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

"Thank you for riding the Keio Inokashira Line. This train has arrived at Shimokitazawa."

The gentle Showa-era female voice faded into the last note in the carriage, and the door slid open with a soft sound.

Shinobu Kanbara clutched his backpack tightly to his chest, squeezing his way through the throng of people and following the surging passengers onto the ascending escalator. Only when he stepped out of the subway gate and felt the cool spring night breeze on his face did he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"The Tokyo subway during rush hour is truly hell on earth..."

Shuichi Kambara walked to the roadside, dropped a few round coins into the vending machine, and with a clatter, a can of iced coffee rolled out. He pulled the tab, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp.

"That felt great."

He exhaled a breath of cool air, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed a bit. But soon, a helpless smile appeared on his lips. "If I had known there would be so many people during rush hour, I would have bought this thing tomorrow. Luckily, it didn't get damaged in the crowd."

Normally, he should have been home long ago and wouldn't have had to squeeze into the evening rush hour, but...

Thinking of this, as he sipped his iced coffee, he unzipped his backpack and looked inside—a slender, snow-white wooden box lay peacefully in the compartment, the gold-embossed "SAILOR" lettering on the lid gleaming faintly under the streetlights.

SAILOR is a top-tier Japanese fountain pen brand, and its prices are not cheap. In particular, this high-end "Tsubaki" fountain pen from the Shikiori series cost him over 40,000 yen.

Of course, he wasn't too concerned about the money, after all, kindness is priceless; he just didn't like taking the subway.

"I'll just give it to her in person while we're having a late-night snack, but knowing her personality, she'll probably nag me a bit then."

As Kanbara Shuichi walked towards his home, a smile flickered in his eyes.

Honami Suzuki presents herself to the public as a capable and elegant career woman.

Perhaps it was because he was relatively young, but after spending a few days together, as the initial distance between them gradually faded, Honami Suzuki treated him in a way that was both like a mother nagging her son and like a sister spoiling her brother. Sometimes, when they talked about the bureaucratic manners of the TV station, she would pout and stomp her feet, revealing a girlish charm.

This feeling of intimacy...

It was a strange experience, but he enjoyed it. Especially walking on the streets of this foreign city at night, watching the neon lights flash and the traffic flow, and thinking about the people back home who were worried about him, even his steps became a little lighter.

But just then—

"Ang ang ang!!!"

Several modified motorcycles roared past him as they sped by, and Shuichi Kambara raised an eyebrow slightly.

He wasn't surprised to see a biker gang here, after all, Shimokitazawa is famous throughout Japan for its arts, rock and roll and youth subculture, and is full of bars, livehouses, secondhand shops and all kinds of underground entertainment venues.

only...

"Why are there so many biker gangs around here tonight?"

Shinbara Hideyoshi was somewhat surprised. Since exiting the subway station, he had already seen three groups of biker gangs.

Although Shimokitazawa has many entertainment venues, most of them are protected by the yakuza. The biker gangs are mostly rebellious teenagers or low-level thugs who rely on the yakuza, and they wouldn't dare to cause trouble in this area on a regular basis.

However, with motorcycles roaring all around, he wasn't too worried about robberies or anything like that happening.

It wasn't that he trusted the Japanese police. Rather, after transmigrating, he discovered that his physical talents had received an abnormally high boost.

In less than half a month, he went from being a weak dog who could barely do ten pull-ups to a strong physique who could run more than ten kilometers and then easily do two or three hours of anaerobic exercise after returning to the unfinished building, and still feel relaxed and without any soreness or fatigue the next day.

Even when he lived in an unfinished building, because there were no lights, he once went home too late and missed a step, falling down the stairs between the second and third floors. Although the ground below was weeds and mud, he didn't even break any bones, only bruises.

"My physical abilities are probably even more exaggerated than Onizuka's in GTO."

Suddenly remembering the anime "Great Teacher Onizuka" he had watched in his past life, a look of reminiscence flashed across Hideaki Kanbara's eyes. But just then, several more motorcycles whizzed past his ears.

"Hurry! The higher-ups said whoever finds this girl first will get a two million yuan reward!"

The reckless laughter of the biker gang faded into the distance, the night wind ruffled Shuichi Kanbara's black hair, and the next moment, a newspaper flew up and landed on his face.

"These social parasites, the biker gangs, should definitely be eradicated..."

Shuichi Kambara rolled his eyes in exasperation, muttering a complaint to himself. But the moment he picked up the newspaper and saw the page, all the casual ease on his face vanished, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The front page prominently featured the headline, "Child food poisoning case at Kisugi Foods: Asahi Shimbun's star reporter Honami Suzuki is following up!" Below the headline was a picture of Honami Suzuki holding a microphone, looking serious.

"This is..."

Stunned, Hideaki Kanbara froze for a moment, his thumb gripping the newspaper so tightly it turned white. The next moment, as another biker gang motorcycle drove past, he suddenly sprang up and unleashed a fierce side kick!

"Baka yarou!"

"Who are you! Why are you attacking us!"

The sudden, violent act startled his companions, who slammed on the brakes. The unfortunate man who was kicked slid sideways with his bike, blood streaming from his nose. He looked up in disarray, his eyes filled with astonishment and confusion.

"Who...who are you?!"

However, he was met with silence.

The tall figure slowly approached against the light, ripped off the helmet from his head, and mercilessly slammed his head to the ground.

In the last second before he fainted, he only saw the man straddle his motorcycle, tuck his other companion under his arm, and then the engine roared and disappeared into the boundless night like a black shadow.

.

Honami Suzuki was both happy and a little nervous today.

She was naturally happy to discover that Shuichi Kanbara could actually write novels; the thought that the child could at least find a job put her at ease. On the other hand, she was also relieved that the parent representative of the Shinjuku children's mass food poisoning incident, whom she had been pestering for so long, had finally agreed to be interviewed.

Food safety for young children is a major concern for society in any normal country.

However, this incident involves "Kisugi Foods Co., Ltd."

This food company is a leading enterprise in the domestic industry, with deep connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles. Therefore, although the poisoning incident has been reported for a long time, no conclusive evidence has been obtained, and there is a lack of witnesses to accuse them.

Although she was a nationally renowned news anchor, none of the victims' parents dared to speak out. Even when she went door-to-door to investigate, she could see suspicious figures with sinister expressions loitering and monitoring the victims' homes.

Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that the influence of Japan's underworld is too enormous these days, deeply intertwined with both the political and business spheres.

Moreover, there is currently almost no public surveillance on open streets and alleyways in Japan. Yes, due to strict restrictions on the right to privacy under the Constitution, the government strictly prohibits the installation of cameras throughout the entire road. Only some shops and stations have scattered recording equipment.

This further emboldened the Japanese underworld to act with impunity.

The turning point came recently when the Diet announced the formal implementation of the Organized Crime Countermeasures Act of 1991. With the support of this act, some victims' families finally agreed to come forward for interviews.

"Suzuki-san, remember to lock the doors and windows when you get home. The company will send a car to pick you up tomorrow."

"I understand, you should go back soon too."

At the security booth outside her home, Honami Suzuki waved to her colleague Kobayakawa, who had driven her home, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

From the moment the interview ended, she felt a vague unease, but nothing went wrong from the interview site to her doorstep. This put her at ease—the Anti-Organized Crime Act had just been enacted, and even if the other party did something wrong, they couldn't possibly cause trouble at this time.

She tried to convince herself of this, but just as she turned to go home, her pupils constricted as a van blocked her colleague's car. Seven or eight burly men rushed out and dragged her colleague out of the vehicle. Before she could even make a sound, her mouth was covered.