America: My Time

Chapter 1236 Internal Strife in Japan

Chapter 1226 Internal Strife in Japan
John didn't want to know about the conversation between Hitomi Kuroki and Yasuko Sawaguchi, nor did he inquire about it. The past was the past, and he wouldn't have any other thoughts about it. It was enough for everything to be a beautiful memory. There was no need to create more trouble for himself at this time, and besides, he might accidentally be tricked by those guys from Japan again.

When John woke up the next morning, before he could even make any arrangements, those guys from Japan came to visit him, told him their decision, and handed him the data. They were clearly ready to cooperate fully with him, which shocked John.

"Gentlemen, this is no joke. You can still back out now, but if you wait until our agreement is reached and the Asian energy agreement is signed, there will be no chance to regret it." Looking at everything before him, John felt it was better to give them another chance to choose, lest these guys do something irrational in the future, or even use him as a threat to cause unnecessary trouble for this cooperation.

Reputation cannot be ruined, and public image cannot be destroyed. We cannot let these guys take the initiative to step forward and get ourselves into unnecessary trouble. That's why John said those words, giving them a new choice.

As a result, these guys refused without hesitation. They did not accept John's offer. They were determined to cooperate with John and to outsource most of their procurement needs to Asian Energy, which would supply them from Sakhalin Island.

The opportunity was offered to these guys, but they were unwilling to accept it, so John naturally didn't force them. Asia Energy quickly arranged for personnel to arrive and sign the contract with John. The whole process was smooth sailing; no one made any further calculations, and even Asia Energy, in accordance with the verbal agreement John had made with them, gave them sufficient profit margins and considerable benefits.

However, this is a ten-year contract. Once such a contract is signed, their interests will not be affected for ten years. As for what others think or how they see it, that's their business. Joy was evident in the eyes of these guys. They did not expect things to be so easy and that they would get such cheap energy from Asian Energy.

They did indeed profit, but John would never lose out either, and would still make a considerable profit. Not only would Asian Energy itself reap substantial benefits, but it would also gain significant profits from pipeline transportation. This could be considered a true win-win situation, where both sides could obtain everything they wanted.

Asian Energy wanted the Japanese market, while the Japanese wanted profits. So both sides were very satisfied with this cooperation. Moreover, after the agreement was signed, others soon found out. The Japanese officials were cursing and swearing because they hadn't even reached a conclusion on their side yet, and they had already signed an agreement with Asian Energy.

"Damn it, do these bastards even care about us? They only care about their own interests and never consider the overall situation of Japan. They're happy now, but how can we negotiate with Mr. John again? How can we bring about a turnaround for other industries? These bastards are too selfish!"

"Heh, you make it sound so easy. They're selfish, but aren't you? You want to use their interests to create opportunities and benefits for others, but have you considered how much they're sacrificing, and whether they're even willing to accept it? Don't be so high and mighty, using moral blackmail; that won't work. I told you long ago not to be so calculating, to finish the cooperation with Asia Energy as soon as possible, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened; those guys have already completed the cooperation with Asia Energy, and now we're in trouble. We don't have enough benefits. Asia Energy probably doesn't want to continue cooperating with us at all. They've already gotten everything they wanted; our interests are no longer important!"

"Alright, this isn't something that can be solved by arguing. Since those guys have already taken the initiative and completed their cooperation with Asia Energy, there's no need for us to negotiate anymore. We have to do the same thing as them, otherwise there's no basis for cooperation. If we don't accept the benefits, what do you think those guys at Asia Energy will think? Under these circumstances, who would dare to cooperate with us?"

Indeed, some have already taken the initiative and signed contracts with Asian Energy. If they continue to hesitate, even a fool would assume there's a serious problem and they'll abandon their cooperation. This is not an outcome these guys want to accept, and under these circumstances, they have no choice but to accept it. They can't blame John for this situation; it wasn't John who did it, but rather internal disagreements that led to this shift in the situation.

"Then what else can we say? Let's send someone to negotiate with Mr. John and sign the cooperation agreement. Otherwise, if we delay any longer, they won't give us any face. But if we do that, we'll lose the initiative, and Asia Energy will control most of Japan's natural gas supply. We won't get any other opportunities from this, which is really frustrating!" What good is frustration? Can he solve this problem? He can't, and neither can these guys in Japan. In the face of absolute power, they are nothing but ants; they don't even have a chance to resist. When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. At this point, they have no choice. Unless they want to part ways with Asia Energy, they can only follow the previous guys and accept the same cooperation terms.

Unfortunately, when these guys made the decision, they didn't even meet with John. Instead, they had John push the work onto Asian Energy, leaving everything to Asian Energy to handle, and having nothing to do with them.

"Damn it, how dare they do this? How dare they abandon us? They promised they would take us with them, but now these bastards have left us behind. They have to give us an explanation for this!"

Soon, other industries in Japan were also thrown into turmoil. Everything that the government had promised them became an impossible joke. But these guys just didn't want to give up. They still wanted to get the benefits they wanted from Quantum Mining.

"Do they have any reason to help us? I won't be swayed by those government officials and think they can achieve their goal and get cheap ore from Quantum Mining. If you think that way, I can only say you're too naive. Everyone is here for profit. It's normal for problems to arise. It would be a problem if there were no problems!"

"Well said. I've said before that we can't rely entirely on the authorities. We have to take action ourselves and make comprehensive preparations. Without sufficient preparation, what good is an opportunity if it's presented to us? We won't get anything. Opportunities are for those who are prepared. You don't think benefits will just come to you on their own, do you?"

Chaos erupted. Japan quickly descended into chaos. The success of the natural gas retailer directly spurred others into a frenzy, all vying for cooperation with John. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, they were unsuccessful. No one made any promises, and John didn't want to. Compared to the natural gas market, the mining market was far more complex, and the contracts here were too short-lived. Most importantly, these guys in Japan were constantly expanding, aggressively acquiring their own mines to control the raw materials!
While these guys were still in disarray, John had already begun preparing to leave Tokyo. He had already spoken to the old man, Akio Morita, personally calling him this time to give the old man face. Since he wanted to make things perfect, why not give Morita a little more face, so those guys in Japan wouldn't have any bad ideas?

"Mr. Morita, it's time to say goodbye today. I don't know when we'll meet again. Thank you for coming to see me off. If I have time, I'll visit you when I come to Japan." At this moment, John gave Akio Morita a glimmer of hope and also conveyed his 'friendliness' to more people, so that these Japanese wouldn't think he was a cold-blooded person. Before, when Japan was in trouble, John had refused many people's requests.

"Good, I'm satisfied with what you said. After more than ten years of friendship, to have a happy ending like this will surely become a beautiful memory for us. I really don't know when we'll meet again after this parting. This time I'm truly retired and won't be involved in anything anymore. I'm afraid if you want to see me, you'll have to go to the countryside!"

For an old guy like Akio Morita, once he retires, he won't stay in the big city anymore. Instead, he'll return to his hometown to live a free rural life, without so many worries or pressures.

However, John simply didn't believe that this old man could do all this. He would just give up on Sony, and in the next few years, Sony would face even greater pressure and more difficulties. If the Japanese economy couldn't recover, how could Sony possibly get out of its predicament? John wasn't optimistic about Sony's development, and even less so about Japan's! As people lose faith in the government, and as the Japanese people swing from one extreme to another, everything will change, and everything will become unknown.

(End of this chapter)