America: My Time

Chapter 477 Rejection
Chapter 477 Refusal

With the appreciation of the yen, Japan's production costs are constantly rising, which puts enormous pressure on Toyota. Originally, it was thought that the situation would gradually improve, but now Eiji Toyoda no longer holds that idea. He has to make changes quickly and accelerate the pace, otherwise Toyota will be the next to fall.

Although Eiji Toyoda was unaware of Toshiba's situation, he felt the pressure and danger. Therefore, he needed to protect himself and find a way to get out of the crisis. The best way was to cooperate with John and use the power of the two major media groups to turn the situation around, or at least make the fact that Toyota was building a factory in the United States known to the outside world!

With the appreciation of the yen and the US's aggressive military intervention and suppression of Japan, Japanese export companies are under immense pressure, especially the semiconductor industry, which is in a precarious situation. The same applies to the automotive industry. This is no longer just a problem for one company, but a reality for all Japanese companies.

While Japan appears to be at the peak of its economy, it faces numerous internal problems. The Japanese market itself cannot support the development of its enterprises. In particular, even the Japanese themselves are unwilling to choose their own cars, opting instead for foreign brands. This further impacts the Japanese automotive industry, leaving it reliant on exports for survival.

The more John learned about Tokyo, the less hopeful he became about Japan's economy. At least for a long time, Japanese export companies would be affected, and overseas expansion would be their best option. However, the Americans did not give up on Japan so easily, and trade frictions continued.

"Eiji Toyoda and Akio Morita are going to host a dinner for me?" John frowned. Although it was just a private dinner invitation, it was unusual at this time. He had made his intentions clear, and Akio Morita and Eiji Toyoda were not so unintelligent as to not understand. But they chose to host him at this time, which was a problem, and a big problem at that.

Refuse? John really couldn't do that. He had to at least give them face. Besides, for these two guys to do this, it seemed they had sensed the crisis and wanted to turn the situation around.

Although it might seem like a private dinner invitation, John didn't think there wouldn't be anyone else present. At least someone from the Japanese government would be there. The trade dispute between Japan and the United States was escalating, and although Japan had been compromising, the result was that Japan's exports were affected, even severely damaged.

As night fell, John brought Naoko to Akio Morita's estate outside Tokyo. This wasn't John's first time here. Although he had prepared in advance, he couldn't help but sigh when he saw Akio Morita. Just as he had thought, this private dinner was not simple. He had seen Japanese government officials here.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone got straight to the point. Akio Morita sighed and said, "John, the situation in North America is escalating and is affecting the survival of Sony and Toyota. I wonder if you have any way to help us get out of this crisis?"

"Mr. Morita, you overestimate my abilities. If I had such capabilities, do you think I would still be in Tokyo? I only left the US out of necessity. Not only have you been impacted, but I myself have also faced considerable pressure. If it's just advertising investment, both Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group will do their best to cooperate. As for other matters, I'm willing but unable to handle them. The current situation is beyond our capabilities. However, Sony's situation is relatively good; at least it hasn't been too significantly affected by this storm. But Toyota's situation is not ideal, or rather, the entire Japanese automotive industry is in crisis and needs to make changes. Toyota building a factory in the US is the best option, but your pace is a bit slow. You need to speed things up, even if it means paying a higher price, to complete it as quickly as possible, get the production line running, and not give those guys any excuses. Of course, if needed, Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group will do their best to cooperate."

At this point, John shook his head slightly. It wasn't that Toyota's reaction wasn't quick enough, but rather that they weren't ruthless enough. If they had built factories in the US regardless of cost, there wouldn't have been any major problems. At least for now, they wouldn't have faced any suppression. Being ruthless to themselves was the only way to get out of the current crisis. If Toyota's production lines in the US were already up and running with a large number of employees, there wouldn't be any pressure. Perhaps investing in factories in the US would result in considerable losses, but the overt pressure would disappear along with those losses.

The Americans don't want to see Japanese companies making huge profits off them either. A certain amount of loss is beneficial, at least in the event of trade friction, as it would be advantageous to them and they wouldn't be attacked. However, not all companies can do that. These Japanese guys don't have that kind of thinking; they just want to reap the benefits without paying the price.

