Yes, Prime Minister of Japan

But indeed, the Guo sisters are still a bit lacking compared to Zhao Lieshu.

Cho Yeol-sook's fan club has 180 million paying followers in South Korea, and regularly sends reporters to Tokyo to share photos of Cho Yeol-sook's life and work, inciting more brainwashed fans to speak out for her. In a country where fan culture is rampant and the economic crisis is severe, both those who like and dislike her place orders in an extremely extreme manner. Under Lee Sung-ha's forceful debt liquidation, sending large numbers of citizens to landfills, fire stations, and even overseas to serve as border guards to pay off debts, South Koreans can only suffer from mental breakdowns.

Those who support Li Xinghe are extremely supportive, with some female scholars and bloggers even declaring that they could "go to Jinan to get married and have children to pay off the nation's debts" or "go to a garbage dump to do clerical work" in praise of Li Xinghe's debt-reduction plan.

Those who oppose it are naturally quite opposed, believing that Li Xinghe is completely disregarding human rights in his debt settlement, first killing the creditors and then selling the debtors as indentured slaves.

Therefore, Zhao Lieshu worked very hard to exert her influence, getting young female fans to fight for her and bombard the public with scholars and newspapers that were critical of Li Xinghe.

Kokubun Tsukiya, on the other hand, lacked relevant social skills and could only cling to Chiyo Hinahime's arm.

"You, tsk tsk tsk."

As the youngest president of a major energy company in Japan, Makabe Kokubun smiled and said:

"But I already have a solution. I have a plan to deal with the massive influx of American capital."

"You have?"

Kokubun Tsukiya was surprised.

This is a major problem that even many economics professors can't reach a conclusion about no matter how much they discuss it.

Kokubun Makabe begins to recount history:

"Japan has always been a country with a strict controlled economic model. It only began to promote the free trade of rice in 1970, allowing the covert black market to surface. Compared to China's economic reforms, this was only about ten years earlier. The food rationing system was not officially abolished until 1982."

Yueya wondered:

"Why are you suddenly talking about the history of our parents' generation? Grandpa did mention that his entire family lived on the black market and with food coupons from childhood to adulthood. But we've completely stopped living like that by then."

Kokubun Makabe asked: "Where's Ume? Is Rin Zai-sora? Is Rin Zai-sora...?"

"In a country like this, where the real economy is under a controlled system, there is a financial sector that has gradually begun to liberalize since the 70s. Do you think they can cooperate stably?"

Obviously not.

From a very early stage, Japan's stock market has been an artificial one, created simply for the sake of its existence. The initial intention behind establishing this stock market was indeed for the Japanese leadership to emulate developed countries and promote modernization reforms.

In the post-war 80s, in order to conform to the wave of neoliberal reforms and promote financial liberalization, the stock market gradually relaxed its regulations and began to be left to its own devices under the influence of the United States and the pressure of the Plaza Accord.

From a hindsight perspective, the emergence of this liberalization trend and the prevalence of shareholding reforms were clearly signs that the United States wanted to exploit Japan. Sure enough, four years after the gradual economic liberalization in 1986, Japan suffered the painful blow of the bursting of the bubble economy. Eleven years later, the 1997 Asian financial crisis directly and severely damaged Japan, plunging it into a lost forty years.

After asking the question, Kokubun Makabe said seriously:

"Actually, we don't need an American-style financial stock market that is aligned with the United States and influenced by the tides of the American economy."

"unnecessary?"

"Yes."

While Japan can emulate the US stock market, the traditional Japanese conglomerate economic model does not rely on it. Traditional large Japanese conglomerates manage numerous subdivided industrial clusters internally through their own large banks. These banks, with their financial chains and shareholdings, control the major companies within each conglomerate, which in turn hold shares in each other, forming a dense network of industrial conglomerates.

Since financing is not a problem and the industrial cluster is thriving, why bother setting up a stock market that is supposedly for financing?

Because we need to learn from and emulate the United States (and are under pressure from the United States).

Thus, for many years after the Tokyo Stock Exchange was established, Japanese conglomerates listed on the stock exchange maintained their old tactics: using large banks as the central holding entity to control various companies within the group, with major conglomerates holding shares in each other to collectively protect the power of the conglomerates. Even the securities industry was dominated by four oligopolies that maintained a long-term balance of power.

In this form, although it may appear to be a flexible and healthy stock market, the actual trading volume is lackluster because everyone knows that it is something that exists for the sake of existence.

Is it open yet?

As if opening.

The Americans were quite frustrated by this impenetrable fortress. Their massive capital repeatedly bombarded the Japanese stock market, each time attempting to reap the benefits of the economy, only to run into these seemingly liberalized conglomerates that actually fortified their system through cross-shareholdings, ultimately failing to achieve their goals. You ignorant Japanese dwarfs, don't you know your father is about to come and take you down?

