Traveling through the Tokyo bubble era

Chapter 723: Tsutsumi Yoshiaki is in a more miserable state
The name that came out of Yoshiaki Takeshita's mouth surprised Hanyu Hideki.

'Mr. Children'

Fans who are familiar with the neon music scene in the 1990s will definitely be familiar with this name.

However, domestic fans call him "Mr. Child" more often.

How to describe this band?
In the history of neon rock music, this band's influence will never fall out of the top five.

If we only consider sales, their total historical record sales are second only to the now debuted band B'z.

To put it another way, the total career record sales of two top idols in the Showa period, Akina Nakamori and Seiko Matsuda, are not as high as Mr. Children's.

Since becoming famous, the peak Mr. Children album sales have never fallen below one million copies.

Perhaps because they debuted late and were young, this band had an extremely long life. Before Hideki Hanyu traveled through time, they were still active in the Japanese music scene.

Perhaps at a certain point in time, the influence of some bands at their peak will surpass that of Mr. Children.

But when it comes to sustained influence, it can be said that Mr. Children has been unmatched in the decades since his debut.

Moreover, unlike other rock bands in the circle that are constantly in trouble, what people talk about most about Mr. Children is its avant-garde musical attitude and profound musical accomplishment.

They are low-key, gentle, focused on music, and don't like to make trouble. Even because of this characteristic, many music fans feel that they are not a pure rock band.

It's as if rock bands have to be hardcore, crazy, hysterical, and do things without any bottom line.

However, Hanyu Hideki quite appreciates these characteristics of Mr. Children.

After all, in his opinion, to express a type of music, one should rely on the music itself, rather than using actions to prove how rock you are.

However, Hanyu Hideki was thinking about the memories of his past life, and his silent attitude made Takeshita Yoshiaki in front of him a little nervous.

Takeshita Yoshiaki carefully explained, "Mr. Children is their new name. They were previously called Beatnik. Do you think the change is not good, sir?"

After hearing what Yoshiaki Takeshita said, Hideki Hanyu knew that the other party had misunderstood.

He smiled and shook his head, "It's a good change, very friendly. The band name is your own choice, you don't need to care about other people's opinions."

As Hanyu Hideki said this, he looked through the dim light of the bar at the boy following closely behind Takeshita Yoshiaki.

Sure enough, he is somewhat similar to the Mr. Children lead singer Sakurai Kazutoshi in my memory, especially the mole on his cheek, but because of his age, it looks too childish.

After all, in another time and space, Mr. Children did not really enter the mainstream until 1992, so it is understandable that Hideki Hanyu cannot recognize it now.

His words, which showed great respect for the band's opinions, deeply moved Mr. Children and the other three.

After all, in the eyes of several people, Hideki Hanyu is a real big shot.

Even if such a big shot didn't preach to them, how could he take a few unknown people like them who dropped out of high school seriously?

However, just as Mr. Children and the others were getting excited, Hanyu Hideki's next words surprised them even more.

Hanyu Hideki looked at Nagato Daiyuki and asked, "President Nagato, are you really not interested in them?"

This question also surprised Nagato Daiyuki.

After all, it was obvious that no one liked this band just now, so why did Hideki Hanyu suddenly ask this question?

But even so, Nagato Daiyuki still answered according to his inner thoughts, "They are still lacking experience and maturity, so they are not suitable for MF Records for the time being."

"I see."

Hanyu Hideki nodded, and then said to Takeshita Yoshiaki, "The performance at Shinjuku Fiery LIVE HOUSE is scheduled for tomorrow night. Go early and don't be late."

Upon hearing this, Takeshita Yoshiaki hurriedly took Mr. Children and the other three to thank Hanyu Hideki, and then left in a hurry.

After a few people left, Nagato Daiyuki and Yamada Nobuo did not stay long and left one after another.

In the end, only Hanyu Hideki and Yoshioka Shouta were left, chatting about random things.

Yoshioka Shota seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly said to Hanyu Hideki, "Just now I saw you asking Nagato Daiyuki for the second time, and I thought you wanted to sign the band directly."

