America: My Time

Chapter 525 Conspiracy emerges
Chapter 525 Conspiracy Emerges

Don't be fooled by the fact that Elite Agency is usually peaceful and without any disputes, and the idols are very harmonious. That's because they don't feel any pressure. However, with the changes in the Japanese idol market, these idols have lost their former harmony and are now engaged in open and covert struggles to obtain more resources.

Although Elite Agency has no shortage of resources, resources vary in quality, and everyone wants to get the best resources. Moreover, it is now obvious that Naoko is considering retirement and does not care about resources at all. Therefore, they are all eager to compete for these resources. Furthermore, the success of the two major music festivals held by TV Tokyo has made them even more interested. Even people like Yoshie Kashiwabara and Seiko Matsuda have been able to make a comeback, which shows how influential music festivals are.

Because of the success of bands like ZARD, Dream Come True, and BZ, their success is inspiring. Although bands are not mainstream now and have not reached their peak, this does not stop many people from wanting to replicate their success, and there are such people in Elite Entertainment.

It's unclear what Kikuchi Momoko's manager was thinking when he came up with this idea. After all, Kikuchi Momoko's popularity has started to decline, which is the cruelty of the Japanese idol market. Even though she has a sweet and outstanding appearance, her singing skills are really too bad. Even though the agency arranged for her to focus on acting, her popularity is still declining, and she has fallen behind her contemporaries such as Honda Minako and Minamino Yoko. This has led some people to have some foolish ideas and set their sights on a band.

Nowadays, Momoko Kikuchi's popularity has fallen behind that of her juniors like Miho Nakayama and Yui Asaka, and her resources have naturally been affected as well. At least those top-tier resources are no longer so easy to obtain, and have been taken by those younger colleagues. If there is anyone in the elite agency who faces pressure second only to Chisato Moritaka, it is Momoko Kikuchi.

Perhaps this is also an impact of Koizumi Yoshiko leaving the agency. Although the person who succeeded her was also a veteran of the agency, there was still a considerable gap in ability. Otherwise, this situation would not have occurred. Despite having access to a huge amount of resources, she did not achieve good results, especially the cases of Moritaka Chisato and Kikuchi Momoko.

"Is something bothering you? I think things are going well at the agency, everything is arranged smoothly!" Naoko, who had been by John's side, couldn't help but ask when she saw him frowning.

"The agency president's abilities still need improvement. I warned them about Moritaka Chisato's situation a long time ago, but now they've wasted a whole year. They could have produced results before the end of the idol era, but now there are no results at all. Although the agency doesn't care about those efforts, it has a significant impact on an idol's development. Also, Kikuchi Momoko's development direction was decided from the beginning as an actress. She already had good development, so why did she switch to a band? How can her singing skills support the development of a band? Does she really think anyone can become the lead singer of a band? Or has she been blinded by the success of Yoshida Miwa and Sakai Izumi and think she can do it too!"

"Perhaps this is also related to the changes in the agency recently. After all, there are no idols this year, and even Aoyama Chikako can't be considered an idol. Now the agency's focus is on transforming and expanding into a band!" In comparison, Naoko is more aware of the changes in the agency and understands the reasons behind them.

“Although the agency is shifting its focus to bands, the resources for idols won't decrease. What do they have to worry about? You know Kikuchi Momoko's situation. Even if there's no hope for her records, there's no need for her to be in a band, especially since her records are actually quite good!” John didn't agree with Naoko's explanation. This was a sign of incompetence. The agency's resources hadn't decreased at all, but the results were limited. If he hadn't been trying to deceive those old guys and those bastards in Japan, and hadn't suddenly remembered the agency's situation, he wouldn't have known how bad it was.

If this continues, Momoko Kikuchi may face a failed transformation. Her reputation as an idol is already far from what it used to be, and if she fails to transform at this crucial moment, it will have a huge impact on her career.

