America: My Time

Chapter 198 The Dark Side of the Circle
Chapter 198 The Dark Side of the Circle

John accepted the gift; now it was Sanhe's turn to make a decision. Thinking this, a faint smile appeared on his face. Sanhe's sudden appearance and attack, while causing him some trouble, also brought him an opportunity—a meeting where trouble and opportunity coexisted!
Suddenly, John thought of Akio Morita again. Given his abilities, it was impossible for him not to know about this. What was Akio Morita thinking, and how was he reacting? Sanwa's surprise attack, ostensibly a 'provocation' against him, made John very curious about how this old man, Akio Morita, would handle this unexpected 'provocation'!
"Perhaps this old guy didn't take this matter to heart at all. In his eyes, Naoko is just a pawn to be used. To go to war with Sanwa for a mere face-saving gesture doesn't align with Sony's interests. Although I wasn't satisfied with Akio Morita's previous explanation, I believe he has more than that. The reason he said those things in front of everyone was just to extricate himself from this matter. The real explanation probably lies with Riko, with Naoko!" Thinking this, John couldn't help but shake his head slightly. These old guys are too cunning, each one more ruthless and decisive than the last. To protect their own interests, these bastards will do anything!

If I were to delve into everything behind this, I would need to expend a tremendous amount of energy and would also encounter enormous resistance. These Japanese guys seem to be constantly fighting amongst themselves, but once an external enemy invades, they will unite to fight back. If I wanted to get involved in this matter, I would probably face enormous resistance. This is the current situation in Japan.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these Japanese bastards can fight amongst themselves for the North American market. That's only under the condition of no external threat. Once there is an external threat, everything will be different. They will unite to fight back. The reason why American companies are being defeated is because they are not facing one Japanese company, but a whole group. In this situation, how can American companies compete with them? They will only have their market share gradually swallowed up by these Japanese companies!
In this unexpected incident, Naoko's performance was remarkable. She handled the situation appropriately. Regardless of her inner thoughts, her behavior was impressive. Facing an 'enemy' who came to compete with her, she was able to remain so calm and considerate of John. This is not easy, and not everyone can do it!

Of course, her kind nature played a part, but more importantly, it was due to Naoko's upbringing, or rather, it was part of Japanese education. The submissive nature of women towards men led her to instinctively choose to protect John's dignity. In her heart, John was her man and her pillar of support; his dignity could not be compromised.

Since he'd brought the beautiful Kuroki Hitomi home, it would be unfair and unreasonable to refuse her. It would only lead to negative speculation. If he turned down a beauty offered to him, and then brought her home without doing anything with her, what would people think? Would they accept Sanwa's 'kindness,' refuse it, or look down on Sanwa's gift?

Neither scenario is something John wants to see. After all, this is Japan, not the United States. He should make the best of it. When in Rome, do as the Romans do; being out of place is never good for anyone. Since beautiful female PR staff are a Japanese specialty and part of Japanese corporate culture, he sees no need to refuse. There's no need to complicate things, affect his career in Japan, influence how others perceive him, or push the situation in a direction he doesn't want, or even let it spiral out of control.

Sanhe's "kind" gesture of bringing gifts is a good deed, but what should I do next? Whatever their motives, as long as I remain calm, everything will be fine. Stick to my own ideas; don't worry about or concern myself with anything else. It's good to be a little oblivious in life; being too serious is not good, especially in a country like Japan. Being petty will only make things worse and drive away those who were initially interested in getting closer.

Warner Bros. and Hollywood are now waging war against him, so he needs to focus his energy on the United States, not Japan. It's not the right time to release vague information to various parties in Japan, as that would be very disadvantageous for him! Whatever the Japanese conglomerates think, he can just follow his own path and doesn't need to care too much about other people's opinions. Right now, these conglomerates are asking for his help, not the other way around. He is in control.

Although I appeared somewhat passive in this unexpected incident and was caught off guard by Sanhe, this was only the surface of the matter. As long as I remained unmoved, I would still have the initiative in my own hands and would not be led by the nose by Sanhe, nor would I be affected by Sanhe's crazy actions.

