America: My Time

Chapter 897 The Pressure of Neon

Chapter 867 The Pressure of Neon
"What is that little fox John up to? Expanding so fast and wanting to control the docks of the three major ports, it seems he's aiming for a global shipping industry layout. Is he really that optimistic about shipping, or is this guy trying to exploit the resources he got from the Russians? He's no longer buying oil from the Russians, but has switched to steel, timber, and machinery." These guys in Japan are quite familiar with John's situation, especially his transactions with the Russians, which they know very well because a small portion of it flows into Japan.

"Nobody knows what he's planning right now, but this kind of move does suggest he might be optimistic about the shipping industry. Do you all think we should accept his expansion? This is no small matter!"

"Do we still have a choice? Don't you know how much impact it would have if we refused?"

"Indeed, we cannot refuse. What we need is a friend who is kind to us, not someone who pushes us to the opposite side. Moreover, we need cheaper raw materials now. The bursting of the real estate bubble has had a huge impact, and the pressure from the appreciation of the yen is also too great. Domestic companies can no longer bear the high costs and have to expand overseas. But now that the real estate bubble has burst, we all need time to adjust ourselves."

“Then we agree. Besides, we don’t have the energy to fight him right now. The trouble has already surfaced. The bank has defaulted. We have to handle everything carefully! It’s just that Mitsui and his guys acted too fast. Toyota has already obtained the qualification, while other car companies have not. Moreover, their production capacity is limited. Even Toyota cannot fully guarantee the supply.”

"Right now, we can only take it one step at a time, and everything is still out of our control. All we can do is stabilize the situation and prevent it from deteriorating further. The war in the Middle East is not over yet, and oil prices have not fallen, which still has a significant impact on us. However, that little fox John has not stopped expanding in the petrochemical sector. Many of our laid-off researchers have been absorbed by him. In addition, his research in Taiwan has not stopped either, and is even more frantic than ours. Many Russian technicians have been transferred to Taiwan by him. This guy is becoming more and more reckless in Russia."

"The situation in Russia is getting worse and worse, and their trade is becoming more and more frantic. They have made amazing gains in the chemical and steel industries, and many of their research and development efforts have already surpassed ours. So we have to be vigilant."

"What's the use of saying all this now? What can we do? Can we stop it? We can't do anything. I know some of you have been influenced by the US, but it's best if we don't get involved in this internal strife. If more problems arise, it won't be a small matter. In comparison, their investments in South Korea, Taiwan, and China far exceed ours. Even if we wanted to stop it, we wouldn't have the ability. We would only provoke powerful enemies and push our former friends to the opposite side. Putting aside everything else, if we hadn't participated in the US's internal strife, hadn't accepted their invitation, and hadn't participated in GPS but instead chose to continue cooperating with Hughes Aerospace, would our car companies be in such a predicament now? We clearly had an opportunity, but we lost it because we got involved in their internal strife. We can't make the same mistake again."

The reason they lost their opportunity was their involvement in the internal power struggles within the United States. These guys believed the US GPS system was more advanced and had a greater advantage, which is why they abandoned Hughes Aerospace. In their eyes, Hughes Aerospace was just a company, while participating in GPS would bring them more benefits. However, the outcome proved them wrong.

GPS takes time, but Hughes Aerospace had already completed the mission ahead of schedule, and the supporting research and development was also finished, leaving them dumbfounded. It can only be said that their own greed ruined the good thing, and there was no other reason.

John Bottle didn't care too much about those guys from the Japanese government, nor did he care about their thoughts, because he was playing an open game. The situation in Japan was what it was, and if he wanted to invest, they had no reason to refuse. Moreover, once he had control of the port and docks, he would enter the next stage of expansion.

With Mitsui's move, the news spread to other conglomerates the next day. The sudden attack by Mitsui and his ilk caught them off guard, especially Fuji. Nissan's situation was not good. They had originally wanted to do something, but now everything was over. They had all received official notifications that the supply of navigation devices was insufficient. Even Toyota alone could not meet the demand, let alone other Japanese car companies.

