America: My Time

Chapter 974 Taking advantage of the situation
Chapter 944 Taking advantage of a crisis

It wasn't just shopping malls; other commercial real estate, like amusement parks, was also affected. With the bursting of the real estate bubble, consumption across Japan stagnated, and everyone tightened their belts. Under these circumstances, even amusement parks were affected. Universal Studios was impacted, as were other projects.

However, it's unlikely that anyone would let go of a project like Universal Studios. Even if someone did, someone else would take over, and it's impossible for it to return to Universal Studios! For John, the most important thing is his acquisition plan: acquiring real estate in those bustling areas of Japan.

The Japanese didn't keep John waiting long. They quickly arranged a meeting place. Perhaps because of the significant impact, the negotiations were arranged by the Japanese government. Whether it was due to the high impact or other reasons, the Japanese officials scheduled the negotiations for daytime.

John was somewhat surprised by this arrangement, as it was not a cocktail party but a normal negotiation. Therefore, John did not bring any female companions. When he arrived at the meeting place arranged by the Japanese authorities, John was slightly surprised because not only car companies but also steel companies were present!

Upon entering the venue, John saw Toyota's representative, Tatsuro Toyoda. The two exchanged a glance, but a faint bitterness was clearly visible on Tatsuro Toyoda's face, indicating that he was under considerable pressure.

“Mr. Toyota, let’s talk over there!” John spoke up before the other party could speak. Toyota Tatsuro naturally wouldn’t refuse John’s invitation; he wasn’t stupid and understood what John wanted to do.

After sitting down, John said, "Toyota, I don't know what your decision is. I'm under a lot of pressure. If you have no problems and won't make any changes, then I will cooperate. But if you want to give up, there's nothing I can do. After all, I can't withstand this much pressure either, not only in Japan, but also in Europe!"

"Mr. John, please rest assured, Toyota will not compromise, and those guys have no right to make us compromise. It's just that you'll be under a lot of pressure. Those guys would prefer that you give up on Europe and supply all your products to them."

As soon as Toyoda Tatsuro finished speaking, John's face showed an expression of "I knew it," and he shook his head and said, "That's impossible. Although my relationship with Europe isn't very good, I can't just give up the European market. It's a huge market, and I can't accept it. Neither can the global satellite navigation companies. Those guys are daydreaming, they're too crazy, and they're too arrogant!"

"Yes, those guys are too crazy and too arrogant. Perhaps this is the result of the pressure they are under. With the arrival of the crisis, many companies are unable to withstand such an impact. Their own losses are considerable, and if this continues, they will be on the verge of bankruptcy!"

"I understand their pressure, but that's not a reason for me to accept their demands. I can't expect global satellite navigation companies to abandon the European market for Japanese car companies. You should know how serious the consequences would be if I did that, so their idea is doomed to fail. However, why do I see steel companies here today? Do they also have something to discuss with me?"

"It's still about the price of iron ore. These guys are starting to struggle to keep up. Rising costs are impacting their profits, and they won't be able to hold on if things continue like this. As you know, with the crisis and rising costs, everyone needs to control costs. But if you can't control them at the source, it's useless. Quantum Mining is a true mining giant, so we need your help."

"I'm afraid this request is beyond my ability to fulfill. As you know, there are people already targeting Quantum Mining. You should know perfectly well who is behind all this. I personally cannot influence this grand scheme. Those guys are targeting Quantum Mining. Perhaps you should discuss this with them. If they can accept it, then everything will be fine!"

"Mr. John, you're joking. That's simply impossible. We suspect those guys are doing this because they're targeting us. Under these circumstances, why would they cooperate with us? So, right now, only you can help us. If this continues, the entire Japanese manufacturing industry will suffer a devastating blow." "Don't they control quite a few mining companies? How come they can't meet their own needs? I remember their cooperation with Quantum Mining has diminished considerably. Quantum Mining is now primarily cooperating with China, South Korea, and Taiwan; there's not much cooperation left with Japan?"

John sneered at these guys. They thought they had shares in the mining industry in Australia, so they didn't need to cooperate with Quantum Mining anymore. As a result, iron ore transactions between the two sides had been declining for years. Now that they had problems, they wanted John to help them. What a joke.

“Mr. John, you know those guys were cheated. They don’t actually own those mines; they only have a small share!” At this point, Tatsuro Toyoda couldn’t help but sigh. He was also angry at those guys’ stupidity. They had clearly promised to own the mines, but they hadn’t done so with the iron ore mines, and their expansion was nowhere near as significant as their copper mine expansion.

“Mr. Toyota, as you know, this is not a decision I can make alone. Moreover, as a mining giant, Quantum Mining also has to consider the reactions of its peers. Furthermore, Japan is not my main market, so I have no choice. Annual negotiations are not a decision I can make. And you should know that Quantum Mining can only supply its own needs in iron ore mining. We can't do any more than that. After all, due to the contraction of the Japanese market, we have had to reduce iron ore mining. So right now, I am willing but unable to agree to your demands.”

Upon hearing John's words, Toyoda Tatsuro sighed. These days, even a slight price increase in Japan would have a huge impact on their costs. John's refusal left them helpless; they were now like fish on a chopping block, being targeted, not by John, but by Europeans—more precisely, by the oil-rich capital. They must have other schemes behind their targeting of Japan.

"Mr. John, don't you have any other ideas?" Toyoda Tatsuro was still somewhat unwilling to give up, because this would also affect Toyota. After all, the rise in iron ore prices would increase Toyota's costs, but they couldn't raise car prices, since American car companies didn't have such problems.

"I'm completely helpless. You understand that Quantum Mining wouldn't risk damaging the tacit understanding between mining giants over such a trivial cooperation with Japan. It's their own doing; their orders are all in the hands of BHP Billiton and those guys, and they don't have much cooperation with Quantum Mining. Even I have no reason to help them. They can kick you when you're done with something, and now that there's a problem, they come to me for help. There's no such thing as a free lunch. My cooperation with Toyota has always been a pleasant one, without any other problems. So even in this crisis, I will do my best to help Toyota. As for others, there's absolutely nothing I can do!"

John's answer made Tatsuro Toyoda sigh, realizing that this matter could only end here. He had done everything he could, and everything from now on would have to be handled by the Japanese officials. If he continued, he would be being unreasonable. John had made his stance clear by speaking so frankly.

When they saw John and Tatsuro Toyoda sitting together talking, the Japanese guys were also discussing: "Do you guys think Toyoda can persuade Mr. John to lend us a hand? I have a feeling this is a bit far-fetched!"

"Heh, I told you long ago not to trust those guys, but you insisted on investing in those mines and gradually transferring orders to them. Now that problems have arisen, you want to consult Mr. John for solutions and ask him to step in and help you. There's no such thing as a free lunch. I don't think Toyota can persuade him. You'd better prepare for the worst. Our original mining plan should continue, instead of getting into this predicament for the sake of so-called profits. Mining is only truly safe when it's in our own hands!"

“You think we don’t want to, but those iron mines are all controlled by mining giants, and we have no chance at all. If we don’t invest in them, we have no other choice, and this will also reduce some of our losses!”

"Ha! Reduce losses? That's laughable. We're struggling to survive, let alone talk about reducing losses. If we're talking about a price war, we can't compete with China at all. We can't compete with the steel mills under Quantum Mining, not to mention that Quantum Mining now controls the steel mills and iron ore mines owned by the Russians. We're all facing this impact now, and we're completely helpless. Not to mention China, even South Korea and Taiwan are in a better situation than us. Quantum Mining's cooperation with them involves selling low-grade iron ore at low prices!"

(End of this chapter)