Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 803 Essence

There is a Chinese saying that goes, "The drunkard's interest is not in the wine."

In Kitahara's mind, this sentence is extremely wise. Although its original meaning may be related to appreciating the natural scenery of the mountains, in later generations, this Chinese sentence has been extended to many other meanings.

It tells you a simple truth: you should not only look at what others say, but also look at what they do.

Don't be fooled by the appearance of things, even if it seems that way.

Who would have thought that what a drunkard really cares about is not wine, but something else.

The same is true of Eriko's actions tonight. When she shouted loudly that she wanted to build a paradise on earth and punish corrupt bank executives, was this really her true purpose? Was she really a person who spoke for the people and had a sense of justice?

When she revealed the loan projects of Mizuho Bank and Makino Electric, is it possible that Eriko's real purpose was actually targeting Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Terada and the parliamentary re-election in April next year?

Of course, Jiang Lizi is Jiang Lizi.

Eriko is not someone else.

The others are not Eriko either.

Only Eriko herself knows what she really thinks.

However, such a possibility still exists.

Even though it sounds a bit conspiracy-theory.

That is, the bomb attack in Tokyo tonight was actually just a cover. The bomb attack was just to attract the public's attention. And the person who ultimately needs attention is the Minister of General Affairs Terada.

Catch the public's attention first.

Then, when they were most concerned about the progress of the bomb incident, the Terada donation scandal was brought up.

Let him become the focus of the spotlight immediately.

Is it possible that the real purpose of tonight's bomb attack was not to blow up these luxurious bank buildings, but to influence the results of the congressional re-election next April?

The drunkard doesn't mean wine.

Then, what would you care about?

At this time, Asahi Shimbun TV continued to broadcast the development of related events.

The female host faced the camera and continued, "Regarding the potential impact that the Eriko incident may have on the Unity Alliance, we have specially invited a guest tonight to analyze this matter for us."

A wireframe appeared on the live news feed.

A man wearing glasses and looking quite gentle and refined appears in the picture.

"This guest is Masato Komuro, a professor at the Department of Political Science at Hosei University. Professor Komuro has done very in-depth research on various factions active in contemporary times, including the Unity Alliance that currently controls the majority of seats in the House of Representatives. Professor Komuro, could you tell us about your views on this incident?" Komuro in the picture bowed slightly.

"Hello, everyone. Thank you Asahi Shimbun for inviting me. The bomb attack that happened tonight by Eriko was a very unfortunate incident. Fortunately, not many citizens were injured. At this important moment, I hope that the citizens of Tokyo can survive this difficult time. Let us pray for the injured citizens and wish them a speedy recovery."

Komuro first made a polite opening statement.

Then he revealed the sharp look unique to a senior scholar.

"We noticed," Komuro continued, "that Eriko mentioned the loan project between Mizuho Bank and Makino Agriculture and Forestry during the bomb attack, and pointed out that Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Terada might be suspected of illegally soliciting donations. I think this is a very fatal blow."

"Let's look at it from two perspectives."

"First, the credibility of Eriko's words. According to the information I have, Eriko was once the deputy governor of the Tokyo Central Bank, but she stepped down because of the huge bad loan incident of Meiki Island. For such a person who once reached the top of the bank, the facts about bank corruption that she said have a certain degree of credibility."

"Next, let's look at the resume of Minister of General Affairs Terada."

"Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Terada originally came from the Ministry of Finance. Of course, the Ministry of Finance is a term of the past. In the previous reform, the Ministry of Finance was divided into the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Agency, two independent agencies. The original Ministry of Finance was abolished."

"Terada's experience at the Ministry of Finance is very important because it was a turning point in his career. It was a critical moment in his transformation from a professional technocrat to a parliamentarian."

"We can see that Terada's work at the Ministry of Finance was related to banking supervision. And during his time at the Ministry of Finance, Terada proposed the 'strategic planning of active assets'."

“Active…active assets?” the female host asked. “Could you please explain to the audience what the Ministry of Finance’s active asset strategy is?”

Komuro nodded and continued, "I'm sure you all know that in the past, Japan experienced a bubble economy burst. From a period of prosperity, it suddenly entered a depression, and a large number of bank bad debts and non-performing loans were generated. Many idle and rigid assets were generated."

"For example, a factory borrowed money from a bank and couldn't pay it back. So the bank auctioned off its factory and land. But don't forget, during the depression, where could these factories and industrial land be auctioned off? These assets could not be auctioned off, but because the debtors could not repay the debts, they were always seized and could not be used in practice."

"Therefore, during the depression, a large number of similar zombie assets were generated. If these bad assets can be revitalized, it will be of great help to restore the vitality of the economy."

"So, in this context, Terada led the Ministry of Finance to propose the 'active asset' strategy. Specifically, the so-called active asset strategy is to establish a non-performing asset management company jointly funded by our national government agencies and banks. These non-performing asset management companies will purchase a large number of bad debts from banks."

"By transferring these bad debts, banks were able to recover part of the principal and at the same time free themselves from restrictions on physical assets, such as land and factories."

"Does this strategy sound good to you?" Komuro suddenly asked.

The female host nodded unconsciously. "Yes, it sounds like this strategic plan is indeed desirable. It can not only help the bank solve its difficulties, but also promote the use of physical assets. If it can be successfully implemented, it will probably be very effective."

"Well, I'll tell you the essence of this plan now," Komuro said. "The essence of the active asset strategy is to use the hard-earned money of Japanese citizens' taxes to save the banks that have made mistakes!"

(End of this chapter)