America: My Time

Chapter 515 Sincerity
Chapter 515 Sincerity

Although John knew that this trip would inevitably involve some exchanges with these Japanese guys, he didn't expect it to be like this. It turned out that the old guy Akio Morita was replacing them. However, these guys were now troubled by resources. Japan was originally a resource importer, and now, due to the crazy construction in the country, the demand for steel was astonishing. In particular, Japan's heavy industry was not weak, which led to their current awkward situation.

If they want cheap iron ore and steel, only Quantum Mining can do it now. After all, in the eyes of these guys, the reason why John's Quantum Mining has made such a discovery today is because of the huge help they have given, especially to Quantum Mining's iron ore mine in Australia, which they have helped with huge sums of money. Now they feel it is only right to ask John to help them out of consideration for their past relationship.

Unfortunately, while these guys have good ideas, John won't let them have their way. John can't give up his needs for iron ore from Taiwan, South Korea, and himself because of these guys from Japan. As for the steel he got from Russia, he can't hand it over to these guys from Japan either. At least John needs to satisfy himself first and fulfill the previous transactions.

After Akio Morita left, some people became restless. With the changing landscape of the idol market, many were forced to compete for resources. The mismanagement of idols in Onyanko Club had generated numerous negative news stories, leading to a cooling-off period for Japanese idols. Now, many were focusing their attention on Phoenix Group and its tycoon, John. Elite Agency, which had no shortage of resources in Japan, was now under the control of Phoenix Group. This party presented these individuals with their best opportunity. Koizumi Yoshiko was surrounded by many people, all vying for resources. Although she had left Elite Agency, her influence remained, and as a member of Phoenix Group, she possessed considerable resources.

Upon seeing Akio Morita leave, Yoshiko Koizumi took action, heading towards John's side. Two people joined her: Ikuo Suo, known for his energetic style, and Hiroshi Kitagawa from Johnny's. Although Elite Agency is small in scale among Japanese agencies, it wields considerable influence, cultivating only the elite.

"Boss, this is Mr. Kitagawa from Johnny's, and this is Mr. Suo Ikuo from Burning!" Yoshiko Koizumi introduced these two industry bigwigs who came to visit John. Although Burning is not as powerful as it will be in the future, Suo Ikuo, who has a background in the underworld, still has considerable strength.

"Sit!" John nodded, gesturing for them to sit. He knew these two men well; Burning Entertainment would later become one of Japan's two major talent agencies, and Suo Ikuo was a shrewd and capable man. Most importantly, he was quite capable, using his artists to generate considerable benefits for himself—money and official connections. In short, he was a ruthless individual who had made connections for countless people behind the scenes. Johnny Kitagawa, from Johnny's Entertainment, was also from one of Japan's two major talent agencies. After his death, a bizarre scandal erupted, revealing him to be equally unscrupulous—injecting his male artists with female hormones. This showed just how vicious he was. Of course, his sister wasn't any better. It could be said that none of the bigwigs in the Japanese entertainment industry were good people.

“I understand why you two are here. Japan is currently facing an idol crisis due to the disqualification of Onyanko Club idols. This affects not only female idols but also male idols from Johnny's Entertainment. So, you two are here for a collaboration. I personally have no problem with collaboration, and I don't know much about the situation in Japan. Therefore, you'll need to discuss the specifics of the collaboration with Miko!” Although these two have respectable positions in the Japanese entertainment industry, John sees them as nothing special, given the vast difference in their social standing.
Of the two, John preferred to work with Ikuo Suo rather than Johnny's, because Johnny's records weren't with Phoenix Records or Legendary Entertainment, so there was no financial relationship between them. In contrast, Suo had signed his new artists' records with Universal Music, which made it easier for John to approve of him. Furthermore, although neither of them had any connections, Suo was easier to manipulate.

After a brief exchange, Suoh Ikuo was overjoyed to have John's approval. He could sense that John, this big shot, preferred to cooperate with him rather than Johnny's, which was a good thing. But thinking about it, it made sense. Johnny's had offended Kuroki Hitomi, the woman by Johnny's side, so it was understandable that he was not well-liked.

