America: My Time

Chapter 1021 Mitsui's Price

Chapter 1011 The Price of Mitsui
Although everyone knew that Akio Morita's words made sense, they still hoped that he would speak with John again and put in a good word for them, so that they could at least have a chance to catch their breath and find a way to get through their current difficulties.

"Mr. Morita, we know this is putting you in a difficult position, but we're completely helpless right now. Those bastards in the government are shirking all responsibility. Only you have the opportunity to meet with John and sit down to talk. At the very least, we need our energy supply to remain unaffected, otherwise Japan will fall into an even greater crisis. Coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium are all essential energy sources, and there's also the issue of iron ore pricing! If we can't resolve this, we won't be able to give anyone an explanation!"

Faced with such pressure, Akio Morita was even more furious. These bastards never asked him for good things, but they always thought of him first when it came to bad things. Moreover, because of these guys, he had ruined his friendship with John. How could Akio Morita not be angry? But now he had no way to refuse!
"Alright, I can only give it a try. I can't guarantee whether it will succeed. Moreover, I need your commitment. Even if you want to admit your mistakes, you have to show some sincerity. You can't just settle this matter with an apology without paying any price, can you?"

Sincerity is the most important issue! However, Akio Morita will not sacrifice his own interests, so it all depends on the rest of Mitsui. Since the problem lies with Toshiba and Toyota, they will naturally have to bear the consequences.

"Mr. Morita, how do you think we can show our sincerity and get them to back down?"

"Mitsui needs to provide some assets. As for how to choose, that's up to you all. I can't make the decision for you. After all, only by showing sincerity can we prevent the situation from deteriorating further. If we are completely strangled, I believe the consequences will be unimaginable. The current situation is beyond our control, and Toshiba is also greatly affected, as is Toyota. In just such a short time, they have paid a heavy price. If this continues, it will be even more serious!"

“I think we only have two options: retail or the liquor industry. Mr. John is currently expanding in these two areas in Japan. If we offer a portion of the company to them for sale, that would demonstrate our sincerity!”

"It's none of my business," Akio Morita thought, remaining silent and waiting quietly. He couldn't afford to get involved, or he'd offend people—a result he didn't want. While Sony was part of the Mitsui Group, it wasn't a direct affiliate, only a close ally, much like Toyota. Toyota had been tricked by Toshiba, or more accurately, by Mitsui. If Mitsui didn't give them a satisfactory explanation, conflict would likely erupt, and if Mitsui couldn't provide a satisfactory resolution, the entire Japanese automotive industry would be in turmoil!
"Then let's go with Sapporo Beer. It will have the least impact on us. Morita-san, I'm counting on you from now on!" Although reluctant, Mitsui had no choice but to do so. The most important thing now was to solve the problem, not to let it escalate. If it continued, the impact would be too great, and it would put the entire Mitsui in a predicament.

It wasn't easy for Mitsui to make such a decision in front of everyone. However, mistakes must have consequences. If this crisis can be ended this way, it's a good result, at least providing a satisfactory explanation to all parties. As for what might happen in the future, that's beyond his control!

Akio Morita breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Mitsui's decision. Sapporo Brewery was indeed a good choice that demonstrated their 'sincerity,' and such assets would not have a significant impact on Mitsui. Selling such assets was better than selling companies that had a significant impact on Japan.

Akio Morita took a deep breath, nodded, and said, "I will. I believe that with such sincerity, we can resolve this matter satisfactorily. I will contact Mr. John now to see if he has time to sit down and talk with us. Should we go to the United States to talk to him, or should he come to Japan to make a trip?"

Although the latter possibility is slim—after all, in the eyes of these Japanese people, John has only recently returned to the US and must have many things to deal with, making it impossible for him to come to Japan to meet with them again—they still harbor a sliver of hope. If John could do this, it would mean they could have more contact and things could develop better! "Mr. Morita, if possible, it would be best to invite Mr. John to Japan. We also need to give the authorities an explanation, after all, they have helped us. If possible, it would be best to give them face, and give everyone else face, so that we can all sit down and talk. That would be the best-case scenario!"