Solving the problem will take time and requires rapid capacity expansion from Taiwan. Although all of this is ongoing, it still takes time. While Taiwan has also been affected by the real estate bubble, its development is far better than Japan's, thanks to its cooperation with John and numerous investments, especially in the semiconductor chip field, where development has been accelerating. The recent investment in automobiles has given them a much-needed respite. However, while Taiwan is happy, Japan shows no signs of recovery and continues to decline. Their past arrogance has led to their current predicament, and this is not easily changed. The wave of bankruptcies and unemployment in Japan has severely impacted investment; even domestic conglomerates are scaling back investments, so how can they expect to gain the approval of other capital?

Of course, John's investments do exist, but their influence is too small, and not everyone is optimistic about the direction of his investments. The expansion of shipping is because he has the confidence, cooperation with the Russians, and oil and mineral resources. As for entertainment, it goes without saying that the two world-class media groups have also obtained a lot of good things from the Russians in research and development, which naturally requires investment.

"Those bastards from Mitsui are too arrogant. Toyota has already made its move, and now that old fox Akio Morita wants to contact that little fox John. What are they trying to do? Could it be that Sony and the others intend to have a deeper cooperation with that little fox John, or is that old fox Akio Morita trying to sell off the assets they have?"

"We don't know. We learned about this from within Sony. As for the specific timing, we don't know yet. Perhaps that old guy Akio Morita wants to cooperate with John to stabilize their situation in North America. The North American market is very important to them right now, and we can't afford any accidents. This is already a consensus among everyone!"

“We can’t let those bastards like Mitsui continue like this. I even suspect that this isn’t their internal strife at all, but a conspiracy they deliberately leaked to us. They want to use this method to lower our guard. Toyota has already gotten everything they wanted. If Sony gets everything they want too, things will be serious. Sony has always controlled the PC market share of the internet cafe alliance. The Japanese internet cafe alliance all comes from their PCs. Sony’s market share in the North American game market is also increasing. We must be more vigilant.”

“That is indeed possible. Mitsui is cunning. If they keep doing this, we will all be fooled. We can’t let them continue. We need to step in and get the officials to step in. We can’t let those guys from Mitsui contact that little fox John separately anymore. I even suspect that Mitsui Bank, Sakura Bank and that little fox John reached an agreement before.”

"Then let's take action, otherwise things will only get worse if we wait any longer. We should contact Mitsubishi and Subaru. You know, they are probably furious about the Toyota incident. After all, losing the initiative means their development will be affected. The same goes for Honda. Suzuki and Mazda are probably not in much better shape either!"

"Yes, everyone's having a tough time right now. I heard that those guys at Nissan are really pessimistic. They're going to suffer huge losses this year, and if they can't find an opportunity, they'll be in big trouble."

“We are not members of the conglomerate like Mazda and Suzuki, so our ability to deal with crises is limited. We should ask the government to step in for us, otherwise we will not be able to hold on either. Our market share in North America and Europe has been shrinking, which is not a good thing. Moreover, you all know the situation in the United States. Ford and GM are our strong rivals, and those bastards all have subsidies.”

"Bentley Motors' market share is also constantly increasing, and they are even more terrifying in the luxury car sector. They have almost completely occupied the market of Middle Eastern tycoons, especially in the SUV market, where they are even more aggressive. Now they are building a car factory in Taiwan, not to mention China. They have already opened up the market in the United States. So if we don't take action, I'm afraid the market will continue to shrink, and we may not even be much better off than Nissan."

“Yes, if this drags on any longer, we will also be affected. The authorities can’t just ignore us. If we collapse, it will have a greater impact on Japan’s economy. I don’t believe they are unaware of this. So this time we need to get an explanation from the authorities. At the very least, we need to find a way to get a share of the benefits and secure a spot. Otherwise, our newly established luxury car brand will collapse, and all our investments will go down the drain. That would be too high a price to pay!”

(End of this chapter)