[Chapter 485: The Limitless Glory of the Japanese]
On the cover of Newsweek, the trademark of Columbia Pictures, the iconic "Torch Lady" was replaced with an image of a Japanese geisha in a kimono holding the torch.
The headline "Japan Invades Hollywood" dominated this edition, accompanied by a special feature titled "Japanese Enterprises Buy the Soul of Arica," which spanned dozens of pages. This feature asserted, based on public opinion polls, that Sony's acquisition was "a more terrifying threat than Soviet military power!"
For several days, various dia outlets across Arica reported extensively on this acquisition, expressing strong dissatisfaction with Sony's takeover of Columbia Pictures.
A joke highlighted the general discontent among Aricans regarding the Japanese people.
In a classroom, a teacher asked who said a certain proverb, and the room fell silent.
A Japanese student stood up and answered, "Franklin."
After praising the student, the teacher criticized Arican students for knowing less about their own history than the Japanese students.
At that mont, an Arican student muttered, "Kill the Japanese people," prompting an angry teacher to demand, "Who said that?" to which all the Arican students replied in unison, "Truman."
Many Arican businesses had failed, suffering disastrous losses in competition with Japanese enterprises.
When the auto, appliance, and semiconductor industries took deadly blows, Aricans might have managed to endure. However, when the Japanese people reached into the entertainnt dia, it truly angered the Arican public.
They generally believed the they intended to take over Hollywood.
As for the Hollywood moguls, aside from the aimless William White, they did not believe anyone else had a chance of winning.
William White, for his part, did not mind the Japanese elents. As long as the price was right, he seed willing to sell just about anything.
Aricans were indeed overthinking it; the Japanese people were putting in every effort to learn Arican ways. Why would they endeavor to change anything? That was simply impossible.
William White, while knowing this, refrained from speaking out. He waited until this group of foolish people exhausted themselves, leaving a chance for him to take advantage.
...
When the news finally broke that Mitsubishi Estate had purchased 80% stake in Rockefeller Center for $1.4 billion, the Arican public's fragile state shattered.
"Man, you didn't buy it, and now the Japanese have. This is really embarrassing," George Bush Jr. said with a gloomy expression.
"Ha! Manhattan real estate isn't even renting out. Buying 80% of the shares for $1.4 billion? They must be out of their minds. Honestly, if they are interested in White Center, I'd sell too," William White laughed, though there was little joy in his eyes; he was already planning to cash in.
"Wait, are you saying property prices will drop?"
"Ha, it's not like that. From any angle, Rockefeller Center isn't worth buying. The rent-to-price ratio is so low, over 30% of the units aren't even rented. Honestly, I admire the courage of these guys."
William White wasn't being alarmist. In the years following, the center suffered annual losses. In 1995, Mitsubishi Estate and the owners filed for bankruptcy protection for Rockefeller Center. Later, in 2000, they sold their stake for roughly $1.48 billion.
Adding in the lost sums over those years, they practically gave away $1 billion to the Rockefeller Group -- now that's what I call generous.
"Geez, the Rockefeller family was forced to sell to survive."
"Ha, you're killing , George. You don't think I have to die before you can inherit my fortune, do you? Ha, wait a sec; let catch my breath from laughing."
"Cut it out, what's wrong with that? My family's in the oil business."
"Your family? Please, it's not even close compared to the old White Oil. Half of the top twenty major oil companies are in the Rockefeller group. Are you telling they're losing money? Okay, maybe on paper, but oil is a cyclical industry. It'll recover; this little setback is no big deal."
Though George Bush Jr. wanted to argue, he had to admit that whether or not they were losing money didn't really matter. If you didn't have much debt, who cares about these things?
As for why Rockefeller was short on cash, there were too many intricacies involved. The one thing for sure was that these guys had clearly been taken advantage of.
"Hey, why are you suddenly interested in oil?"
"Is that so strange? I got all this money from the Japan; if I don't invest it, should I let it sit in a bank and rot?"
"Ha, was the recent news leaking from Rockefeller?"
"Ugh, they're really bold, selling everything and still have the nerve to worry about . Playing dead is one thing, but coming out to bark is just annoying."
...
No matter how these two complained, the transactions of Rockefeller Center and Columbia Pictures genuinely worried the Arican public.
It seed clear now; the so-called economic Pearl Harbor wasn't a joke. The economic outlook for Arica absolutely looked bleak.
Sony was furious; the illustration in Newsweek would undoubtedly cause significant trouble for the company. To fully westernize, Akio Morita had long resided in Arica, and many of the company's executives were also Aricans. How could they let that goddess wear a kimono?
Well, wearing a kimono wasn't necessarily a big deal, but why so sleazy? We're acquiring this company, not planning to focus on 'action' films.
William White thought that if this guy really brought the Japanese 'action' industry to Arica, there might be pleasant surprises. After all, Arican 'action' films had sunk to a new low.
My goodness, they just jumped right in without any plot setup. Even if there were so, they made no sense. Compared to the Japanese films, well, the gap was just too huge.
To say these scripts were simple, you just needed to portray the evil lurking inside your mind. It's nothing complicated -- just various fantasies, which is no difficulty at all. After all, everyone has so really wicked images deep down.
"William, the Japanese are loaded. Your White Films might face trouble."
"Ha, what are you talking about, George? Just because of that bunch of guys? Honestly, if I felt like it, I could tear them apart anyti. But why should I bother? That Australian thug is my real opponent; the others? Who cares?"
George Bush struggled for words. Backing the News Corporation were major players like Morgan Stanley and Citibank. Though they faced so troubles now, they were still the elite of the elite, definitely not a match for William White.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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