Tokyo's bubble economy: From literary giants to great entertainers

Early spring in March 1992.

A sudden rain shower washed the streets and alleys of Akihabara clean and bright.

The midday sun dappled through the damp branches and leaves, and glistening water droplets clung to the cherry blossom trees by the roadside. Occasionally, they would slide off in the wind and hit the windows of passing cars with a soft, crisp sound.

Several high school girls, dressed in dark blue Japanese uniforms with their skirts fluttering slightly in the spring breeze, chatted and laughed as they walked past the convenience store sign.

Inside the glass door, a slender young man was untying his apron and quietly tidying up his belongings.

"Aren't you coming starting tomorrow, Shuichi-kun?"

The elderly woman who took over the shift stood at the cashier's counter. She was over sixty years old, with her white hair neatly combed and a smile always in the wrinkles around her eyes. She was a kind old woman.

Shuichi Kambara straightened his collar slightly and bowed gently. "Thank you for taking care of me during this time. University starts in a few days, and my mother's friend has taken me in, so the rent problem is finally solved."

"That's good. Sigh, these days, with the economy so bad and rent so expensive, it's really tough for you young people."

The old woman sighed, opened the drawer, and slowly counted out nine 10,000-yuan bills.

Fukuzawa Yukichi's portrait had a slightly yellowish sheen in the sunlight. But when she finished counting nine and was about to take them out, she paused, hesitated for a moment, and then took out two more and gently stacked them on top.

"Here's your salary for this month. Keep it safe, and remember not to take the back roads on your way home."

Based on current wage levels in Tokyo, a high school student working part-time during spring break can earn around 80,000 yen a month.

The eleven Fukuzawa Yukichi cards in front of me have a total of 30,000 extra.

Shuichi Kambara, who had just put on his backpack, paused slightly and looked up at the old man.

The old woman just smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening, and pushed the money forward. "Young people all encounter setbacks, but how they face those setbacks will shape them into different people. Take it, don't be polite with this old woman."

After carefully examining the proprietress's kind face, Shuichi Kanbara's throat tightened slightly, but he ultimately refrained from saying anything. He shrugged his backpack, accepted the banknotes with both hands, and bowed again.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you; I will never forget your kindness."

.

After leaving the convenience store, Hidekazu Kanbara headed towards Akihabara subway station.

The streets were bustling with people, and the spring breeze carried the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms as it brushed against our faces.

Looking to both sides, neon signs are layered upon each other, filled with Japanese characters that are both strange and inexplicably familiar. The laughter and chatter of passersby can be heard from time to time. Everything is understandable, but there is still a sense of alienation that is hard to describe.

He was slightly lost in thought, his gaze unconsciously drifting into the distance.

Looking into the distance, all that comes into view is the red Tokyo Tower.

Hideaki Kambara paused for a moment, then lowered his head.

I have been in this world for some time now.

Although he had accepted the fact that he had traveled through time, the unfamiliar country, the unfamiliar language, the unfamiliar script, and everything else still made him feel somewhat melancholic.

Past events have faded into nothingness.

Now he is called Shuichi Kambara.

Eighteen years old, born into an ordinary family in a small city in Gunma Prefecture. Her father was a journalist who later quit his job to run a small business, and her mother was a nurse at a hospital.

The family was originally harmonious and warm, but in the middle of last year, the original owner's father made a little money by doing some raw material business behind the real estate company. Seeing that the housing prices in Japan were rising year by year, and seeing that the original owner was admitted to a university in Tokyo, he gritted his teeth and took out a loan to buy an apartment in Tokyo.

Eight percent interest, 32-year loan term.

Then, less than six months later, at the end of 1991, the Tokyo real estate market collapsed.

The largest and longest-lasting single-country economic crisis in Asian history has erupted in Japan.

A speck of dust in the era can become a mountain on an individual, and if it is further burdened by the greed of those in power, it can lead to utter ruin.

Japanese mortgages are based on unlimited liability.

In other words, if a mortgage is defaulted, the bank will foreclose and auction the property.

If the auction proceeds exceed the loan balance, the excess will be refunded.

If the auction proceeds are less than the outstanding loan balance, loan repayments continue. In other words, the house is gone, but the debt remains. The bank can forcibly freeze all assets under the debtor's name, even their pension.