It seems like this was the agent's mistake, but is that the whole truth? Perhaps it's not as simple as it appears. Although this problem made John worry about the agency's president's abilities, he could also see some issues behind these resources. Moritaka Chisato's problem was related to the president's abilities, but Kikuchi Momoko's might not be.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue. The idol industry in Japan is even more ruthless and insane. Although elite affairs are well-controlled, having been in this industry for so long, Kikuchi Momoko might have changed. After all, this is Japan, and these idols are willing to sacrifice everything for advancement and resources. It's not that John deliberately wants to think this way, but he can't help but think this way because everything has changed since his trip to Tokyo. Those bastards have even crossed his bottom line. Japan has become more frenzied and volatile. Perhaps Japan itself hasn't noticed this change, but outsiders like John feel it most acutely.

Especially after the Toshiba incident, the changes in Japanese society became even more terrifying. John wasn't surprised by these changes; this was the impact of the bubble economy. Restlessness had seeped into people's hearts, especially among women, whose changes were terrifyingly crazy. Even love had become a bubble. Every girl had four boyfriends. The first was the errand boy—girls couldn't take the subway; someone had to drive them. The second was the bill-paying boy—girls couldn't pay for meals; a man had to pay for them. The third was the gift-giving boy—giving expensive gifts on holidays. But none of these three were real boyfriends. The fourth was the true soulmate—not only did he have to be handsome, but he also had to be rich.

This restlessness has permeated every aspect of Japanese society, bringing with it a terrible impact. It's not just a change in people's hearts, but this change itself has had unimaginable effects on Japan. Just look at the changes in the Japanese entertainment industry; many forces have poured in, and the resulting impact is predictable—the "Burning" phenomenon is a prime example. It's precisely because John understands these changes in Japan that he feels the matter of Momoko Kikuchi is not so simple.

Darkness has always shrouded this circle. The cruelty of the Burning System and Johnny's alone is enough to understand how terrifying this circle is. Even Naoko's previous agency was like this. Even if elite agencies don't have this problem, people's hearts can change, and different changes will occur within the agency. Over time, various problems will inevitably arise.

Someone is plotting against me, trying to use a honey trap. After all, for these guys in Japan, women are just pawns in their game. Even actresses like Yasuko Sawaguchi are pawns and have no freedom. In the crazy world of Japan, no one's success comes without a price, and Yasuko Sawaguchi is no exception. Otherwise, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi wouldn't exist.

John's decision to stay in Tokyo was also based on his own calculations and plans. He wanted to attract the attention of those guys, lower their guard, and make them think that he hadn't seen through everything. He needed a good reason and a good excuse, and women were the best reason and excuse.

Kuroki Hitomi and Daichi Mao's previous reactions definitely alerted the enemy, making them wary. John could only sigh at this situation, after all, they were all old foxes, each one cunning and treacherous. When they sensed any danger, they would choose to give up and wait for the next opportunity.

It was precisely because he understood all of this, and understood the cunning and treacherous nature of these Japanese guys, that John became more cautious and made such arrangements. He chose to make 'arrangements' with the elite agency to lower their guard and make them feel that they were falling for the beauty of Japanese women.

Although no one dared to mention it in front of John, a saying circulated in the Japanese entertainment industry: all the idols in Elite Agency were John's women. It was precisely because of this rumor that they were not disturbed by certain people; otherwise, these beauties would not have had such a smooth life.

In her past life, the Japanese entertainment industry was rife with scandals. Minamino Yoko was exploited by her agency, burdened with enormous debts, and ultimately terminated her contract. Whether there were other forms of oppression is unknown, as these are all secrets, and few outside the parties involved would know. Just like the Burning Entertainment Agency, during its rapid development, its artists paid a considerable price and made astonishing contributions, but everything was suppressed.

The dazzling, frenetic neon lights only convinced those guys that John was staying in Tokyo because he was seduced by women. Otherwise, why would he have been at an elite agency for so long? Would such a small agency have so many things that required a boss like him to handle? Therefore, they all assumed John was in a certain situation, but they remained cautious and didn't rush into action. They needed to see more developments. Without accurate information, they wouldn't make any moves, and they wouldn't allow their plans to go awry again. One accident was enough; any more than that was unacceptable to them.

(End of this chapter)