Conquering the US market and seizing market share without paying the price, how could they not attract the attention of the Americans? And the Americans have been watching Japan for a long time; now, with numerous excuses, they're naturally going to deliver a heavy blow. "Gentlemen, don't be distressed by short-term losses. Bentley suffered the same pressure from Toyota, but it gradually recovered. You could learn from Bentley's sales strategy; if that doesn't work, increase your advertising investment. At least that will ensure your brand's influence. If you continue to let Ford, GM, and Chrysler provoke you without fighting back, you'll only hurt yourselves in the end. A proper counterattack is necessary!"

Toyota doesn't want to do this, but they can't. They don't have Bentley's advantages. Bentley can do this because they were prepared from the beginning, but Toyota can't. If they were to learn from Bentley, it would have a significant impact on their own sales.

The pressure Toyota has faced also stems from GM, Ford, and Chrysler. As for Bentley Motors, it hasn't put any pressure on them at all, because Bentley's current focus is not on North America, but on Middle Eastern tycoons, or even high-end car sales in Japan. Compared to the production and manufacturing of mid-to-low-end cars, this is not Bentley's core business.

It was precisely because Toyoda knew about Bentley's situation that he took the initiative to approach them; at least there was no conflict of interest between the two parties. Of course, this was only temporary. Once Bentley's factory in Mexico had completed its adjustment period, everything would be completely different, and the North American market would have another competitor. However, this would take time; Mexican workers are not so easy to train, and it would take time. Moreover, Bentley was currently seizing the Mexican car market, and its overt conflicts with other automotive giants were minimal.

Although Bentley is also one of the giants in the automotive industry, its influence in the North American passenger car market is limited. In contrast, truck sales are its main focus. John has considered participating in the competition for the US market, but it's not the right time yet, at least not now, because its enemies are not simple.

"John, is there any possibility of us cooperating in the semiconductor field?" At this moment, Akio Morita once again proposed to cooperate with John in the semiconductor field. However, this was not his own idea. It was likely that the Japanese government had its own intentions behind it. They also sensed the danger and wanted to use John to break the deadlock.

"I'll say it again: I have the will but not the ability. For a long time, the field of storage chips has been beyond my reach. Dream World has software, Nvidia has CPU chips and GPU chips, and now Seagate is also increasing its investment in hard drives. What do you think would happen if I got involved in storage chips? The United States is not Japan. I believe Mr. Morita is aware of the situation in the gaming world. Japan won't care, but the United States won't."

While it may seem that John is rejecting Akio Morita, he is actually rejecting the Japanese government. John doesn't want to get involved in the chaotic situation of memory chips. Although Japan's semiconductor industry is currently in the lead, they will soon face a new round of suppression.

While the semiconductor agreement may change the landscape of the US semiconductor industry, it will not be easy for them to escape the crisis. Even if the Japanese semiconductor industry is affected by the appreciation of the yen and the semiconductor agreement, it is not something the US semiconductor industry can catch up with in the short term.

John is absolutely certain that Toshiba will face suppression from the United States, because the Americans are not good people at all; they are determined to cripple the Japanese semiconductor industry and support new companies. Perhaps those Americans have already set their sights on South Korea and are already prepared.

Although it was just a conversation between the automotive and semiconductor industries, the result greatly disappointed the Japanese representatives. John was unwilling to accept their "good intentions" and participate in the discussion, only willing to provide advertising and promotional assistance to Japanese companies. Those who wanted to use John's influence to break the deadlock were simply overthinking it.

The semiconductor and automotive industries aren't like iron ore; John will enter them as long as they're willing to pay the price. In these two industries, John won't be manipulated by the likes of Japan, nor will he cooperate with them. Only when these companies are severely damaged will he have an opportunity, and only when US pressure causes internal losses will he have a chance to get what he wants. Yes, that's right, John is eyeing Nissan. Before long, Nissan will be mired in massive losses—that will be his opportunity!
(End of this chapter)