"Why do you feel this way, Yoshioka-san?" asked Hanyu Hideki.

Yoshioka Shouta answered honestly, "A feeling, because you are always good at picking diamonds from stones."

"Haha, maybe."

Hideki Hanyu smiled, raised his glass and drank it all with Shota Yoshioka.

……

The next day.

Monday, March 13th.

After spending a night with two beauties in Yasuko Sawaguchi's apartment, Hideki Hanyu was ready to deal with some serious business regardless of the fact that the outside world was still buzzing about the "Forbes Global Billionaires List".

After all, in addition to the 'Forbes Global Billionaires List', there was actually something else that happened recently that made him have to pay attention.

Driving the "Kui Niu" off-road vehicle, Hideki Hanyu went to the headquarters of Yunshang Entertainment.

After parking the car, he took the special elevator straight to the top floor.

After pushing the door and entering the president's office, Hirohashi Asako asked the secretary who was reporting on work to go out first, and then looked at Hanyu Hideki and said.

"It seems you know it too."

Hanyu Hideki sat down and crossed his legs and said, "I must have known it earlier than you."

"That's right, Hanyu-san is more informed about the news in Los Angeles than I am."

After Hirohashi Asako finished speaking, she immediately said with envy, "A $3.4 billion acquisition, plus $1.4 billion in debt, Sony's move is truly astonishing."

"Haha, but I still have to thank Sony. If this news hadn't attracted so much attention, I would still be stuck at home with reporters."

Hideki Hanyu spread his hands and said with feigned relief.

By this point, it was obvious what Hanyu Hideki and Hirohashi Asako were talking about.

After Sony had been flirting with Columbia Pictures for a long time and various news came out one after another, it finally made the official announcement last night, or to be more precise, this morning in America.

Well...it was announced that Sony acquired Columbia Pictures for 4.9 billion yen.

This news caused a stir not only in Neon.

It also caused a stir in America.

However, the situations in the two public opinion fields are completely different.

In Japan, Sony's acquisition of Columbia was seen as a remarkable feat, a national hero for Japan, and the best proof of Japan's booming and prosperous economy.

The media, which had previously been hotly discussing the 'Forbes Global Billionaires List', instantly changed their tone and all began discussing this matter, with full of praise.

As for America, the public opinion on Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures was completely opposite to that in Japan.

All American media are shouting that Japanese capital is eroding America and invading American culture.

Because of the special opening credits of Columbia Pictures, people even claimed that neon violated the Statue of Liberty in America.

Originally during this period, due to the economic and trade frictions between Japan and America, and the fact that wealthy Japanese people had become wealthy and were doing all kinds of shopping in America, America was filled with strong anti-Japanese sentiment from top to bottom.

Members of Congress took the lead in smashing Japanese cars, and the public called for a boycott of Japanese products, etc.

Although the slogans are shouted loudly, it does not affect the sales of Japanese products in America at all.

But at this time Sony hit the highest point of the wave, and the backlash from public opinion can be imagined.

Amid the surge of public opinion, the American Department of Commerce had to step forward and say it would immediately launch an investigation into the acquisition.

Ordinary American citizens watched with excitement, but upper-class people who knew the inside story, such as Hideki Hanyu, knew very well that it was just a show.

In America, a country with the highest level of capitalism, the upper class only cares about capital. How could they possibly care about the voices of the lower class people?

It is enough to see from the scandals of American bigwigs in later generations that these people’s bottom line is really pitifully low.

A big shot in the eyes of ordinary people may do things beyond the bottom line for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

Before the rise of a certain Eastern superpower, the largest funder of many lobbying companies in Washington, apart from American companies, was Japan.

Although the Eastern superpower briefly spent money to surpass Neon later, as the trade frictions between the two sides intensified, Neon returned to its original position.

Putting aside other things, why is Nintendo, which is known as the strongest legal department in the Eastern Hemisphere in another time and space, able to win battles all over the world?

It definitely doesn't just rely on a strong legal department, but also a public relations and lobbying team that spends money like water.

