America: My Time

Chapter 1177 Changes in People's Hearts
Chapter 1167 The Change of Hearts

Faced with threats and pressure from Jack Valentine, the old guys from the Academy had no choice but to compromise, because they knew that if they continued to court death, what awaited them was death. The White House was not something they could fight against, not to mention the power of the corporation behind it. If things really got out of hand, they would naturally be the ones to be sacrificed.

Before long, these guys had no choice but to compromise, to accept their fate, and to move the Oscars to the Chinese Theatre. They had no choice because they couldn't resist the pressure from John or the film association. If they continued, they would be the ones to suffer.

When these old-timers from the Academy compromised, the Hollywood guys were utterly disappointed. They had thought that with the intervention of the Academy veterans and the Japanese, things would turn around, forcing Legendary Entertainment and Paramount to back down. But the result was a huge letdown. Not only did they fail, but Phoenix Media made a comeback, returning to Hollywood and acquiring MGM, increasing the pressure and making their situation even more precarious. Those who had been most vocal, in particular, truly experienced the harsh reality of the industry.

Even with the help of their talent agencies, these guys were completely finished in the face of the wrath of the three major media conglomerates. They could no longer make a ripple; in short, they were completely blacklisted. This time, the power of the Hollywood tyrant once again shocked everyone, demonstrating John's absolute control over Hollywood.

Did Time Warner not intend to stir up trouble, to cause problems for Legendary Entertainment and Paramount Pictures? They really didn't do anything; they just stayed put, completely uninvolved in this Hollywood turmoil. No matter how much those guys tried to persuade them, they remained neutral. Of course, this was only on the surface. Behind the scenes, these guys were also taking action, but their targets weren't Hollywood; they were targeting the Grammys, making moves in the music industry. However, they remained hidden behind Sony, with only Sony leading the charge!

The turmoil in Hollywood has subsided, and the academics have had to compromise and accept their fate. This makes Sony and Panasonic stand out, especially since these two companies have been so vocal in their opposition to Legendary Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. John can't take action against those Americans, as he also needs to maintain his public image, but he doesn't feel as much pressure on Sony and Panasonic, nor does he need to worry about them.

Soon, Sony and Panasonic learned what real pain was. If the previous suppression was just an appetizer, now they were truly facing suppression from the United States, Europe, and even Asia. Sony and Panasonic's products were subjected to suppression across the board, suppression without any reason. This made Sony and Panasonic realize how serious the consequences of their mistakes were.

Bowing their heads in surrender was of no use whatsoever. John completely ignored them. The power of the media conglomerates made these two realize that their strength was insufficient to confront John head-on. When the three major media conglomerates unleashed their full power, and when the retail industry suppressed them, Sony and Panasonic's sales faced a harsh winter.

However, while suppressing Sony and Panasonic, John loosened his grip on other Japanese home appliance companies, giving Samsung an opportunity to do the same. John's strategy was to suppress some and win over others. This move caused the Japanese to sigh in relief, and the government officials stopped saying anything.

At this point, there's no need for John to negotiate with those Japanese officials. The other Japanese electronics companies will deal with them because they've benefited from the conflict and naturally don't want their interests to be harmed. As for Panasonic and Sony's tragic fate, that's their own doing!

Don't let these companies fool you; they have their conflicts and rivalries. Even if someone tried to persuade John to back down, it wouldn't work. The reason is simple: traitors deserve retribution. Even old man Akio Morita can't show his face; he has no right to see John. Most importantly, all his favors have been exhausted. If he were to meet with John, it would be futile and completely pointless.

Akio Morita was a man of pride, and naturally wouldn't meet John at this time. Besides, he knew that even if he did, John might not agree to see him. Given John's current status, he could easily refuse him with any excuse. Therefore, Morita had no other choice but to have Riko meet with Naoko, using this indirect method to alleviate Sony's crisis. Sony was taking action, and Panasonic was also taking action, but they could only turn to Akina Nakamori. They weren't sure how effective she would be, but doing something was better than doing nothing. There was still a glimmer of hope; they weren't completely without chance. Meanwhile, Japanese companies were also taking action. Seeing the dire situation of Sony and Panasonic, they were worried that John would target them, so they were all getting involved. Hitomi Kuroki, Momoko Kikuchi, Sachiko Kamachi, and Nanako Matsushima were all bothered by these people.

These guys from Japan are overthinking it. John has no intention of killing them or delivering a fatal blow at this time. If he did, it would ruin his public image, which is not something John wants to see. Not to mention, with the passing of the New Year and the arrival of the next, the Asian economic crisis is about to erupt. Why would he target these guys at this time?

At this point, John would not only refrain from targeting them, but would also appease them to prevent them from acting impulsively and ruining his plans. Soon, all the Japanese beauties received John's notification. Apart from Sony and Panasonic, John did not retaliate against any other Japanese companies, but instead allowed everything to calm down.

This perfectly illustrates the saying "a single move can affect the whole body." John's reply brought a sigh of relief to the Japanese team, making them realize just how formidable Akio Morita was back then. However, Morita's retirement caused such a dramatic change at Sony, disrupting his carefully laid plans.

The honey trap was indeed effective, and extremely effective. That was the true thought of those guys in Japan, because they did receive a response from these beautiful women, relieving their anxieties and worries about John's retaliation. Was everything before merely the work of Sony and Panasonic, with other Japanese figures not involved?
No, those guys were all involved, but they were hiding in the shadows. Only Sony and Matsushita were on the front lines. Now that they don't have to bear the serious consequences, they are all very happy. They are not stupid, nor are they arrogant enough to think that everything they did was flawless and that John didn't find out. But John let them go, which makes them have to believe in Akio Morita's honey trap and their own efforts in this regard!

This is human nature, and the most normal reaction from these Japanese guys. They're just that crazy; their gambling instincts are too strong, and each one harbors an insane gambling mentality. If they see even the slightest opportunity, they'll seize it relentlessly. It was precisely this change that allowed Kikuchi Momoko to achieve considerable success, gaining the recognition of most of the bigwigs in Japan.

In contrast, those who left John's side became the target of ridicule. Many people thought these women were short-sighted and lacked any long-term vision, hence their foolish departure. At this moment, these Japanese guys forgot that they had been instrumental in these women's departure; now they were blaming everything on these beautiful women—they were utterly despicable!
Do they regret it? Perhaps some do, but not everyone does. After all, everyone has different pursuits, so they make different choices. But it's unrealistic to say that no one regrets it. It's just that it's too late to regret it now. Everything has already happened, and even if they wanted to go back to John, it would be impossible. They all know this.

The more people understand the current situation in Japan, the more shocked they become by John's influence there. Even the White House didn't expect John's influence in Japan to be so great, to be so important to these Japanese guys. This makes them want to find out everything behind it, since no one can resist the allure of Japan.

Unfortunately, not everyone can do what John did. Even if they wanted to get involved, they would be shocked by the situation in Japan. There were many exchanges of benefits involved. They only thought about plundering the benefits from Japan without wanting to make any sacrifices. How could that be? If there were such a good thing, everyone would want to accept it!
When John's plans in Japan were once again revealed to everyone, they could only manage a wry smile. They couldn't do what John had done; they didn't have the ability. What seemed like a stroke of luck was actually the result of numerous exchanges of interests. At the same time, they all understood where John's influence in Japan came from: it was all about interests. Without the exchange of interests, where would the influence come from?

(End of this chapter)