Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1071 is all related to Yuzuru-san.

A brief trip to America left Hideki Hanyu feeling like he had been through a lifetime upon returning to Tokyo.

Perhaps because I'm always so busy when I go to America, this trip was unusually relaxing. Apart from the few days in San Jose, my time in Los Angeles was basically like a vacation.

In addition to the rest that began before the New Year, Hideki Hanyu has an exceptionally long period of leisure this time.

However, he probably won't be able to stay idle after returning to Tokyo.

Since the New Year, I've had a ton of work coming in from all sorts of companies.

Even though he claims to be a hands-off manager, that's just self-proclaimed; he still has to take care of the things that need to be taken care of.

Subordinates are like that; once they realize you don't care about work, they'll become even more indifferent than you are.

As the saying goes, if you don't want others to make mistakes, don't give them the opportunity to do so.

So even though his business is expanding, he reads all the work reports from different companies and channels.

With his exceptional memory, he was always able to control everything meticulously, exposing his subordinates' many ulterior motives.

However, Hideki Hanyu also understands the principle that "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

He often turns a blind eye to minor issues that are insignificant and do not involve principles.

And so, on February 3rd, Hideki Hanyu arrived in Tokyo.

Instead of returning to Yorozuya in Bunkyo Ward that night, he went to Chiyoda Ward.

However, the scumbag wasn't looking for Yasuko Sawaguchi.

With the start of spring, the drama series "Kasouken no Onna" starring Yasuko Sawaguchi premiered, and she entered another busy filming period.

The place where Hideki Hanyu stayed overnight was actually Chiharu Ono's Ono Ryotei.

This widow was always well-behaved and sensible, never vying for attention. During the New Year, a bunch of women went to Sendai to compete for her favor, but Ono Chiharu, after making a phone call and being persuaded by Hanyu Hideki, obediently stayed in Tokyo.

Whenever Hideki Hanyu sought peace and quiet, he would come to Chiharu Ono.

Having returned from America, he needed a place to help him process his emotions, and Chiharu Ono was undoubtedly the best choice.

Soaking in hot springs, savoring delicious food, and enjoying the gentle service of a traditional Japanese "Yamato Nadeshiko" – this is a completely different experience from fast food in America.

After a night of intimacy, Hideki Hanyu began his return to work in Japan the next day.

The first thing to deal with, of course, is the financial operations of Xingtu Logistics.

Now everything is ready, and all that's left is to wait for news from the Gulf front so that Xingtu Logistics can take the initiative to cooperate and take the opportunity to boost its stock price for profit.

Inside the meeting room of Yuzuru Investment, Eiichi Jinbo, who had been specially brought back from Singapore, was given all the instructions by Hideki Yuzuru and would fully cooperate with the matter.

The statement said that Hideki Hanyu took this matter very seriously, but the reason for his seriousness was actually because it involved his friends in America.

In terms of how remarkable this event is, it's nothing compared to Eiichi Jinbo's previous management strategies.

So after hearing the arrangements, Shinbo Hideki was immediately somewhat disheartened.

"Did you call me back to Tokyo from Singapore just for this trivial matter?"

By the end of last year, Hideki Hanyu had already completed all his operations in the Tokyo financial market.

Eiichi Jinbo began taking a break in the new year and is now only assisting Cornerstone Bank with some international financial matters.

After finally getting Hideki Hanyu to assign them work, it turns out he just used insider information to fleece them. No wonder Eiichi Jinbo reacted this way.

"It may be a small matter, but it is very important to me, and I absolutely cannot allow any problems to occur."

Hideki Hanyu's tone was serious.

Upon hearing this, Jinbo Hide immediately sat up straight and assured him, "Boss, please rest assured, if something like this goes wrong, I'll jump off Tokyo Tower."

Upon hearing this, Hideki Hanyu looked at Eiichi Jinbo with a playful expression.

"You'd better keep your word, otherwise if something goes wrong, you won't have to jump; someone will throw you off the Tokyo Tower."

"Is it that serious?" Eiichi Jinbo finally realized the gravity of the problem.

"Hehe, when have I ever lied to you?"

After finishing speaking, Hideki Hanyu stood up and, while straightening his suit, gave Eiichi Jinbo his final instructions.

"Alright, get your team ready and contact Xingtu Logistics immediately. I have other things to do this afternoon, so I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, Hideki Yuzuru walked straight outside.

