies like Toshiba, which had previously rejected the gaming world, have not seen growth; on the contrary, their market share is declining. This is why Toshiba is targeting Sony.

In terms of integrity, John demonstrated a level of integrity that the Americans lacked in his collaborations with Japanese companies. Whether it was Sony, Panasonic, or Hitachi, they all received extensive promotion from Legendary Entertainment, from newspapers to television, from NBC to MTV, and then to RTV in Hong Kong. A series of channels promoted them, continuously increasing the influence of the three companies. As for home appliance companies like Toshiba, they were not so lucky; their advertising was only average.

"Mr. Morita, don't get angry over these petty people, it's not worth it. What were they doing when we were expanding our territory? They were laughing at us. Now that we've benefited, they want to share the spoils with us, they're just daydreaming." The bigwigs of Hitachi sided with Akio Morita. Hitachi was also a beneficiary and didn't want to have their cake and eat it too.

Most importantly, Sony, Hitachi, and Panasonic benefited not only from promotion but also from their stakes in Game World. With Game World dominating the gaming market, their shareholdings have naturally increased in value, making them highly coveted. Now that Game World is going public, Sony, Hitachi, and Panasonic will undoubtedly benefit, and will have an easier time sharing in the profits. Furthermore, with Nvidia and DreamWorld's financing, Sony, Hitachi, and Panasonic still hold the advantage, which naturally displeases some within Toshiba!

While everyone has opportunities for financing and going public, Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi hold the upper hand. They have excellent working relationships with John, and under equal circumstances, the other party would naturally choose these three as partners rather than outsiders like them. This is evident from John's actions. All the companies that cooperate with John know that he is a man of integrity and loyalty.

"Alright, the opportunity is right in front of us. Everyone should rely on their own abilities and eat according to their capacity. Stop arguing!" After the head of the First Industrial Bank made the decision, many people present sighed, especially those real estate companies. They all longed to cooperate with John on shopping malls, but now the opportunity had fallen to Sony, a company with no connection to real estate, which made them very embarrassed.

The attendees included not only industry giants from home appliances, real estate, and banking, but also representatives from numerous automotive companies. Everyone present was acutely aware of the perilous situation in the United States and the immense pressure they faced. Seeing the rapid progress of Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi, these companies had their own ambitions, and this gathering presented an opportunity. Those who remained neutral naturally sided with Sony and Akio Morita. No one wanted to be associated with Toshiba and its associates; the actions of Toshiba and Pioneer would be easily uncovered with a little investigation—these things could not be hidden. Having witnessed the power of Legendary Entertainment, everyone knew which path to choose.

Although they had given their approval to the previous probing actions, it was Toshiba, not them, who were at the forefront. They were the vanguard. It had nothing to do with them. That's the business world. There's no room for sentimentality. All that matters is profit!
"Alright, now that we know what the other side is thinking, all previous actions end here. The resistance from TV Tokyo must be eliminated immediately, and someone must step forward to take responsibility. We don't want to see any other accidents happen. Anyone who dares to challenge everyone's bottom line must bear the corresponding responsibility! Morita-san, I'll leave the cleanup of TV Tokyo to you. I believe you can do it!"

The head of the First Industrial Bank simply dumped this huge mess of cleaning up on Akio Morita. Although Morita was unwilling to accept it, he had no choice but to resign himself to his fate under the intense gazes of everyone. After all, Sony had benefited the most from the cooperation with John, and if he didn't step forward now, who would?

“Alright, I will communicate with John and prevent anything from happening on the Japanese side. However, you all must give them a satisfactory result. Otherwise, I will be powerless to change things. What happened before broke our agreement. Even if John has a good character, he won't give up easily. Someone has to take responsibility. The Vanguard side must show a good attitude. This is a prerequisite!” Akio Morita put forward his demands, which were also conditions that everyone had to accept!
When John acquired TV Tokyo, there was an agreement with the Japanese government and other parties: TV Tokyo would relinquish its news broadcasting rights in exchange for unrestricted access to entertainment content. Now, only a year later, someone is already standing up to obstruct TV Tokyo, violating that agreement. If John were just an ordinary businessman with no influence, these Japanese bigwigs wouldn't care; TV Tokyo is in Japan, on their home turf.

Unfortunately, John is no ordinary businessman; he controls a world-class media tycoon. If they were to truly anger him, the consequences would be unimaginable, causing even greater trouble for Japan. In particular, John's statement to Akio Morita—that he wanted to wage a full-scale war against Warner—forced them to take this seriously. If they could wage a full-scale war against Warner, they could also wage a full-scale war against them. With Legendary Entertainment's power in the media field, they could completely hinder the development of major Japanese companies in North America. Especially in this special period, if such a situation were to occur, the consequences would be uncontrollable!
Nowadays in the United States, due to the propaganda of major American companies, Americans as a whole are hostile to Japan, believing that Japan has stolen their job opportunities. As a result, boycotts against Japan have been frequent. If Legendary Entertainment were to join the boycott of Japan at this time, the damage would be too great.

The power of media giants is astonishing, and their influence over discourse is unparalleled. It is precisely by wielding this power that John was able to remain unmoved and observe the situation calmly amidst this storm. As long as he knows the enemy's whereabouts, he can turn the tide at any time and catch them off guard.

Listening to these beautiful women gossiping, John suddenly had a thought: perhaps he should release a record himself to lower the enemy's guard, disrupt the situation, and make them do something even crazier, thus handing them leverage over him. That old man Akio Morita was putting on an act in front of him; this time, he could put on a good show for him too!
Releasing an album wasn't difficult for John, but time was a major issue. He didn't have that much time to record, and besides, he lacked singing skills. The best option was naturally instrumental music. However, he couldn't just release an album haphazardly; it had to be related to his schedule to make it easier for those secretly plotting against him to get involved.

What does the trip to China evoke in one's mind? Naturally, it's the profound history and thousands of years of civilization! Yoshida Kiyoshi's "A Distant Journey" immediately came to John's mind. This classic piece suddenly opened up his ideas. Making an album about Chinese civilization was a good idea, and he knew quite a few classic works created by Japanese musicians.

A long journey, memories of the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the dawn of heroes, a thousand-year prayer, the dream of the Hexi Corridor, Jialuo, the original scenery of the hometown, a number of epic music pieces suddenly come out, these classic pieces are enough to make an album.

(End of this chapter)