Chapter 217: Bubble Prelude, Special Congress, Campaign Speech
Since traveling to Japan, Kitahara Sosuke has fantasized countless times about the various scenes that may appear in Tokyo, Osaka and other places when Japan's economy collapsed in the 1990s and entered the lost thirty years.
What role will you play in it at that time?
Is he the mastermind behind adding fuel to the flames and adding insult to injury?
Is it an emerging consortium that takes advantage of the opportunity and rises violently?
Is he a lonely, unknown rich man who is watching with cold eyes?
Maybe I will make a lot of money during that period, maintain the enthusiasm of this era when I first came to this country, and continue to strive to create a new financial empire with my own hands. Maybe I will be tired of that kind of life and retire early.
, with a huge fortune, he went to the salty life of the rich and leisurely.
He had thought too much and fantasized a lot, but he never expected that in the early days of the collapse of the bubble economy, he would be sitting in the detention room of the Osaka Police Headquarters, looking at the four black walls, in this way
Welcome the end of this era.
October 1, 1990.
Bank of Japan President Mie Noyasu officially burst Japan's five-year-old bubble economy.
Since the last time he announced a tightening of real estate loan policies, Japan's state-owned broadcaster NHK has broadcast special programs on the land issue in prime time for five consecutive nights.
"Land experts" controlled by consortia and the government pointed out that land prices can fall, and proposed that Japan's land prices should be reduced by half. They also advocated reform of the land tax system and restrictions on real estate financing.
This program was like a blockbuster, and its huge impact on public opinion kicked off the bursting of Japan's bubble economy.
Taking the broadcast of this program as a turning point, land prices in Japan began to explode for the first time since the end of World War II. As mentioned in the program, by October 1, land prices in six major cities had dropped by more than 30%.
, and the speed is still increasing and cannot be stopped.
The price of a Tokyo property that once cost 200 million yuan has now dropped to less than 140 million yuan, and few people are interested in it.
The huge real estate bubble burst in Tokyo and quickly spread throughout Japan.
Land and houses cannot be sold at all, the buildings being completed one after another have no residents, and empty houses are everywhere.
For example, there is an economic development zone in Chuo-ku, Osaka, planned by Osaka Prefecture Governor Yasushi Taniguchi. It is full of real estate and apartments. The opening price is 150 million yen. However, now, when passing by the so-called economic development zone, citizens can only look at it.
It's like a ghost town.
If it can’t be sold, the house can’t be sold at all!
Japan's major real estate trading markets have long been paralyzed. The middle class, ordinary club presidents, and ordinary people who have taken over real estate from consortiums and governments, as well as ordinary people who want to use real estate as an investment, have suffered completely.
Most of them bought houses with mortgages. Now the loan amount remains unchanged, but the value of the property has suffered a terrible decline. Over time, the assets in their hands have shrunk extremely!
Where did the money go?
This is the doubt in the minds of more than 80% of people in Japan.
Obviously a few months ago, they still had a lot of assets and cash in their hands, and they were the richest people in the world!
The upper class circles that successfully escaped from the housing and stock markets only suffered a big setback during the Gulf War. They suffered heavy losses, but only a small number of them suffered fundamental damage. As long as they continue to suck the blood of the national economy, they can always recover.
Others who paid for their foolish long oil behavior went straight into doom.
Joint protests and demonstrations were held in various places. People frantically rushed into various banks to withdraw money, demanding a reasonable explanation from the government for the Gulf War.
The man who jumped out of Juliana Tokyo last night was Yoshiaki Tsutsumi.
In sharp contrast to the still prosperous and drunken nightclub life group are the real estate businessmen and real estate speculators, who are the first victims after the bubble economy burst.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who controlled nearly one-sixth of Japan's real estate, was once the world's richest man. He was so obsessed with real estate management that he devoted his entire club to the holding and trading of real estate. He wanted to compound profits and become a veritable world real estate tycoon.
He not only holds a large amount of real estate in Japan, but also has made various amazing investments overseas. However, with the crazy appreciation of the yen, the New York building originally purchased with 1 billion gold (approximately 140 billion yen) is now only worth 100 billion yen.
(The exchange rate increased, and 1 billion meters of gold could only be exchanged for 100 billion yen), resulting in an instant loss of 40 billion.
Such investments abounded in his hands. As the yen further appreciated, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi suddenly lost more than 2 trillion yen.
At its peak, his Seibu Group had 100,000 employees, resort hotels all over Japan, and assets of US$165 billion. But now, its total assets have shrunk to only half, which can no longer cover his high loans.
There are different opinions on why this boss committed suicide. In short, once he died, the behemoth Seibu Group collapsed completely. A very small part of the assets in his name were inherited by his descendants, and a part was taken away by the bank. Just this morning, the Financial Services Department of the Ministry of Finance accused
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi was suspected of treason, forging financial certificates, malicious real estate speculation and many other crimes. The Tokyo District Prosecutors filed a public prosecution and confiscated most of his remaining assets!
This was the first scapegoat to be killed.
Kitahara Sosuke clapped the newspaper in his hand and felt sorry for this big boss who refused to leave the real estate market. In the end, the Seibu Group had very little left for his family and employees, and most of it went into the pockets of the government and consortiums.
.