In this respect, the Japanese are even less capable than China. When they say they'll partially open up, they actually dare to open up and engage in market competition. Japan, on the other hand, promised the US financial liberalization while simultaneously organizing a robust defense through cross-shareholdings. It wanted US security and order, yet didn't want to share any of the benefits. Trying to gain every advantage ultimately enraged the Americans.

It wasn't until the Plaza Accord that Yasuhiro Nakasone naively promoted financial liberalization, believing he could transform Japan into a global financial superpower like the United States through financial upgrading. This gradually opened a gap, allowing Japanese industrial capital groups to transform into international financial capital conglomerates aligned with the United States.

Then American capital came in, and the two economic crises in 90 and 97 dealt a heavy blow to Japan.

It wasn't until the 21st century that the Tokyo Stock Exchange gradually began to resemble the modern financial market people imagined. Japan cannot independently become a global financial power; it can only be considered allowed to join the global financial game by paying an endless supply of yen liquidity to the United States and becoming a junior partner of the big brother, barely getting a share of the profits, through the payment of a global financial profit tax.

By this time, the Japan that Yasuhiro Nakasone envisioned as a global financial superpower had become Japan, a mere facilitator for American finance.

Kokubun Tsukiya wasn't very familiar with this period of economic history, so she asked her increasingly earnest younger sister:

"After saying all that, what are you planning to do?"

Kokubun Makabe boldly proposed his plan:

"How about another iron wall defense? When American funds keep flowing into the Tokyo stock market, use the huge amount of yen in the government's hands to expand the holdings of key shares in major companies, and then start preparing to pass legislation in Congress to lock up these shares. Once American funds want to leave, we will further lower interest rates and print money to depreciate the yen, so that they can't leave even if they want to."

We must adhere to the traditional Japanese iron wall defense, and also learn some divine techniques from Türkiye and India.

Kokubun Tsukiya was shocked.

Even Satsuki Takajo, who was eavesdropping, was stunned.

Yueya quickly grabbed her younger sister's hand:

"Are you crazy... You'll die! They'll do anything to kill you!"

Takajo Mayu also came out and said:

"Yeah, yeah, you absolutely mustn't take any risks."

However, Kokubun Makabe was not afraid at all; she pushed the plan onto Li Xinghe:

"What's there to be afraid of? Galaxy is already going to default on $3000 billion from the Federal Reserve. I think they certainly wouldn't mind defaulting on the threshold of financial liberalization again and trapping American capital."

This is a hidden plan to strangle American capital.

Americans want to convert their money into yen, short the US market, and then go back to reap huge profits during the US financial crisis.

However, if you convert your money into Japanese yen, then it becomes my money, and once you're here, you can't leave.

Chapter 826: His Majesty the Emperor Li Xinghe, the Iron Wall of Jiangdong and a Lolita Lover (5700 words)

The next day.

Miss Kokubun Makabe, accompanied by Yamato Kana, arrived at Li Xinghe's office to explain her economic policies.

Li Xinghe was deeply shocked by what he heard.

Through the financial status of the Cabinet Central Treasury, the government grants this department enormous financial authority to conduct stock acquisitions in the industry.

By combining Japan's four major conglomerates, five major trading companies, five major industrial companies, four major securities firms, and three major banks, along with South Korea's Samsung, Hyundai, Hanjin, and Hanwha, along with emerging technology companies like Sally and Kakao, and Chinese companies preparing to list in Tokyo, a complex equity holding system was created to organize everything from banking and industry to securities and computers.

In short, the major companies are the ships, and the cross-shareholdings are the chains.

Isn't this a modern version of the chained ships, Cao Cao's dream ship?

Li Xinghe couldn't help but tease her:

"You've chained the boat together with iron chains."

Makabe shook his head slightly:

"We lost the Battle of Red Cliffs, but let's use a better term. I prefer to call it the stock market's ironclad fortress. As long as you can withstand the pressure from the United States, we can win big."

Using cross-shareholding to build a modern version of an impregnable fortress. This is both Cao Cao's chained defenses and Sun Quan's impregnable defenses in Jiangdong.

Now that we've gathered two elements from the Three Kingdoms period, all that's missing is Wang Jun's warships sailing down to Yizhou.

"So what are you going to do?"

Li Xinghe was joking.

Kokubun Makabe then pushed out Yamato Kana, who had been standing behind him the whole time:

"Isn't this the best little baby?"

Cute, delicate, and slightly naive, a rich loli with no flaws except for being as short as a loli.

This is the daughter of the vice president of Mizuho Bank. She has been working with Li Xinghe for many years. Their public marriage is the biggest reassurance to the financial world.

