America: My Time

Chapter 523 Morita Akio’s anger

Chapter 523: Akio Morita’s anger

"Perhaps we should sit down and talk to Mr. John, and try to persuade him to give up the idea of ​​early repayment!"

"Hehe, do you think that's possible? This is no small matter. It's part of the company's development plan. How can we just give up like that? Right now, the Mandarin Oriental Group isn't expanding further in Japan. Instead, they've chosen to expand in major Asian cities, and even in Europe and America. It's understandable that they want to repay the loan early and are worried about changes in the Japanese real estate market."

"It's all because of that bastard Yoshiaki Tsutsumi. If he hadn't been so arrogant and had a conflict with the Mandarin Oriental Group, we wouldn't be in this situation now. Seibu is our biggest scourge!"

“That’s not how it works. Although Seibu had a minor conflict with the Mandarin Oriental Group in the real estate sector, it didn’t have any significant impact!” Someone explained to Seibu and Yoshiaki Tsutsumi at this moment.

"Hehe, the Mandarin Oriental Group only decided to withdraw from the Japan Market after its conflict with Seibu. You say that doesn't prove anything? It was Seibu and Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's arrogance that made Mr. John feel threatened, which led him to choose to withdraw from the Japan Market and become wary of it!"

"That's going too far. Could it be that the incident involving Yasuko Sawaguchi at the previous party was orchestrated by Mitsui? Come to think of it, that makes sense. You would have such a motive. There's also a significant conflict between Mitsui Fudosan and Seibu!"

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. This has nothing to do with Mitsui. We also have a good relationship with Mr. John, and Morita-san is the best proof of that!" At this moment, the bastards from Mitsui Bank dragged out Akio Morita as a shield, but such a move was meaningless. The people present were all high-ranking officials in Japan, and they naturally knew about the many conflicts between Mitsui and John. If they wanted to use John to scheme against Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, it would be perfectly normal.

"Alright, stop arguing. It's no use arguing. We need to solve the problem now, resolve the current predicament. If the steel issue isn't resolved, it will be troublesome and dangerous for everyone. Real estate costs will rise, as will shipyards, not to mention automobiles. Heavy industry will also face increased cost pressures due to rising raw material prices. As for the banking issue, we still have enough time. At least Mr. John isn't in a hurry to repay the loan early."

"Mr. Morita, tell me your opinion on John. Do you think he really gave up on the Japan Market because of his conflict with Yoshiaki Tsutsumi? Is there some misunderstanding? If possible, could we step in and clear up this misunderstanding?"

Misunderstanding? How could this be a misunderstanding? Akio Morita didn't believe this guy was unaware of the details of the conflict between Seibu and the Mandarin Oriental Group. However, he couldn't refuse to give the other party face, since this guy represented Daiichi Bank, and Seibu was a member of Daiichi Bank. Naturally, he had to protect that madman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi.

As land prices in Japan skyrocketed and real estate values ​​soared, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi became increasingly arrogant. Some of Sony's artists were harassed by him. Although it was a minor incident, it indirectly slapped Akio Morita in the face. If someone hadn't intervened, Morita wouldn't have let it go so easily.

"I don't know if it's a misunderstanding, since I don't know what happened between them. As for Mr. John, he's a very loyal person, but also a rather petty one, as many people know. Take the case of Nakamori Akina's family, for example. If it were any of you here, you would probably have already taught them a lesson and abandoned them. But Mr. John didn't do that; he only gave them a serious warning and didn't punish Nakamori Akina at all! So I don't think it's a good thing to stand on the opposite side of such a loyal friend. Even if you have any thoughts, you'd better think them through before you act!"

Without a conflict of interest, no one would be willing to stand against John. At least Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi are like that, as they all have business dealings with John. As for the banks facing early repayment, they probably wouldn't think that way. In fact, seeing the expressions on those banks' faces at this moment, Akio Morita even felt that these guys might be one of the masterminds behind the scenes. Perhaps it was because John, that little fox, noticed their actions that he wanted to make early repayments.

