America: My Time

Chapter 369 Neon's Reaction

Chapter 369 Neon's Reaction
"That's for the best! To be honest, I've been under a lot of pressure lately. A lot of guys have been talking to me about this. It would be great if we could get some news sooner!" At this moment, Akio Morita didn't hide his situation at all, because he knew that John couldn't possibly be unaware of those guys' reactions.

“Actually, I personally have no problem with your involvement in the Hughes Corporation project. However, I need to discuss it with others, and Mr. Morita also needs to be prepared. This is no small project; it requires a large investment, and we can't even offer you any guarantees. To be honest, I'm optimistic about the potential profits behind the project, but it's difficult to share shares with others. You'll need to remind them of this!” John shook his head slightly, giving Morita a knowing look.

When he met John's gaze, Akio Morita was taken aback at first, then nodded in sudden understanding. He understood what John meant: such things should not be spoken of. Not only was it difficult to participate in such a project, but it was also extremely difficult to share the profits. The Americans were not good people; they would not give the Japanese a chance to share the profits.

However, Akio Morita wasn't thinking about the profits, but rather the enormous impact behind it. If Hughes's global satellite positioning system succeeded, it would not only bring commercial benefits, but also terrifying military capabilities that would drive the military crazy. How could such a powerful tool be shared with outsiders?

John didn't care how Akio Morita imagined everything. The more he thought about it, the more advantageous the situation became for him. When he saw Akio Morita's look of sudden realization, John was overjoyed. He had no intention of sharing profits with these guys. At most, he would just borrow their funds and eventually give them a little bit of limited usage rights!
Of course, John couldn't say these words; they had to be said by the Japanese guys themselves. Right now, John was sitting back and didn't care what the Japanese guys thought or how they viewed everything.

"Thank you for reminding me. I will inform them. As for their choice, that is not something I can decide!" With that, Akira Morita couldn't help but sigh, a faint sense of helplessness on his face.

“Yes, it’s their choice to make this decision. You can’t decide, and neither can I. After all, this is no small matter. And I have to face pressure not only from you, but also from other people!” John said, shaking his head with a helpless expression, as if he himself had even more pressure.

Akio Morita had no doubt about John's words. In his view, this was the most normal situation. How could only Japan see the opportunity in such a big project? Many people would be crazy about it.

However, Akio Morita didn't want to continue discussing this matter. This wasn't the right place, and besides, he wasn't in a position to make the decision. He was merely a messenger; the final decision wasn't up to him. Morita smiled calmly and said, "John, does the airline industry really have that much potential? I always feel your investment in low-cost carriers is a bit too large. There's no need to rush. Things are just beginning in the US; it's better to wait a little longer!"

"I wish I could wait a little longer, but I can't. They won't give me that time. Don't think that just because Pan Am is on the right track now, there's no pressure. Those guys in the US are doing everything they can to suppress me. Even I'm under that kind of pressure. Your situation will probably be even more dangerous. Mr. Morita, you should prepare in advance and invest more in advertising, lest you be taken down in one fell swoop if you're careless."

"John, is the situation really that bad?" Upon hearing this, Akio Morita frowned, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. Sony has invested a considerable amount in the United States. Is it necessary to continue investing more in advertising? Will those guys in the United States continue to launch a new round of suppression against Japanese companies?
"I don't know how bad it will be, but I have to abandon my expansion in the US and choose to focus overseas because I can't afford the backlash from those old guys. I've been hit like this, do you think major Japanese companies will be unaffected? Don't be fooled by appearances; time is running out. It's precisely because of the pressure that I have to expand aggressively overseas to ensure my own safety and avoid the impact of the US market. To be honest, if I had more time, I wouldn't be in such a rush to expand. I don't have that much time now. Once the mining issue is resolved, and once Hughes's situation is resolved, I will leave Japan and go to the Middle East to communicate with them. I hope to secure more orders from major companies to ensure my own safety."

Upon hearing John's words, Akio Morita felt incredibly heavy-hearted. At that moment, he felt that perhaps John had a point, and Sony should invest in the project. However, he didn't dare to completely trust John, since John's situation was different from theirs, and John was a real threat to the interests of those old guys.

John threatened the interests of those old fogies like Rockefeller, but these Japanese companies didn't threaten the interests of major American corporations or Wall Street. Their threat was greater than John's, and they had already targeted major Japanese corporations. Now, they only needed final preparations, only cooperation with the White House. After speaking with John for a short time, Akio Morita got up and left, returning to the second floor to tell the others about his conversation with John, so they could be prepared and make timely decisions when the situation became clear.

"It seems that Hughes' project is just as we feared. It's not what Hughes advertised at all; it's just a civilian navigation system. If it weren't for Mr. Morita's good relationship with that little guy John, and if it weren't for those Japanese beauties around him, perhaps this situation wouldn't have occurred. They won't easily tell us this secret, but this is not a decision we can make; we need to discuss it."

“Indeed, this is no small matter. If we want to get involved, we will have to pay a considerable price. We can’t expect to gain nothing. Even if we can’t share in the commercial benefits, we can’t expect to get nothing at all!”

"What conditions do you all think we should propose, and what price should we pay to participate in this project?"

"The research lab believes Hughes's idea is feasible. As long as they have sufficient R&D funding, the technology won't be a problem. After all, Hughes has already started their communications satellite network. If this project succeeds, it means they can also achieve success in the development of a global satellite positioning system. We can't participate in the commercial interests, let alone take a stake. Under these circumstances, we need to send people to participate, understand Hughes's progress, and even understand their technology. However, doing this is not easy. Even if John has no objections, the US government will have objections. We have to prepare in advance; at least for now, we need to report all of this."

“That’s right. We should report this now and have them evaluate it. We can’t miss this opportunity. This project is very important. If we miss it, we’ll never have another chance. John is right. It’s not just us Japanese who are watching. There are other people watching too. If I’m not mistaken, the Middle Eastern tycoons are probably interested in getting involved. If they join in, Hughes won’t lack research funding!”

"Tell me, what conditions should we propose? It shouldn't just be about participating in the research and development. Even if we send people to participate, the information we can obtain will be limited. I think we can propose limited rights to use it!"

"Let's leave this issue to the higher-ups to study. We'll report your idea to them. The final outcome is not something we can decide. Besides, we don't have any accurate information from Hughes yet. No matter how much we talk, it's useless. If we can't even get past Hughes, talking more will just be a waste of energy."

"Yes, if we can't even get past Hughes, talking about this is just a joke. But no matter what, we must do everything we can to get involved, and hopefully the higher-ups won't let us down!"

Soon, the guys on the second floor reported the situation. At this time, not only were the guys at the party nervous, but the guys waiting for news were also very nervous. They all wanted to know about Hughes' project, John's attitude, and whether the Japanese side had a chance to get involved.

Upon receiving the report from the reception, the Japanese acted swiftly, informing experts and scholars from all sides to discuss the issue. They needed to devise a feasible solution as quickly as possible. As for the cost, that depended on the expert advice and how good Hughes' project was!
It can be said that as soon as the situation at the reception was reported, experts and scholars in the field of communications in Japan were secretly gathered together to discuss the matter, how to decide what would be most beneficial to Japan, whether it was necessary for them to delve into this research, and if so, which professional scholars should be arranged to participate, how much Japan would have to pay for this, and how long such research would take to yield results.

(End of this chapter)