Half a lifetime of hard work can be wiped out overnight, leaving behind debts that can't be repaid even in the rest of one's life. Newspapers and news reports are filled with the atmosphere of economic crisis every day.

On an ordinary morning, police carried two hanged bodies out of the Shinbara residence.

The original owner chose to give up the inheritance of the estate—giving up the inheritance of the estate also meant no longer inheriting the debts, but also completely losing everything, even the place to live.

It wasn't until the original owner committed suicide in the unfinished building, and until some time had passed after he transmigrated, that a woman claiming to be "Mom's friend" offered to take him in and sponsor his first year of university tuition.

Human happiness is largely similar.

"But suffering... comes in many forms."

.

I walked along the bustling streets of Akihabara to the subway station.

The train carriage was packed with people, and after standing for several stops in a nearly airtight manner, Shuichi Kanbara arrived at Shimokitazawa in Setagaya. He took out the envelope and, following the directions on it, wound his way through the bustling alleys of Shimokitazawa, gradually entering a slightly quieter slope.

On both sides of the ramp are several six-story apartment buildings built in the late 1970s. The off-white square tiles gleam softly in the spring sunshine, and each building is equipped with silver automatic doors and built-in intercom systems.

The high-end apartments depicted in Japanese anime are also a symbol of elite white-collar workers in this era.

"Suzuki, this is the place."

Shuichi Kambara stopped in front of Building B, straightened his collar, and pressed the button for "603 Suzuki". A moment later, a mature and elegant female voice came from inside.

However, the other person seemed surprised by his early arrival, her tone suggesting a slight headache, and the faint sound of running water from the bathroom could be heard in the background. But soon, after she told him, "Come in first and sit down in the living room to wait for me," the door opened with a "beep."

"It seems she had a good relationship with the original owner's parents; I also have memories of the two families visiting each other. But they haven't been in contact much in recent years..."

"Hmm, it shouldn't give us away."

As Shuichi Kambara pondered to himself, he took the elevator to the sixth floor and followed the corridor to room 603.

"I've come in, sorry to bother you."

The door was unlocked. The living room's decor, like the woman's voice from earlier, was elegant and sophisticated, but lacked a sense of warmth and homeliness. There were no family photos on the TV stand or the walls, and only a pair of brand-new men's slippers prepared in advance for him in the entryway.

"A single woman living alone?"

Shuichi Kambara changed into slippers and came to the living room. He glanced around at the living room layout, then quickly looked away, as it would be impolite to do so.

Just as he was about to put his backpack down, a black fountain pen on the coffee table caught his attention.

—A system box floated up on that pen.

[The spare pen of a top reporter]

[Quality: White]

[Effect: Slightly improves the ability to convert images into text]

[Introduction: It was the sword that pierced her towards the truth, and also the black knife that led her into hell.]

[Exchange: For every three items you obtain, you can exchange them for an item of the same tier in the shop without any cost.]

"This is..."

Shuichi Kambara was slightly taken aback, but before he could think further, footsteps came from the bedroom.

He turned his head and looked over, his eyes suddenly narrowing!

Before me stood a mature woman who appeared to be around thirty years old.

She was not tall, but slender, with mature, short hair that reached her ears. She wore a traditional and elegant white shirt with a crisp stand-up collar and the cuffs were meticulously buttoned up to the last button. Her dark gray pencil skirt went past her knees, making her calves appear fair and long.

A very traditional office outfit.

However, when she wore it, she didn't look stiff or weak at all. On the contrary, her mature and capable aura seemed to oppress the air in the entire room as soon as she entered.

A very elegant and mature woman.

But none of that is the key point. The key point is—

"Rika Akana?"

The woman in front of me looks exactly like Rika Akana from "Tokyo Love Story," except that she looks much more mature in age and demeanor!

"No, not Rika Akana. She's... Tamaki Aso from 'Newsgirl'?"

Shinbara Hideaki's eyes were full of surprise, but soon his gaze locked onto the system box on the side of the other person's head.

Name: Honami Suzuki

Age: 30

[Life's Script: Newsgirl]

[Script progress: Significant changes - The ex-husband and his wife still passed away, but they left behind a daughter.]

She worked at a television station in Gunma Prefecture and was Shinbara's father's superior for many years. The two were almost discovered while investigating a dangerous case, and Shinbara's father found an escape route for her in the nick of time, for which he had shown her kindness.

"this..."