Suddenly, a crazy thought flashed through Akio Morita's mind: could these guys be after John's companies, which is why they've prompted early repayments? Perhaps they're taking such cautious action because they've sensed the banks' schemes. As this crazy thought crossed his mind, Morita recalled the initial conflict between the Mandarin Oriental Group and the Seibu Group. This was probably not as simple as it seemed on the surface. Could it be that the First Kangyo Bank was behind it all? And was it precisely because of this that the Mandarin Oriental Group proactively chose to withdraw from the Japanese real estate market?

The more Akio Morita thought about it, the more convinced he was that his idea was correct. It was precisely because the First Industrial Bank had been too careless and John, that little fox, had sensed the danger that everything had turned out this way. Perhaps it wasn't just the First Industrial Bank that wanted to take advantage of John's assets; other Japanese companies, and even Mitsui, were also involved. This also explains why Toshiba had always been hostile to John and why Mitsui had always taken his side.

Although this was merely Akio Morita's own speculation, he believed it to be correct. In Japan, nothing was impossible; his deep understanding of the industry led him to this conclusion. Those guys, seeing how easygoing John was, all developed inappropriate ideas. But were their actions truly going unnoticed?

At this moment, Akio Morita couldn't help but shudder. If that little fox John knew all this, was he also making plans and preparations, just waiting for these guys to jump into the trap?
"Damn it, if only I had thought of all this sooner, I wouldn't have gotten involved. Now it's hard to back out, and Sony could pay a heavy price if it's not careful." At this moment, Akio Morita was extremely nervous, but he couldn't show it. He had to pretend that he knew nothing and continue talking with these guys, but Akio Morita was filled with endless worries.

John knew perfectly well how petty and cunning he was. In fact, he understood John better than those greedy guys from Japan. So he didn't think much of their schemes. These guys were setting up their plans, and they knew John was doing the same. These bastards had their eyes on Quantum Mining from the very beginning, which was why they were so eager to help.

Akio Morita had initially been puzzled as to why those guys were so generous in providing such significant assistance to Quantum Mining. Although it seemed to be an attempt to gain the upper hand in iron ore price negotiations, this was completely different from their previous actions. Now, he finally understood all the calculations behind it all.

Insidious, cunning, and ruthless! These were the truest thoughts in Akio Morita's mind at this moment. Even though he saw through all the scheming behind it all, Akio Morita still didn't believe that these guys' plot could succeed. After all, John now controlled a huge amount of funds. At this moment, Akio Morita also understood why John, that little fox, had been tightening his belt and not expanding wildly for more than a year. It was all in preparation for the impending crisis.

Now he understands everything. These guys who schemed against John never expected that such a large sum of money had been in John's hands all along. Could it be that they had already noticed their scheme, and that John used him to signal to them? It could be said that they had already had a contest from the very beginning.

Having had their schemes exposed and even dared to challenge the other party's bottom line, how could Akio Morita still have any confidence in them? In this confrontation, Akio Morita believed that these guys were doomed to lose, but he couldn't say it out loud, since the situation had already spiraled out of his control and was becoming increasingly chaotic.

"They're all a bunch of bastards, keeping it all from me. It's understandable that John, that little fox, doesn't believe me, since we're not on the same side. And it's normal for him to be wary. But why am I being ostracized by these guys when we're both members of the Japanese conglomerate? They didn't know anything about me before?" At this moment, Akio Morita couldn't help but ponder all of this. If it was just because he and John were friends, that didn't make sense at all. If he had to find a reason, there was only one: Sony had been driven out by these guys, and now his situation was also very dangerous.

"Heh, I never expected that I, Akio Morita, would be deceived and schemed against by these guys all this time. But it's fine this way, it allows me to act without restraint. It's not that I've wronged Japan or you guys, but that you've excluded me from the situation first!" Soon, the old man Akio Morita made up his mind that he would never interfere with the confrontation between John and the Japanese again. He only needed to remain neutral, and he didn't need to care about what happened next. He was in great danger himself.

After figuring all this out, Akio Morita breathed a sigh of relief. Only by truly understanding the treachery of these guys and their schemes could he extricate himself from this crisis.

(End of this chapter)