One-sixth of all real estate in Japan (including resort hotels, apartment buildings, golf courses, etc.) will be auctioned and sold by the Tokyo Court.
There is a color TV set in the detention room, allowing Kitahara Sosuke to see the details of the convening of the special congress immediately.
In response to the indignation of the people, the two houses of parliament jointly convened a special session, summoning members of Toshiki Kaifu's cabinet, Bank of Japan President Yasu Mieno, and Tibet Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, asking them to explain to the people about the Gulf War.
Give an explanation.
On TV, Toshiki Kaifu, who had a serious face and a complex expression, could only bow silently in the face of the aggressive posture of the congressmen, and expressed his heartfelt apology for his previous behavior of using the foundation of the national economy to participate in the Gulf War!
"As Prime Minister, I failed to fulfill my duties. I hoped to use this Gulf War to take off the national economy and make Japan stand on top of the world. However, the fiasco of oil futures caused heavy losses to the national economy. It is all my fault.
, I’m extremely sorry!”
Toshiki Kaifu's resignation was also formally proposed today, but until Congress confirms the next prime minister, he will still act as prime minister and be responsible for handling daily affairs.
His resignation was expected, and the key is who will take over the position.
Shintaro Abe, the pale-faced Foreign Minister, spoke for the second time. I don’t know what kind of medicine he took. His constant coughing finally stopped, but his voice was still very weak and his breath was weak. You could tell at first glance that he was in extremely poor health.
"...The focus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this year is to assist the Prime Minister in handling and communicating the affairs of the Gulf War. Although the Prime Minister made a misjudgment on this futures trading, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' external work has gone smoothly. As a result of the victory of the war,
Japan has been widely praised by other countries, and through this war, Japan's new domestic structure has been revealed to the world..."
"During the Gulf War, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accidentally received a shocking report while handling external affairs. The anonymous whistleblower claimed that a banker named Sosuke Kitahara, acting as the head of the Osaka Chuo Branch of Tosan, had an affair during the Gulf War.
The American consortium used illegal means to raise funds to short-sell crude oil futures and make profits of up to 12.3 billion meters in gold! In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has immediately asked the Tokyo District Prosecutors’ Office to launch a comprehensive investigation..."
When Kitahara Sosuke heard that his name was actually mentioned in Congress, he was stunned at first. Then he looked at Shintaro Abe's performance like a clown. He made a heartbroken expression and wished he could immediately denounce himself and give away the 2 trillion yen.
The money is in the pocket.
Treason and espionage are among the most serious crimes. Once convicted, they are likely to be sentenced to death.
In Japan, the most painful method of execution is hanging.
The words of the Foreign Minister suddenly aroused the curiosity and desire of the people. Compared with the crimes that Kitahara Sosuke was accused of, they wanted to know what kind of person this was.
Treason and espionage charges that have never appeared!
After Shintaro Abe finished speaking, he returned to his seat and remained silent.
He did not issue a campaign manifesto. It seems that he recognized his true situation and gave up the idea of competing with Noboru Takeshita and Kiichi Miyazawa.
Next on the stage were Mie Noyasu and Ryutaro Hashimoto. As the controllers of the two major economic pillars in the country, they announced the total losses caused by the Gulf War and the 8 trillion losses caused by the banks!
The amount of only 8 trillion made Kithara Sosuke want to laugh. Is this trying to fool a child?
In such a big war, almost all Japanese consortiums and businessmen entered the market with long-selling as their core method, and they only lost 8 trillion?
Congress was in an uproar, apparently dissatisfied with this so-called financial report.
Mie Noyasu and Hashimoto Ryutaro finished reporting under tremendous pressure and walked off the stage in despair.
Next up on the stage was Noboru Takeshita, who had prepared a campaign speech.
A few years ago, he stepped down due to the Likult incident, and his secretary committed suicide due to fear of guilt. Since then, he has faded out of politics. Now, 66-year-old Noboru Takeshita once again came to the lobby of the National Assembly to speak as a candidate for prime minister.
His voice was steady and powerful. He first affirmed the outstanding contributions made by Toshiki Kaifu's cabinet, and then pointed out the recklessness of the Gulf War, saying that if it were him, he would never let such a thing happen.
These words made Toshiki Kaifu's teeth itch with anger, but there was nothing he could do about his resignation, which was also the intention of the American consortium behind him. He could only watch Takeshita Noboru talk nonsense in a way that stepped on him to rise to power.
"...If I am lucky enough to be prime minister again, I will intensify efforts to rectify the inappropriate social atmosphere in the country, and try to eliminate the adverse effects of the Gulf War through various policies. Citizens need not be afraid,
The drop in land prices and the failure of crude oil futures are just temporary defeats and will not have a terrible impact on our country. Just like the newly built Juliana Tokyo in the port area, our lives will still be better, and the nationals will
The economy will take off again..."
"What we want to sanction are those unscrupulous entrepreneurs and bankers like Tsutsumi Yoshiaki and Kitahara Sosuke who shamelessly embezzle the national economy for their own benefit. Such scum will definitely be punished as they deserve. We
Recommitment..."
Kitahara Sosuke watched Takeshita Noboru speaking in Congress and couldn't help but laugh. I hope he can only fulfill those promises as he said.