Of course, in this time and space, the strongest legal department in the Eastern Hemisphere is still there, but it has been replaced by the even more powerful Elf Entertainment Legal Department.

Similarly, Elf Entertainment’s lobbying team in Washington is equally powerful.

This is also the reason why Hideki Hanyu knows a lot of information.

However, Hideki Hanyu must thank Sony.

Because after Sony took the lead and stepped forward, it attracted all the firepower. After all the trouble, it was finally unscathed, and it also allowed American public opinion and the public to vent their anger.

In this case, the second person to take action is bound to have less pressure.

The same is true in another time and space.

After Sony, Panasonic's acquisition of the entire Universal Group did not attract much attention. It was not until Panasonic sold Universal that many people knew that Universal had been acquired by Panasonic.

There's no way around it; the first person to try something new always attracts the most attention.

Now Sony has stepped in to complete the largest overseas acquisition in Japan's history, which is exactly what Hideki Hanyu wants.

"Do you think Sony's acquisition of Columbia was inspired by us?" Hirohashi Asako asked with some excitement.

"Maybe, but it's definitely not the biggest possibility," Hanyu Hideki replied.

In another time and space, Sony completed the acquisition of Columbia Pictures this year, probably in September.

Now that it has come to March, it is obviously impossible to say that we have not been affected by his butterfly wings.

But as a huge multinational company, Sony certainly would not make such a big decision out of impulse.

Hideki Hanyu began to analyze the reasons why Sony acquired Columbia Pictures based on his own understanding.

"Sony's Betamax video system has been competing with JVC's VHS video system for more than a decade, but now it seems that Sony has completely failed and has completely withdrawn from the market.

Obviously, this failure made Sony realize that they must have enough say in the content side, so that they can better promote their own products and rules. Columbia Pictures' film library has more than 2,700 movies and more than 20,000 TV series, which is a huge treasure in Sony's eyes.

I think that was the most important reason why Sony bought Columbia Pictures.”

At the end, Hanyu Hideki spread his hands and said jokingly, "Of course, it is not ruled out that Akio Morita pushed for this deal in order to help him enter the upper class in America."

Hanyu Hideki's last words made Hirohashi Asako frown, "Morita Akio has been so successful, why does he still have such thoughts?"

Hanyu Hideki sneered, “Perhaps it’s the obsession of his youth, as if his success wouldn’t be considered a success if it wasn’t recognized by foreigners.”

Hirohashi Asako was a little surprised by the disdain for foreigners in Hanyu Hideki's words.

After all, in Japan, worshipping foreign things is not a derogatory term.

If you read the comics, you will know that in the popular "City Hunter", the women who did not end up with the male protagonist Ryo Saeba eventually chose to go to America.

It seems that America is the longed-for paradise and the ultimate dream place.

But soon, Hirohashi Asako's attention was no longer on this matter.

She recalled what Hanyu Hideki had just said, about Columbia's huge library of 2,700 films and over 20,000 TV series, and she could hardly hide her envy when she spoke.

“It would be great if we had the Columbia Pictures library.”

After all, as a professional in the entertainment industry, she knows very well how valuable film libraries are to entertainment and media companies.

Although the rise of cloud entertainment has been rapid, its foundation is too poor.

In terms of film library, let alone comparing with the big Hollywood studios, even the old-fashioned studios in Japan can’t compare.

Seeing Hirohashi Asako's look, Hanyu Hideki advised her.

"Well, instead of standing by the abyss and envying the fish, it is better to retreat and weave a net. Do as I say, and soon Qianzi-san won't have to envy Sony anymore."

Thinking that Hanyu Hideki had never let her down, Hirohashi Asako immediately perked up and said, "There won't be any problems on my end. It all depends on Hanyu-san's actions."

"Leave it to me. But before that, let's talk about the launch of Cloud Satellite TV. After I finish this, I plan to look for Sony for cooperation."

Hideki Hanyu is full of confidence.

"Looking for cooperation with Sony?" Hirohashi Asako asked in confusion.

"Then Qianzi-san will know."