Being treated as a public relations gift is humiliating, oppressive, threatening, and stressful for a stunning beauty like Hitomi Kuroki. As a vulnerable person, she is powerless to resist such oppression. Japan is a patriarchal society, from the highest to the lowest levels. Women in Japan have a negligible status, and beautiful women like Hitomi Kuroki are forced to become pawns in the hands of capital—this is a very common occurrence in Japan.

In the face of capital, a woman like Hitomi Kuroki will only become a pawn unless she is disliked. Although she has always been in Takarazuka, she is not unaware of the situation in Japan. She knows how dark the Japanese entertainment industry is, and she is not the only one in Takarazuka who is oppressed and forced to become a beautiful hostess. There are many such examples among her predecessors, but they are not known to outsiders.

For people like her, obeying orders makes everything fine; those who disobey are often eliminated. In Japan, women like her have no power to resist; Tokyo Bay is teeming with vengeful spirits. While her beauty brought her advantages, it also brought her trouble and disaster, forcing her to face many dangers!
If she were only facing ordinary corporate elites, even if there were a slight threat or oppression, Takarazuka could protect her. However, when facing zaibatsu (financial conglomerates), Takarazuka's power would not be enough to protect her safety, nor would it step in to protect her. She would be controlled by capital and become a pawn in their hands, with no other choice.

In the entertainment industry, women have a low status, idols have a low status, and women in corporations have an even lower status. Being subjected to various unspoken rules and oppression is commonplace. For large corporations, sending beautiful female PR staff is common, and some even send their wives and children. This is the Japanese workplace; oppression of women is ubiquitous. If you can't stand it, go home; otherwise, you have to endure it. This is a characteristic of the Japanese workplace. Even during the pandemic, Japanese companies offered very little compensation to women. In the eyes of Japanese men, women are best suited to stay home and raise children; work is a man's job!
Of course, in a country like Japan with a high suicide rate, a country that doesn't value autopsies, even if someone dies, it's generally not taken seriously, and disappearances are even less of a concern, given the sheer number of missing persons in Japan every year! A woman like Hitomi Kuroki doesn't have the power to fight against capital or conglomerates. Japan's entertainment industry is completely controlled by capital; anyone who dares to disobey its manipulations will only face elimination!
Naoko had a similar experience to Hitomi Kuroki, though their circumstances differed. Neither of them had the power to resist. This is reality, the reality of the Japanese entertainment industry. In the face of capital, no matter how big a star you are, you are just an ant that can be summoned and dismissed at will. You are just a pawn in the hands of the other party!

In the Japanese entertainment industry, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi of Seibu Records is a prime example. His relationships with women are numerous and varied, ranging from idol stars and beautiful secretaries to hotel hostesses and Olympic athletes. Former Japanese figure skater Emi Watanabe revealed in an interview that when she was only 17, Tsutsumi raped her in a room at the newly opened Shinjuku Prince Hotel and threatened her. Nothing further was heard about it afterward, demonstrating the immense control that capital exerts over the Japanese entertainment industry. It wasn't until Tsutsumi's downfall that people dared to speak out. Whether other conglomerates were involved is difficult to say, given Tsutsumi's already poor reputation in Japan at the time.
There are countless actresses associated with Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, including well-known names such as Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yoko Minamino, Yoshiko Mita, Aki Mizusawa, Misaki Ito, and Eriko Sato. Even veteran star Sayuri Yoshinaga was frequently seen at the Prince Hotel in Seibu, having secret rendezvous with Yoshiaki Tsutsumi. It is said that Yoshinaga's villa in Nagano was practically given to her by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi. The nature of their relationship is quite obvious!

Why is Yoshiaki Tsutsumi so "powerful"? He has so many women, yet few people have come forward to criticize him. It's because the women he "used" always received real estate worth a considerable sum. So, under the lure of money, those actresses were naturally incredibly "submissive," manipulated by money, and of course, intimidated by his power. At his peak, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi was the world's richest man, and his influence in Japan was astonishing. How could those idols and stars be a match for him? How could they dare to criticize him in front of the media? If they did, they would absolutely be courting their own destruction.

(End of this chapter)