Upon hearing this, Akio Morita smiled wryly and said, "I also want to invite John, but the chances of success are slim. Favors always have their limits. This time, you all went too far. Even if John has a good temper, he can't accept such betrayal. And even if the matter can be resolved, Japan's economy will probably have a hard time recovering. Perhaps we should really consider John's suggestion. Tourism is a good option for us!"

Japan's economy had not yet recovered from its predicament, and now, with John's counterattack, Japan's financial market has suffered a significant blow, and the automotive industry is under immense pressure. Now, even if they wanted to cooperate with John again, it would be impossible. Winter has arrived for the entire Japanese automotive industry!

Toyota, which wouldn't have been affected initially, is now paying a heavy price. After all, Toyota has been severely harmed by Toshiba. But is all of this really Toshiba's fault, all of Mitsui's fault? That shouldn't be the case. If Toyota hadn't had its own agenda, and if the entire Japanese automotive industry hadn't tried to extricate itself, this situation wouldn't have occurred. They feel it's a conspiracy by the US, that they've been tricked by the US, but the biggest reason lies within themselves. They were too greedy, always wanting to control all the benefits, yet they lacked the power to do so.

"Mr. Morita, this is not something we should worry about. This is an official matter and has nothing to do with us. Right now, we just need to do our own thing!" As he spoke, Tatsuro Toyoda couldn't help but sigh, a faint trace of sorrow flashing in his eyes. It was clear that he still hadn't recovered from the defeat!
What does it mean to do one's own job well? Naturally, it means eliminating this crisis so that Mitsui can remain unaffected, weather this disaster, and emerge unscathed. After all, if they continue to cause trouble, the price they will have to pay will be too high.

"Alright, I hope you don't worry too much. At least your situation is better than other car companies. And it's too late to regret it now. The Americans won't let Toyota withdraw. We can only continue. As long as we give Toshiba some time, we can still catch up! Also, you can't just ignore everything. At least the person you arranged needs to take action. You can't just ignore everything. That's not a good thing!" Akio Morita continued to persuade Tatsuro Toyoda. He was very concerned about the losses this person had suffered. To put it bluntly, it was the result of greed.

Everyone knew that Nvidia had made breakthroughs in chip technology and ASML was at the forefront of lithography machines, but they ignored all of this and forgot how important the relationship between navigation devices and chips was. After being persuaded by American navigation companies, they all felt that everything was under control, but the result was a huge pitfall.

It's no use regretting it now. Toyota can only hope that Toshiba can upgrade its products as quickly as possible, at least to match the competition's mid-range products, so as to ensure that their market share in the mid-range brand segment remains unaffected.

Nowadays, Norika Fujiwara, who was used as a beautiful public relations officer by Toyota, has not integrated into the circle. Not only has she not gained the recognition of the public, but she also rarely communicates with the women around John. This makes Akio Morita laugh. How can she talk about influence like this? Even Riko is more valuable than her!
In this crisis, Akio Morita saw no effect whatsoever on Norika Fujiwara; she was completely a mere decoration. In contrast, everyone else received different requests, but she was of no use whatsoever. Even Toyota gave up on her. It was a joke. She was given opportunities but they were useless. Is there any point in having such public relations?

"Forget it. I never expected her to do anything anyway. She was just a mascot, a channel to contact John. You know how things have changed for them now. A pretty PR girl is useless. Besides, the White House party incident is evidence. We can't use such methods anymore." Toyota Tatsuro shook his head, not taking Morita Akio's words to heart. After all, he was different from Morita Akio, and Toyota was different from Sony. After the falling out and the betrayal, everything was meaningless. The so-called pretty PR girl was just a waste of time and energy. It was better to use that time and energy to find a way to change things and forge a new path!
(End of this chapter)