After getting the desired result, Suo Ikuo, Kitagawa Hiroshi, and Koizumi Yoshiko got up and left. They weren't fools. Having gained John's approval, they naturally wouldn't continue to disturb this big shot's rest. Moreover, such a small matter wouldn't be personally arranged by a big shot like John. With John's approval, the next step was to cooperate with Koizumi Yoshiko, who was the real 'partner' they were going to face.

"It's a success!" After receiving John's approval, Suo Ikuo couldn't help but ask Koizumi Yoshiko. He was somewhat surprised; everything had gone too smoothly, making it hard to believe. "Yes, the boss has agreed and seems to approve of you. It seems our cooperation won't have any problems. It's just a pity about the cooperation with Johnny's. We originally wanted to bring their artists into Phoenix Records, but now it seems impossible. The boss doesn't approve of them. It's because they couldn't bear to part with Kondo Masahiko back then. Now, that hidden danger has reappeared. The boss still doesn't like them."

Actually, Koizumi Yoshiko was overthinking it. John didn't dislike Johnny's because of that. It was because Johnny's had no bottom line. Although Suo Ikuo also had no bottom line, he still had some value to him. But Johnny's didn't have that possibility. The other party was not comparable to the current Burning type.

"Everyone knows about the relationship between Kondo Masahiko and Mary Kitagawa. To gain forgiveness, Mary Kitagawa paid a considerable price, spending a lot of money to have Nakamori Akina's family intercede on her behalf. She is very 'protective' of Kondo Masahiko; otherwise, how could he have managed to retain all his resources after causing such trouble?" Suo Ikuo was very clear about the situation at Johnny's, and even more so about the two Kitagawas at Johnny's. Neither of them were good people; they both had scandals to hide.

Of course, this is perfectly normal in the Japanese entertainment industry. After all, this industry is cruel and ruthless. If you have neither background nor talent, you will naturally have to pay a price if you want to stand out and become famous. The Japanese are well aware of Kitagawa Hiroshi's perverted mentality. Countless Japanese families know all this, but they are still willing to send their children to Kitagawa Hiroshi's side. In fact, the purpose is very simple: they want their children to become famous so that they can leech off their children and live a 'wonderful' life.

This situation is not unique to Johnny's; it is the same in other agencies in Japan. Even girls don't fare much better. Unless they can demonstrate enough talent from the beginning and become the agency's cash cow, they will eventually go down that path of no return. Without effort, there will be no reward!
Even those who reach the pinnacle of idol status are ultimately just 'ants' in the face of tycoons. This is true of Naoko Kawai, Hitomi Kuroki, and Akina Nakamori—that's the cruelty of Japan. However, aligning oneself with the right people can lead to different outcomes and changes in one's status.

Seeing the changes in Naoko, Hitomi Kuroki, and Akina Nakamori, many people in Japan had the same idea, but unfortunately they didn't have the opportunity. After Hitomi Kuroki, although those guys also wanted to learn Sanwa's methods, they didn't have the chance or the possibility of success.

"Isn't it incredible that I dislike Johnny's and prefer to cooperate with Suo Ikuo?" John shook his head as he saw the changes in the expressions on the faces of these beautiful women. He could understand what they were thinking, but his thoughts were completely different from theirs.

At this moment, Riko nodded and said, "Mr. John, this does surprise us. Johnny's reputation is much better than that of the Burning Company, and Mr. Kitagawa's reputation is much better than that of Suo Ikuo!"

"That's how you see it, but it's completely different in my eyes. In my opinion, there's no difference between Johnny's and the Burning Group. Kitagawa and Suo Ikuo are the same. But Burning Group has many record collaborations with Universal Music, while Johnny's has none. Under the same circumstances, I would naturally prefer Suo Ikuo to Kitagawa and Johnny's. Although this amount of benefit is nothing, it's not just a matter of benefit, but also a matter of attitude! They only want to get benefits from Phoenix Group without being willing to give anything in return. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and Johnny's doesn't have that right. Business is about reciprocity, and I don't see any sincerity in Johnny's!"

(End of this chapter)