The only pressure is that, in front of political women of all sizes, such as Shika Mikage, Tenpei Mizukage, and Ayako Aso, Yamato Kana, who is small in stature, bust size, and brain size, is about to be pushed into a heated arena.

Li Xinghe couldn't help but smile and ask Ke'er:

"Does Ke'er agree?"

"..."

Yamato Keira really wanted to kick Li Xinghe.

She's already here, what do you think?

I'll punch your knee!

Then she actually kicked Li Xinghe's knee.

Li Xinghe patted Yamato Keira's round forehead, but then earnestly said to Kokubun Makabe:

"I'll start this plan in a few days, once I've sorted out the recent situation in Tokyo."

"Is something wrong?"

Li Xinghe's gaze shifted dangerously, conveying a serious signal to Kokubun Makabe:

"Yes, why don't you take Yamato and Keira to Hokkaido for a trip first?"

Kokubun Makabe nodded slightly, his expression turning serious.

"Okay, I'll take Ke'er to Hokkaido. Oh, and my older sister Yueya is going too."

Tokyo has only been quiet for a little over a year, and now it's about to start bleeding again.

……

As Li Xinghe emerged from the conference room, he rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of pressure about transforming himself from a well-known ardent enthusiast into a lolicon.

However, in order to keep trillions of dollars of liquid funds within their controlled territories, they still have to say, against their will, that 'small is also cute.'

Of course, Yamato Keiko is indeed quite cute.

Then he took a few steps and went into another room.

The sign hanging inside the door reads: "Headquarters for Countering Rebels."

The office had dozens of people from the Cabinet, Section 9 of the Public Security Bureau, the Ministry of Public Security, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Ministry of Defense, and the Self-Defense Forces. They were all people that Li Xinghe could trust, specifically for this 'special fishing operation', which aimed to eliminate all the dissidents who had been expelled from politics, bureaucracy, and the Self-Defense Forces in one fell swoop.

Of course, more importantly, Japan's political system needs to be changed, and the system of local autonomy needs to be abolished. (The remaining text appears to be gibberish and unrelated.)

Considering that most autonomous regions in Japan are economically inefficient, Li Xinghe could have already gained something simply by abolishing Tokyo's autonomous system.

Higashikawa Yukami was appointed as the head of the countermeasures headquarters, Tsukishima Minami was appointed as the executive director, and Ryuzaki Hibari was appointed as the chief legal officer.

Hibari Ryuzaki holds up a photo of a retired couple:

“Look, we’ve found a great target: Takeshi Takeichi, the former head of the Tokyo Finance Bureau, and his wife, Reiko Takeichi, the former head of the Tokyo Transportation Bureau.”

Just like the Harada family, who were smashed into a meat pie by Li Xinghe, the local bureaucratic factions in Tokyo are a separate entity, and their development systems are two separate systems from those of the central bureaucrats in Japan.

The Takeichi family, with one as the head of the Finance Bureau and the other as the head of the Transportation Bureau, went on to serve as management directors for a subway company like the Tokyo Metro after stepping down from their posts. They were also able to have their names listed in major international events in Tokyo, such as the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which shows the extent of their family's political influence.

After the Takeshi couple retired, they handed over their positions to their junior colleague, Tsutomu Shioda, who had joined the company a year later.

Back when the old Japanese bureaucratic practices were still largely in place, such senior-junior relationships often resulted in close succession of promotions. Shiota Tsutomu succeeded Takeichi Takashi in this promotion.

Tsutomu Shioda has now been promoted to one of the four vice governors of Tokyo and has also been appointed as a member of the committee for the 2025 World Athletics Championships. His constant collaboration with Takeichi and his wife is a brilliant demonstration of the characteristics of Japanese bureaucratic habits.

Addressing Takeichi Takashi and Shioda Tsutomu, Higashikawa Yukami banged on the table and pointed out:

"Remember the scandal involving Tokyo Metro falsifying subway axle data? According to current information, Tsutomu Shiota has been appointed as a director of Tokyo Metro. He and his wife, Kei Takeichi, are also linked."

The Tokyo Metro's massive network inevitably faces issues of cost and bureaucracy.

One of the most classic and hilarious questions is about people jumping off the Tokyo subway to commit suicide.

Some people ask: Why not install guardrails on the subway?

Beyond a host of reasons for switching on and off, the core reason is simply that installing guardrails is too expensive. In the subway company's procurement list, a small, one-meter-long section of half-high-speed rail guardrail costs 10 yen each, without any advanced technology. Naturally, installing a full-height guardrail would be exorbitantly expensive.

Therefore, the next step is to investigate the Tokyo subway, arrest this group of people, and then create a wave of public opinion that is enough to reform the local self-government system.

Dongchuan Xueshi asked Li Xinghe:

"Should we also tear down Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the Tokyo Citizens First Association behind her?"

Li Xinghe nodded:

"dismantle."