Reborn in Tokyo: From Heiress to Global Tycoon

Chapter 297 "Righteousness"

Two warm white spotlights on the main stage converge at one point.

The incessant clicking of camera shutters and the blinding white flashes of light intertwined, illuminating the front row of the hall as if it were daytime. This commotion, originating from the media section, lasted for nearly half a minute.

It wasn't until the current Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu took half a step forward and stood directly in front of the microphone that had just started emitting static that the current began to rise.

He raised his right hand, palm down, and made a gesture of control towards the frenzied media reporters below the stage.

Several special security personnel standing at the edge of the main stage stepped forward at the opportune moment, using their bodies to block the front row of the media area, making a deterrent gesture to prevent filming.

The strobe frequency of the flashes began to decrease rapidly, and the sound of the shutters subsided like the receding tide. The hall returned to a deathly silence.

Two warm white spotlights converged at the edge of the wooden podium.

Toshiki Kaifu stood tall, his hands resting on either side of the podium, facing hundreds of zaibatsu leaders and bank executives who controlled the lifeline of Japan's economy. The guests below composed themselves, hundreds of eyes fixed intently on the nation's highest administrative leader.

Kaibu slightly adjusted the angle of the microphone.

"Good evening, esteemed leaders of the business world."

Haibu's voice was steady and evenly covered the entire venue through the matrix speakers in the four corners of the hall.

"Tonight, my original schedule was to handle government affairs at the Prime Minister's Residence. However, after learning that Saionji Corporation was organizing this dinner to help unemployed workers, I changed my plans and came uninvited."

He placed his hands on either side of the wooden podium, his gaze level with the business tycoons in the front row below, each with a different expression.

"I stand here representing the shared position of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance. We want to express our sincere respect to all the business leaders present who have stepped forward and taken the initiative to share the social burden when the national economy is facing setbacks."

This impeccably worded official opening perfectly packaged a sudden political pressure campaign as a commendation of the business community. After a brief pause, Haibu's tone naturally intensified, getting to the point.

"The recent macroeconomic policy adjustments jointly implemented by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan aim to eliminate irrational speculative elements in the market and guide the national economy back to a sustainable and steady growth trajectory. During this critical period of structural adjustment, some small and medium-sized enterprises are facing short-term cash flow difficulties due to their excessively high leverage ratios. This is an inevitable growing pain that accompanies industrial upgrading."

"However, the Cabinet will never stand idly by while low-income workers are displaced by corporate bankruptcies. Maintaining overall social stability and ensuring the basic survival of citizens is the government's responsibility. At the same time, this is also a national responsibility that major financial institutions and conglomerates that have enjoyed the economic boom of the past five years must bear."

He leaned forward slightly, his hands gripping the edge of the podium tightly.

"Tonight's dinner is a comprehensive review by the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet of the business community's sense of social responsibility and loyalty. The government hopes to see that, at a time when the national economy is facing the challenges of transformation, you will demonstrate a level of responsibility commensurate with your size and work together with the government to overcome these difficult times."

As soon as he finished speaking, a flurry of camera shutters clicked from the front row of the media reporters.

Toshiki Kaifu stepped back half a step, making room for the microphone.

Shuichi Saionji stepped forward. He faced all the guests and gave a slight nod in greeting.

"The Saionji family will always remember the Prime Minister's teachings."

Shuichi's deep voice echoed above the brightly lit hall.

"As a co-initiator of this relief fund, the Saionji Group should set an example in this effort to overcome these difficult times together."

He raised his right hand and extended one index finger.

"Saionji Group will inject 10 billion yen into the designated account of the Joint Relief Fund."

Xiu Yi paused for half a second before uttering the last two words.

"All cash."

"Whoosh—!"

The moment this astronomical figure was revealed, the flashbulbs below the stage went off in a frenzy. The blinding white light formed a sea of ​​light, making Shuichi and Kaifu Toshiki, who stood side by side, appear incredibly tall.

10 billion yen, in pure cash.

Outside the hall, several presidents of mid-sized real estate companies were so weak in the knees that they could barely hold their champagne glasses. Some even unconsciously loosened their ties and gasped for breath.

The figure that Xiu Yi presented could not possibly be expected to be followed by all the small and medium-sized enterprises in the hall. What it truly set in the hall tonight was a strict benchmark that required everyone to "bleed according to their own size."

In a public setting with the Prime Minister personally overseeing the effort, the initiators directly pulled out tens of billions of dollars in cash. If those equally top-ranking conglomerates and bank executives only offered a few billion dollars as a perfunctory gesture, they would be labeled by the media tomorrow as "resisting the government's bailout."

For small and medium-sized business owners mired in debt, this is a death sentence. Even the top giants are cutting their losses; if they still try to use a few million yen to buy a safety net, they will inevitably face even stricter tax audits from the Ministry of Finance. They must empty their last lifeline of cash obtained by selling machinery and mortgaging real estate just to barely reach this minimum standard.

