America: My Time

Chapter 1093 The Neon Lights' Probe

Chapter 1083 The Neon Lights' Probe

"Sit down. I invited Akimoto-san here simply to invite you to join Elite Agency and participate in the development of our idol girl groups!" John smiled calmly upon seeing Akimoto Yasushi's cautious expression. With the development of the Japanese entertainment industry, Elite Agency needs to adapt. Several years have passed, and the idol ice age is gradually fading. Before other agencies can react, Elite Agency needs to seize the initiative and secure its share of the profits in the Japanese female idol group market.

As someone in the industry, Akimoto Yasushi naturally knew how powerful this man was in Japan, so he dared not be careless. He would be a fool to take John's polite words seriously. He smiled wryly and said, "Mr. John, you overestimate my abilities. Onyanko Club has completely failed. I truly have no confidence in creating an idol group again!"

"Failure? No, it can't be called failure. It's just that you chose the wrong time, and there were also management issues. At that time, it wasn't just Onyanko Club that was affected, but the entire idol industry. So many years have passed, and the idol market will gradually recover. Elite Agency will focus on developing female idols!"

The agency's transformation was inevitable, given the anticipated resurgence of the Japanese idol market. Being among the first to act would give them a significant advantage, and with Phoenix Media's backing, the agency had no shortage of resources. Despite John's sincere invitation, Akimoto Yasushi chose to join; after all, with such a powerful figure involved, refusing would be presumptuous!

Seeing Akimoto Yasushi's hesitant expression, John smiled calmly and said, "Feel free to make any requests. As for resources and funding, those are not problems. You will be in charge of the idol group from now on. Now that there is the SPEED group, you will be in charge of their debut. You will also be in charge of arranging the Morning Musume group. In short, you can make any requests you need. The agency will provide full assistance, and Phoenix Group will also provide strong support. You will be in charge of the idol group."

"Then I have no further requests. I have everything I want, so there's nothing more to ask for. Besides, Elite Agency is backed by Phoenix Group. With the big boss speaking up, I believe no one will hold me back!"

John's move in Japan surprised the old guys, who couldn't understand why he would focus his energy on a niche market like entertainment instead of other industries.

The idol market in Japan is currently in a slump, so no one can imagine how crazy it will become in the future. However, this situation has given those guys hope, so they invited John to a party under the pretext of entertainment, and Riko was the one who represented Sony this time.

After much deliberation, these old guys still felt that Sony was the best option. Little did they know that after this, Sony would no longer be what it is today. Without Akio Morita, there was nothing about Sony that John would care about. Moreover, this time, these old guys used Sony as an excuse to damage the bond between John and Sony.

"Actually, you're all overthinking it. I appreciate your kindness, but although the situation has changed a bit and the White House has some ideas, my promise will not change. I won't joke with my reputation. You don't need any 'compensation'. Just do everything as we agreed in the beginning!"

After speaking with the Japanese guys, John stated his decision directly. Although the benefits they offered were indeed very tempting, John didn't want to ruin his reputation for such a small gain, or create potential problems for his future development. While they might verbally agree to his proposal now, things might not turn out the same way later. John wouldn't do anything to damage his reputation, no matter how substantial the benefits seemed.

One shouldn't be too greedy, and one should be honest. Since an agreement has already been made, it shouldn't be changed or altered just because of a small problem. This is not the situation John wants to see, nor the pressure he'll bear! "Mr. John, we don't have any other intentions, we just don't want you to suffer too much loss, and we don't want you to bear this pressure alone. After all, it's the White House, and this isn't fair to you!" These guys from the Japanese were still trying to persuade John, showing no intention of backing down. It seems they really value the pressure from the White House!

"It's nothing. Although there will be a little pressure, everything will be within our means. Verbal promises are valid, so you don't need to worry. Even if there are some costs, everything will be done as planned." John once again refused these guys' 'good intentions'.

On the surface, this is indeed a well-intentioned act, but behind this "good intention" lies considerable trouble. Currently, Japan's economy makes them unwilling to withstand any further shocks, but once they break free from this pressure, these Japanese will remember everything that happened today, feel that they have been dishonest, and may even harbor resentment towards them!

Of course, John was also worried that these guys might be testing him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have done this. After all, the Japanese are a bunch of petty people, and it's impossible to expect them to do things willingly, especially now. If he agreed, these guys would definitely have the idea of ​​taking advantage of his misfortune, which could even affect his future plans. John didn't want to leave himself with a lot of hidden dangers for such a small amount of profit.

If he were to accept Japan's offer under these circumstances, what would others think? What would it look like if he invested in other countries? So, despite the tempting profits, John refused! Better safe than sorry; he couldn't afford to be careless and create endless trouble for himself!
Faced with John's insistence, the Japanese guys breathed a sigh of relief, their worries vanishing. Just as John had suspected, the Japanese had indeed been plotting and scheming, believing Japan would suffer a blow, which was why they had to make this decision. John's refusal was a relief; at least the worst-case scenario hadn't occurred, which was a huge relief for them!
The Japanese guys didn't care about their probing, after all, all they wanted was to confirm John's decision. As for the consequences, they could deal with them slowly. After all, if they couldn't get past this hurdle, it would be a big blow to Japan.

These guys are overthinking it. John has no intention of dealing with them at this time. He wants more, and if these Japanese guys don't keep causing trouble, how can he bring himself to kill them in the future? He might even use this opportunity to further enhance his credibility and get more benefits from these Japanese guys.

Because of this 'exchange,' the Japanese guys quickly stopped targeting John and started supporting him wholeheartedly. In short, as long as you invested in Japan, no conditions were a problem. Unfortunately, John didn't give them any promises this time; all he wanted was loans and more loans.

The Japanese were happy, but things weren't so peaceful in the US. Many people felt uneasy, even though John had made some promises to them. These guys simply didn't trust John, since he had already received a lot of benefits from the Japanese. If there weren't hidden conditions and cooperation behind it, these guys wouldn't believe it!
Some people wanted to persuade John again, and even wanted Morgan to intervene once more, but Morgan refused. They couldn't sacrifice their interests for these guys, and if things continued to escalate, they worried it would anger John and damage the cooperation between Morgan and John. After all, there were quite a few people who were envious, and it was impossible for someone to use this as a pretext to harm Morgan's interests. People are treacherous, and there's nothing those guys wouldn't dare to do for their own benefit.

It was precisely because Morgan was prepared that, after ending his conversation with John, Jimmy did not stay in Tokyo at all, nor did he even intend to have any further exchanges with those guys in Japan. He returned directly to the United States, which prevented many people from having the opportunity to cause trouble and thwarted many conspiracies and schemes!
However, this incident brought John closer to Japan and made countries across Asia look forward to his investment. After all, John did not compromise in the face of such pressure, which showed his integrity to many people and naturally earned him more expectations.

John's expansion in Southeast Asia has progressed much faster. If anyone was worried about the nature of his investments, they have now relaxed their guard, which has accelerated John's expansion in Asia. However, some people are annoyed, since it all comes down to interests. Some of those who originally planned to invest in Southeast Asia are now under pressure, as the treatment they receive is completely different.

Aside from automobiles, which was due to the acquisition by Nissan and the investment in Bentley, other investments were in tourism, hotels, farms, etc. As for high technology, that's non-existent. John didn't establish a presence in Southeast Asia like other American companies. In comparison, John preferred to invest in China. Whether considering his own interests or other factors, China was the most suitable. Southeast Asia wasn't worth his much effort. Perhaps they had enough cheap workers, but they weren't hardworking, and they were far from having enough talent!

(End of this chapter)