Eiichi Jinbo hurriedly followed, fawningly seeing Hideki Hanyu off.

After leaving Yuzuru Investment, Hideki Hanyu went directly to the headquarters of Elf Entertainment.

He planned to check on how the task he had entrusted to Iwata was being carried out.

Hideki Hanyu felt that Elf Entertainment was overly optimistic and had a restless atmosphere, and that the staff needed to be calmed down.

At a time when the Japanese economy is slowing down and even starting to decline, Hideki Hanyu's companies are among the few that are unaffected by the overall environment and are thriving.

Elf Entertainment, in particular, set a new record for executive bonuses and employee bonuses last year.

Such treatment must make countless Japanese office workers green with envy.

After all, today is different from the past.

The mid-to-late 1980s, the peak of Japan's bubble economy, can be considered the golden age for Japanese office workers.

College students don't need to worry about jobs at all; before their internships are even over, they'll be snapped up by companies swarming in.

The prize draws and sponsorships from companies at the graduation party were incredibly diverse, ranging from cash and gifts to countless taxi vouchers—these were just the tip of the iceberg.

As long as you apply for a job, you'll receive tens of thousands of yuan in travel expenses and small gifts, as if they were free.

Overseas travel is a basic requirement once you join the company, and in some industries, you can even get a year-end bonus of millions in your first year.

At that time, although Elf Entertainment offered good benefits, it didn't actually have any competitive advantage compared to those industries that were experiencing a bubble.

It's only relatively attractive within this industry.

But it's different now.

The bursting of the stock market bubble and the collapse of the financial industry quickly spread throughout the entire Japanese economy.

This year, even the most resilient real estate industry is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Businesses are too busy protecting themselves to care about the lives of their employees.

For those already employed, the cuts to their benefits are nothing compared to the daily worries about their company going bankrupt or being laid off.

Unemployed graduates will no longer be able to enjoy the benefits that their predecessors enjoyed in just over a year.

There were no more corporate sponsorships at the school, and all the raffles at the party had disappeared.

What was once a highly sought-after position has now become a situation where it is extremely difficult to find a job.

At times like these, companies like Elf Entertainment, which weren't the most attractive during the bubble economy but can still maintain their original benefits, become highly sought-after by everyone.

It's not an exaggeration to say that thousands of people compete for a single position when schools recruit.

This is why Hideki Hanyu dared to launch a rectification campaign at this time.

If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will.

With its near-monopoly in the market and a vast copyright library, Elf Entertainment is the undisputed king, regardless of who it's associated with.

February 4th was a Monday.

The start of each week is always the busiest day for the company.

When Hideki Hanyu arrived at Elf Entertainment, it was close to lunchtime.

Instead of going directly to Satoru Iwata's office, he randomly selected floors to inspect. He appeared suddenly in the office area without notifying any management.

His appearance naturally startled many people.

Similar to the development of Cloud Entertainment, in the early stages of Elf Entertainment's development, Hideki Hanyu would also personally work on the front lines, becoming very familiar with many employees, and their relationship was not as serious as that of typical Japanese superiors and subordinates.

However, as the company grows, new people are constantly joining.

The employees who were originally familiar with Hideki Hanyu either got promoted to senior management or left for various reasons.

Nowadays, the ordinary employees he sees are so intimidated by him that they don't even dare to breathe loudly, let alone greet him familiarly.

Regardless of his public image or whether he is truly approachable, it cannot change the fact that he is the owner of this company.

The deeply ingrained hierarchical and superior-subordinate concepts in Japan mean that employees cannot truly treat him as an ordinary person.

"Good morning, President."

"President, it is a great honor to meet you."

"President..."

Those who are able to come up and say hello are at least considered to be mid-level managers at Elf Entertainment.

The ordinary employees, no matter what they were doing, immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to Hideki Yuzuru.

At times like this, Hideki Hanyu didn't try to be approachable.

He simply walked past with a calm expression, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the crowd.

He could sense that the atmosphere at Elf Entertainment was indeed somewhat different from before.

When he first founded Elf Entertainment, he felt that as a game company, Elf Entertainment should create a relaxed and pleasant working atmosphere.

However, this situation only lasted for a short period of time.

To be precise, this only lasted until Elf Entertainment was operating from its original small building.

Once the new headquarters was built, the company relocated, and its scale continued to expand, the entire company inevitably began to transform into the typical corporate atmosphere of Japan.

While it's not as serious and oppressive as many long-established Japanese companies.

