Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

"Sir, let's set aside West Germany, Britain, and France for now," a deputy director in charge of foreign trade raised his hand.

"Japan will definitely be the one most affected by this agreement."

"Japan's economy is too strong right now; more than half of the US's trade deficit is caused by Japan."

"If the yen is forced to appreciate significantly, Japan's export manufacturing industry could suffer a devastating blow."

Upon hearing this, a glint of unfathomable light flashed in Lin Yang's eyes.

He walked back to the map and pointed the baton at that long, narrow island nation in East Asia.

"This is the strategic objective I've gathered you all here today to discuss—Japan."

Lin Yang took a deep breath, and the clearest memories of this era from his previous life surfaced in his mind.

In 1985, Japan was an economic monster that terrified the entire world.

"How much do you know about the current Japanese economy?" Lin Yang asked, looking around at everyone.

Shen Yan immediately stood up and opened a detailed data report.

"Sir, according to our intelligence gathering..."

"Japan's current GDP has surpassed that of the Soviet Union, firmly holding the second position in the world, and it is showing a strong trend of catching up with the United States."

"They have completely crushed the local companies in the United States in traditional heavy industries such as steel, shipbuilding, and automobiles."

Shen Yan's tone carried a hint of shock.

"The most frightening thing is in the high-tech field."

"Especially the semiconductor industry, that is, chips."

"Japanese companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi, and NEC currently hold over 80% of the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market share!"

"Silicon Valley in the United States was utterly destroyed. Even tech giants like Intel were forced to announce their withdrawal from the memory chip market this year and are on the verge of bankruptcy."

Shen Yan swallowed hard.

"It can be said that Japan is now not only the world's factory, but also holds the lifeline of the global electronics and information industry."

After listening to Shen Yan's report, the atmosphere in the conference room became tense.

Our country is still struggling to ensure that its people can have enough to eat and use domestically produced black-and-white televisions.

Meanwhile, Japan, just across the sea, has already crushed the superpower in the most cutting-edge technology field, such as semiconductors.

This enormous gap left every bureaucrat of the Republic present feeling deeply suffocated.

"Feeling hopeless, aren't you?" Lin Yang asked calmly, looking at everyone's expressions.

No one spoke, but their heavy breathing spoke volumes.

"There's no need to despair."

Lin Yang threw his baton on the table, making a crisp clinking sound.

"Because Japan's prosperity is nothing more than a castle built on sand, wealth without the protection of sovereignty, which can be harvested at any time."

Lin Yang's eyes turned incredibly cold.

"Do you think the Americans will just stand by and watch Japan dominate the world in the semiconductor field?"

"Semiconductors are at the heart of modern military industry!"

"If the United States' missiles, radars, and satellites all depend on Japanese chips, then the United States' national defense security is essentially handed over to the Japanese."

Lin Yang placed his hands on the table and leaned forward.

"The Plaza Accord was just the first step in a campaign to damage Japan's overall export profits."

"Next, the US will definitely use its national machinery, and even the Super 301 clause, to launch the most severe trade sanctions and technology blockade against Japan's semiconductor industry!"

"They will force Japan to open its domestic market, force Japanese companies to hand over core technologies, and may even directly arrest executives of Japanese companies!"

Lin Yang's words carried a chilling sense of foresight.

Because he knew that this is how history unfolds.

The Toshiba incident will soon erupt, and Japan's semiconductor industry will be completely destroyed under the strong suppression of the United States.

"And this is a once-in-a-millennium historical opportunity for our republic."

Lin Yang straightened up, his eyes burning with ambition and strategic brilliance.

"With the yen appreciating, Japan's export profits will be squeezed drastically."

"In order to maintain profits, the only thing Japanese companies can do is to move low-value-added manufacturing overseas and find cheaper labor and land."

"Southeast Asia is an option, but it's too small to absorb Japan's massive industrial capacity."

Lin Yang slammed the map down on the location of mainland China.

"Only we can absorb this production capacity!"

"Japan's car assembly lines, home appliance manufacturing lines, and even some low- to mid-range machine tool manufacturing will flood out of Japan like a tide."

"What we need to do is open our doors and use our cheap labor and vast market to attract these industries!"

"But this is by no means selling out one's labor without any bottom line." Lin Yang's tone became resolute.

"We want not only their funding, but also their technology!"

"This is the 'market for technology' strategy."

"We need to take advantage of Japanese companies' eagerness to reduce costs and force them to bring their advanced production lines and management experience to China."

"Then, during the joint venture process, we thoroughly understood and digested their blueprints, processes, and core code, turning them into our own!"

The officials in the conference room listened with great enthusiasm.

Lin Yang's words were like a golden road cleaving through the thick fog.

"But that's not enough." Lin Yang's eyes became even more profound.

"Taking over outdated production capacity is merely a defensive counterattack."

"We also need to take the initiative and plunder things in Japan."

Lin Yang sat back down in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and moistened his throat.

"The appreciation of the yen will also bring a fatal side effect."

"Capital in Japan will become incredibly abundant, and the Bank of Japan will certainly lower interest rates significantly in order to stimulate the economy, which is being dragged down by shrinking exports."

"With a lot of cheap money having nowhere to go, it will flood into real estate and the stock market."

"An unprecedented economic bubble is brewing in Japan."

A cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of Lin Yang's lips.

"Before the bubble bursts, Japanese companies will become very rich and very blindly confident."

"They will travel the world buying buildings, businesses, and works of art."

"At the same time, due to the suppression from the United States, Japanese semiconductor and high-end machine tool companies will face enormous survival pressure."

"This creates an excellent window of opportunity for us to use capital to buy up core technologies at rock-bottom prices!"

Lin Yang turned to Shen Yan and gave him the most important instruction of the day.

"Shen Yan, go and make the arrangements immediately."

"I'm going to Japan."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the conference room was stunned.

As a key official who controls the nation's economic lifeline, Lin Yang personally went abroad for inspection, which was the first time since the establishment of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Sir, your identity is too sensitive. If you go to Japan, the security level and diplomatic coordination will be..." Shen Yan hesitated.

"There's no need for those empty state visits," Lin Yang waved his hand to interrupt him.

"He traveled discreetly in his capacity as a special advisor to the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission."

"My purpose is not to drink and chat with Japanese politicians, but to fight a war of annihilation without gunfire."