The Saionji family wants them dead.

……

In the center of the hall, at the intersection of the Seibu Group's seating area and the Fuji Bank's buffet table.

Upon hearing the phrase "10 billion yen in pure cash," Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's fingers, holding the wine glass, paused momentarily in mid-air. The golden champagne in the glass rippled slightly, and a few tiny bubbles broke against the glass's surface.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's smile remained unchanged, but his hands visibly tightened uncontrollably.

10 billion.

That's really cruel... little girl...

If the Seibu Group follows suit tonight, dumping 10 billion yen in cash on this peddler's turf, the daily bills for special heavy oil consumed by Hokkaido Gokurakukan, coupled with several short-term bonds maturing next month, will instantly drain Seibu's liquidity completely. Tomorrow morning, the financial chain of his vast empire will suffer a substantial break.

This money must never be withdrawn from Seibu's current account.

However, he also cannot back down in front of the Prime Minister and the media; he must preserve the face and social status of "Emperor Seibu".

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi held his wine glass, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the crowded throng.

He needed to find a "wallet" large enough within seconds that wouldn't dare refuse him in public in the current situation.

His gaze swept past several trading company presidents who were wiping away sweat, and landed on Kagawa, the vice president of Fuji Bank, who was standing at the edge of the buffet table.

Hmm...isn't this our good partner?

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's eyes. He strode confidently toward the cold buffet table.

Vice President Kagawa was holding a wine glass, pondering how to present the few hundred million yuan of available funds remaining in the branch's accounts in a presentable manner. Yu Guangzhong saw that tall and imposing figure approaching.

Before Kagawa could react, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki had already walked up to him.

Under the spotlight of over a dozen media cameras and their long lenses, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi reached out his left arm and put his arm around Kagawa's shoulder. Their bodies pressed tightly together instantly, their posture intimately close.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi raised his champagne glass and faced Toshiki Kaifu on the main stage and the media present.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister!"

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's powerful voice drowned out the noise in the room.

"The Seibu Group will fully respond to the Cabinet's call. To demonstrate our confidence in the fundamentals of the national economy, the Seibu Group has decided to jointly establish the 'Nishi-Fuji Revitalization Fund' with our strongest strategic partner, Fuji Bank." (Note: Fuji Bank is one of the Seibu Group's "mainstay banks")

Ah? No...no, I don't want to!

Kagawa felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his body almost turned to stone on the spot, but his reason was still desperately urging him to leave quickly.

He instinctively tried to break free from Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's arm.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi tightened his grip on Kagawa's shoulder, holding the vice president even closer to him.

"We will jointly invest 15 billion yen in the fund!"

Thunderous applause and a barrage of flashes erupted once again in the hall.

Vice President Kagawa stood frozen in place.

Cold sweat quickly seeped down his temples, and his business smile was as stiff as a plaster mask.

He seems to be a little dead.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi simply couldn't come up with that much cash; he was essentially forcibly holding Fuji Bank hostage to share the cost of this exorbitant donation. According to the literal meaning of "joint investment," this 7.5 billion yen in cash had to be transferred from Fuji Bank's accounts.

Even more fatally, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Finance officials, and national media, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi forcibly completed the political binding of "Seibu Group and Fuji Bank on the same boat."

If Kagawa were to back down now and refuse the joint proposal on the grounds that "it needs to be consulted with the board of directors," it would be a public slap in the face to the current prime minister and a defiance of the national strategy to save the economy.

But if he remains silent, he tacitly agrees to the proposal.

Tomorrow, when the Ministry of Finance issues a tightening order requiring major banks to clean up high-risk real estate loans, Fuji Bank will completely lose its legal and moral grounds for forcibly withdrawing loans from the Seibu Group. You just established a joint charitable foundation with them in front of the Prime Minister last night, and this morning you sent your legal department to seize their assets? The Ministry of Finance's investigators will be the first to come after Fuji Bank.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi is using money from Fuji Bank to brazenly buy himself a get-out-of-jail-free card from loan withdrawal in the face of the political meat grinder.

"Vice President Kagawa, for our shared social responsibility."

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi turned his head, smiled, and touched the rim of his wine glass to Kagawa's glass.

The glass clashed together, producing a crisp sound.

Vice President Kagawa swallowed hard, raised his glass, and stiffly completed the toast, which was laced with deadly poison, in front of the media's cameras.

……

Next to the champagne tower, about ten meters away from the buffet table.

Hiroya Iwasaki, the top advisor of the Mitsubishi Group, and Yagi, the head of the Mitsui zaibatsu, stood side by side, coldly observing the kidnapping drama unfolding in the center of the hall.

Yagi chuckled softly, his fingers gently stroking the inside of the wine glass.