But it was definitely not the lighthearted and enjoyable experience that Hideki Hanyu had originally envisioned.

On the contrary, the atmosphere at the America headquarters was much more relaxed.

Hideki Hanyu was well aware that this transformation was inevitable given the socio-cultural atmosphere of Japan, and it was not something he could reverse on his own.

Now, he finds this feeling even more pronounced.

After randomly inspecting a few floors, Hideki Hanyu decided to end the surprise inspection early.

As for why, it was because he discovered that his inspection could no longer be sudden.

For each floor he inspected, several managers would follow behind him.

As people descended the stairs, the number of people increased.

Moreover, as time went on, he clearly sensed that someone was tipping him off; the employees on the floors he went to were obviously prepared in advance.

When he arrived at the game development department, Myth Studio, the studio manager, Yuji Horii, was simply waiting for him at the door.

Seeing this, Hideki Hanyu could only wave his hand helplessly, "Horie-san, sorry to bother you. You can continue your work. I'm going to see President Iwata."

In the end, he never even stepped inside the Myth Studio.

Even if he had previously worked at Myth Studio and led employees in game development, so what?

It’s different in the past.

Even the Myth Studio is no longer what it used to be.

Myth Studio originally had only one development team, but now it has expanded to six.

Even if you revisit the place, everything has changed.

What's the point of a formulaic inspection?

Nowadays, Hideki Hanyu can no longer delve into the front lines of game development like he used to.

After dismissing the high-ranking officials who had accompanied him, Hideki Hanyu went directly to Satoshi Iwata.

However, to his surprise, when he entered Iwata Satoru's office, he saw an old friend.

Eri Kitahara.

The two last met at the end of last year.

If you count the time, it's been almost three months since they last saw each other.

It has to be said that as his career has grown stronger, he has fewer and fewer opportunities to meet with these old friends.

He had just entered the office when he heard Kitahara Eri's familiar voice.

"President Iwata, see? I told you so. There's no need to wait downstairs for Yuzuru-san. He'll come up by himself soon."

Eri Kitahara and Hideki Hanyu are old friends, but Satoru Iwata is not. Even though they have a good relationship in private, they still need to observe proper etiquette in company settings.

Therefore, while Kitahara Eri was speaking, Iwata Satoru had already stood up to greet her and then asked her questions.

"Chairman, is there something you need to tell me about that you've come to the company so suddenly today?"

"I just suddenly felt like coming to take a look."

After answering Iwata Satoshi, Hideki Hanyu turned to Kitahara Eri and said, "I didn't expect to run into Kitahara-san here."

"I had some work to discuss with President Iwata, but I didn't expect to see Mr. Hanyu."

Someone just told us that Hanyu-san is making a surprise visit downstairs, and President Iwata was planning to go with me to greet him.

"It seems that President Iwata did not go because Kitahara-san stopped him."

Hideki Hanyu recalled what Eri Kitahara had said when he first entered the room.

"Yes, what Yuzuru-san wanted was a surprise attack, but since the news has already reached us, Yuzuru-san's plan to launch a surprise attack has already failed."

Yuzuru-san isn't the type to engage in routine inspections or watch others perform, so he definitely won't cooperate with his subordinates' acting.

Upon hearing this, Hideki Yuzuru gave a wry smile. "Kitahara-san truly lives up to his reputation as my old friend. He really knows me best."

I originally came to check on how the work I assigned to President Iwata was going, but I didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly.

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Eri immediately feigned surprise and looked Hanyu Hideki up and down.

"Does Hanyu-san have some kind of misunderstanding about himself? It's absolutely impossible for someone with your appearance to go unnoticed in Japan, okay?"

Hideki Hanyu immediately echoed Eri Kitahara's words, "I know I'm handsome, Kitahara-san, you don't need to explain."

"I don't deny that, but I really didn't expect that President Iwata's major overhaul of Elf Entertainment was actually supported by Hanyu-san."

When Kitahara Eri said this, it was Hanyu Hideki's turn to be somewhat surprised.

"President Iwata's major reorganization?"

"It seems that Mr. Yuzuru did not pay attention to this matter in America."

Kitahara Eri then offered an explanation.

"Recently, the two most talked-about topics in the offices of major companies in Tokyo are the plot of Tokyo Love Story and the major overhaul of Elf Entertainment."

Come to think of it, both of these things seem to be related to Yuzuru-san.

(End of this chapter)