Tokyo: My obsession with China led me to become the king of Japanese entertainment.

"Maybe I shouldn't sign this treaty?"

About a day later, after finally seeing off Maroo and Minami Hamabe, Jun Sakurada read two pages of the long Johnny's Jr. contract presented by Hideaki Takizawa.

He suddenly felt an urge to flip the table on the spot.

He was too hasty. He thought that with his experience, having worked in the LPL and followed the drama of RNG, he had seen all kinds of unreasonable contracts.

But only after seeing Johnny's work did I realize what true child labor exploitation really means.

The contract has no time limit and the agency has the unilateral right to terminate it. Theoretically, if Johnny's wants to hold someone hostage, they can hold them hostage for life, but if they don't want them anymore, they can kick them out.

The agency retains full rights to the trainees' portraits and copyrights throughout the entire training period. Trainees are strictly prohibited from engaging in any personal creations, publishing works, opening social media accounts, or any other activities without permission. All resources must be allocated by the agency, and trainees are strictly prohibited from actively soliciting work.

Furthermore, the management during the performance period and the management of trainees' private lives are all so strict that they are almost militaristic.

Such strict terms cannot even guarantee trainees a stable basic salary. Only those who get jobs can receive a share of the earnings, usually around 20%. Those who are unemployed are not even eligible to receive any money.

In addition to these, there are many other miscellaneous rules and regulations, non-compete agreements, etc.

Jun Sakurada, who was still not fully aware of the extent of exploitation in the idol industry, was greatly shocked.

Just as he was about to abandon all pretense of dignity and smash this damn contract in Takizawa Hideaki's face to get rid of him, the latter slowly spoke:

"Oops, I took the wrong one. That's the old version of the contract for regular Jrs. It will be discontinued next year."

"Your contract is based on the new version, with many additional special clauses added. These clauses are more generous than when I debuted."

As he spoke, he placed another contract, which was obviously thicker, in front of Sakurada Jun, and very naturally took back the original one.

Jun Sakurada rolled his eyes.

As Lu Xun once said, human nature is always about compromise. After seeing that terrible contract, the new version is much better.

That old bastard tricked me.

Sure enough, after just a quick glance, Jun Sakurada could tell that Johnny's Entertainment seemed to be making concessions.

First, regarding Jun Sakurada's core area of ​​gaming, Johnny & Associates generously offered him the lenient terms of "creative freedom, no profit sharing, and if he wins an award, Johnny & Associates will use the money for promotion."

In addition, if voice acting, performances, or GG promotions are required, priority will be given to agreements with artists or trainees under Johnny & Associates.

Takizawa knew very well that the gaming industry was Sakurada Jun's private domain, and if Johnny's dared to interfere or take a cut, Sakurada Jun would definitely turn against them.

Let's do a favor. If Jun Sakurada can win some international awards for making games, Johnny's can take the opportunity to promote themselves.

"Take it easy, don't take our permission to do anything outrageous, or you'll be really in big trouble." But Takizawa Hideaki still gave him a verbal warning.

Although I won't ask about the content, if Jun Sakurada really went and made eroge (adult games) while still holding the identity of a Johnny's idol, that would be hilarious.

"What are you thinking? How could I possibly do something that requires high standards for art and voice acting, and would make me look like a FIFA character?" Jun Sakurada rolled his eyes and continued watching.

Besides games, this new contract also includes certain provisions and controls on internet operations, overseas development, and so on, but at least it doesn't completely block all options like that other contract.

Given Johnny's style, this is a huge concession.

But Jun Sakurada was still not satisfied.

Without saying a word, he turned on his computer and started typing furiously: "Do this part the way I do, sign the betting agreement."

"I think we've already given them a lot of freedom," Hideaki Takizawa said, rubbing his forehead.

"You can't expect me to help you with reforms while simultaneously putting a noose around my neck." Jun Sakurada said without turning his head.

"Don't worry, I'll report to you and get your approval for everything I do anyway. We can discuss it if you feel it's inappropriate."

When Jun Sakurada showed the revised betting agreement to Hideaki Takizawa, the latter thought he was that minister surnamed Li from the late 19th century.

This treaty is humiliating and detrimental to our sovereignty!

Jun Sakurada not only seized all autonomy over the internet and overseas-related matters, but also secretly added several highly redundant clauses to the most important copyright issue.

Hideaki Takizawa felt that if he dared to sign these terms on his own initiative, he would become a sinner against Johnny's.

But upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but admire Jun Sakurada's intelligence.

On the one hand, he didn't touch any of the terms related to Johnny's core assets, such as television, print media, film, and physical music copyrights, showing a dutiful attitude of following the agency's arrangements.

The terms concerning the internet and overseas development are all stated as "subject to discussion and approval by him and his agency's agent."

Then, in the manager's section, Takizawa Hideaki's name was mentioned.

Simply put, if Sakurada Jun wants to cause trouble again, he only needs to inform Takizawa Hideaki, who will then issue a warrant, and Sakurada Jun can act in his name. This will greatly reduce the resistance from the agency.

After all, the severity of a trainee disobeying instructions and the vice president doing some fancy tricks are completely different.

"You're squandering my credit!" Hideaki Takizawa's lips twitched.

The fact that he didn't immediately throw this unfair clause in Sakurada Jun's face is enough to prove that these terms were just on the verge of being acceptable to him.

"Alright, what do you think is a suitable number for the bet?" Sakurada Jun ignored him.

Having taken so many advantages, they certainly couldn't not work, so Jun Sakurada set up a betting agreement regarding the autonomy clause in this regard.

If he, and the various commercial activities he has participated in planning, fail to generate a certain amount of revenue for Johnny's within four years, the clause will automatically become invalid.

As for why it's four years... don't ask, anyone who asks that will die.

"Let me think..." Hideaki Takizawa frowned and thought for a while, thinking that Jun Sakurada was a capable man after all, having earned nearly a billion yen in the past year through games and channels.

But after all, idol entertainment is not a game, and there are costs involved in transitioning to a new career.

"How about... a billion?" he finally asked tentatively.

In Hideaki Takizawa's view, one billion yen was already enough pressure on Jun Sakurada.

After all, Johnny & Associates' official revenue in mainland China in the past consisted only of the copyrights to a few songs and three concerts held ten years ago, which attracted a total of only 60,000 to 70,000 attendees.

Although some Johnny's fans from mainland China purchase various records, merchandise, and concert tickets directly in Japan, the revenue from these purchases is not counted towards China's revenue and cannot contribute to Jun Sakurada's success.

Given this foundation, it would be quite difficult for Jun Sakurada to directly jump to the billion-level.

Sure enough, Jun Sakurada frowned slightly: "One billion RMB over four years... If that's over three hundred million RMB per year, that's equivalent to more than five percent of the company's annual revenue, right?"

This figure wasn't entirely unattainable in Jun Sakurada's predictions, but if he were to pursue it, he would have to devote the vast majority of his energy to it, which wouldn't be worthwhile.

"What, five percent?" Hideaki Takizawa was taken aback. Johnny's Entertainment's annual revenue had been over 100 billion yen for the past few years.

He immediately realized his mistake and said, half-laughing, half-crying, "I meant Japanese yen, you didn't mean RMB, did you?"

This time, it was Sakurada Jun's turn to be stunned: "Yen? You want me to earn 1 billion yen for you in four years?"

Hideaki Takizawa nodded, and then saw Jun Sakurada immediately write down the figure of one billion yen and then give a bright smile.

One billion yen over four years?

I feel that as long as things related to Ultraman Tiga go smoothly, it won't need to be four years...