"Yoshiaki Tsutsumi still can't shake his brutal style. Extorting the head of the bank in public is just too disgusting." Yagi took a sip of red wine. "Although he barely managed to preserve the cash flow, this is tantamount to completely offending Fuji Bank. Once the storm passes, Kagawa and his gang will have plenty of financial means to trip him up in the shadows."

(Note: "Chief Bank" also means the main bank, but older generations of industrialists preferred to use "Chief Bank".)

Hiroya Iwasaki gripped the top of his sterling silver cane with both hands clasped together. He looked at Toshiki Kaifu and Shuichi Saionji on the high platform.

"When it comes to survival, table manners don't matter. What matters is that he actually transferred the risk to someone else."

Iwasaki Hiroya, leaning on his cane, calmly strode towards the main aisle at the front.

"However, in the face of the cash trap set by the Saionji family, simply handing over money is ultimately a poor approach."

He stopped three meters away from the main stage. The surrounding guests quickly made way for the head of the Mitsubishi Empire.

Hiroya Iwasaki straightened his back and bowed slightly to Toshiki Kaifu on the stage.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Iwasaki's voice was deep and magnetic, clearly carrying throughout the venue.

"The generosity of the Saionji family and the Seibu Group is truly a model for the business world. However, the Mitsubishi Group believes that while pure cash relief can solve the immediate problem, it is easy to breed laziness among the lower-level employees and cannot solve the unemployment wave caused by the bankruptcy of small and medium-sized enterprises at its root."

He raised his right hand and calmly presented Mitsubishi's solution.

"The Mitsubishi Group is willing to provide more constructive assistance. In order to stabilize employment, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation will recruit 5,000 skilled workers nationwide who lost their jobs due to corporate bankruptcies."

Iwasaki surveyed the entire room and announced that astonishing number.

"Mitsubishi Group will set aside a special fund of 20 billion yen, which will be used entirely for the internal pre-job training, placement and welfare distribution of these 5,000 newly recruited workers."

A gasp of amazement erupted from the audience.

Shuichi stood on the stage, looking down at Hiroya Iwasaki, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

This shrewd old fox, who has been navigating the business world for decades, has indeed offered a solution far superior to that of Yoshiaki Tsutsumi.

This is also one of the "foundations" of established conglomerates like Mitsubishi. The most important point is that they have their own banks.

Iwasaki's move, ostensibly a donation of 20 billion yen, was in reality a transfer of money from Mitsubishi Bank's left hand to the right hand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation. All 20 billion yen would remain in the accounts of Mitsubishi Group's own subsidiaries and training institutions; not a single penny of it would actually leave the Mitsubishi system as current cash.

Not only did they perfectly avoid the cash flow drain trap set by the Saionji family, but they also used these 5,000 jobs to gain the highest amount of political prestige and social goodwill in front of the state.

A watertight internal circulation system within the conglomerate.

However... well, Satsuki never expected this kind of trap to cause much harm to these zaibatsu.

Xiuichi stepped forward and gripped the metal stand of the microphone again.

He smiled and raised his glass in a distant salute to Hiroya Iwasaki.

"His Excellency Iwasaki's pragmatism and foresight are truly admirable. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish; the Mitsubishi Group provides an excellent model of relief for the business world."

Shuichi's tone was gentle, and he naturally drew Prime Minister Kaifu into the conversation.

"Since this is a national-level relief operation personally witnessed by His Excellency the Prime Minister, in order to ensure absolute transparency of the donations and to provide a clear account to the public nationwide, the Saionji United Foundation is willing to provide its full assistance."

Shuichi looked at Iwasaki and launched a counterattack.

"The Saionji family will dispatch a professional financial auditing and human resources supervision team free of charge to be stationed in all the core factories of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation. They will assist and 'supervise' the payment of salaries to these 5,000 workers and the implementation of special funds."

Hiroya Iwasaki's smile faltered slightly.

Shuichi's move directly struck at the Mitsubishi Empire's most sensitive weakness.

The financial operations and personnel arrangements within the Mitsubishi Group have always been an extremely closed black box. Shuichi used the "public transparency" provided by the Prime Minister's presence as a weapon to openly and legitimately plant the Saionji family's spies and auditors in Mitsubishi's core heavy industrial plant area.

Refusing this "free oversight and assistance" under the spotlight of hundreds of media outlets and the Prime Minister is tantamount to admitting guilt in public and declaring to the outside world that the 20 billion was nothing more than a financial fraud involving money being transferred from one pocket to another.

There was no way to retreat.

Hiroya Iwasaki quickly adjusted his facial expression. He raised a glass of red wine from a passing waiter's tray and gave it a slight nod to Shuichi on the table.

"The Mitsubishi Group is naturally happy to accept the enthusiasm of the Saionji family."

The two raised their glasses across the surging crowd.

Under the constant flash of camera lights, a bloodless exchange of benefits was completed.