Hideki Hanyu kept the question in suspense and then got down to business with Hirohashi Asako.

Then, in the busy discussions, the morning passed quickly.

Seeing that there was still some time before lunch, Hanyu Hideki said goodbye to Hirohashi Asako, "I plan to borrow someone from Cloud Music, so I won't have lunch with Asako-san."

"Borrowing someone?"

Rather than having lunch, Hirohashi Asako was obviously more curious about why Hanyu Hideki wanted to borrow someone.

“I found a music production company that makes European dance music, and I plan to let Fiery LIVE HOUSE cooperate with them to make some exclusive tracks.

Considering that it may be released on a small scale, if possible, we will let Cloud Music acquire it to avoid any trouble in the cooperation. "

"So that's it."

After hearing what Hanyu Hideki said, Hirohashi Asako's curiosity instantly disappeared and she lost interest completely.

A music workshop that I have never heard of and specializes in nightclub dance music is really not worth mentioning compared to the giant Yunshang Music.

Hideki Hanyu didn't care about this.

After all, no matter how outstanding Hirohashi Asako is, she can't know the future as well as he does.

After bidding farewell to Hirohashi Asako, Hideki Hanyu went to the floor where Cloud Music was located.

He had already made an appointment before he came that Yunshang Music would send a business manager to him and do things according to his arrangements.

After all, in the eyes of the top management of Cloud Music, it was just an investment in an unknown music production company, and Hideki Hanyu would definitely not go there in person.

But who would have known that Hideki Hanyu was planning to make the trip himself.

After all, Avex records still mean a lot to him.

To be precise, he was very interested in Avex's founder, Katsuto Matsuura.

Although this guy caused many scandals and troubles in later generations because of his careless words.

But in terms of vision and ability, Matsuura Katsuto is truly excellent.

How can a person who can develop a small music workshop into an Asian music giant and a comprehensive entertainment group be considered mediocre?

However, just when Hideki Hanyu found the music producer and made an appointment to meet after lunch, he saw a figure on Cloud Music.

When the figure saw him, an unconcealable look of joy suddenly appeared on his face. He trotted over with excited eyes and asked with concern.

"Why is Hanyu-kun on Cloud Music? The media is no longer harassing you?"

This figure was none other than Akina Nakamori, who had retired and now switched careers to become the president of an agency.

"Did you come to Cloud Music to ask the president of Panasonic to borrow someone? As for the reporters, with the news from Sony, they no longer care about me."

Hanyu Hideki said this with a smile on his face, and touched Akina Nakamori's hair as if no one was around.

After the girl retired, her complexion and attitude were obviously better, and her figure gradually regained its healthy fullness. She wore an elegant green windbreaker, which was completely in line with Hanyu Hideki's aesthetic.

"Is that so? Do you need my help?"

Akina Nakamori never thought about what Hideki Hanyu was going to do, she just simply cared about whether she could help Hideki Hanyu.

"You come here tomorrow, don't you have any work to do?" asked Hideki Hanyu.

Akina Nakamori replied, "I came to see Director Mukaiyama to discuss the release of the Dream Come True album. We have just finished the discussion."

"Really? I'm going to Kanagawa and Tama this afternoon. If you're free, you can come with me."

As soon as Hanyu Hideki finished speaking, Nakamori Akina's eyes sparkled and she hugged Hanyu Hideki and said, "Okay."

"Then let's go have lunch together."

"Ah."

Akina Nakamori nodded obediently and followed Hideki Hanyu to have lunch.

The two of them randomly found a restaurant nearby to have dinner.

During the meal, Akina Nakamori finally remembered to ask, "What did Hanyu-kun do in Kanagawa and Tama?"

Hanyu Hideki first answered the question of going to Tama to find a music production company. As for why he went to Kanagawa, his answer was this:
"I want to stop by and see the Fairyland that is under construction."

Although the Elf Park has resumed work after being suspended due to the last accident, the progress has inevitably been delayed.

Moreover, after the third-party supervisory agency entered the site, in order to ensure the quality of the project, it did have an impact on the construction progress.

This is also the reason why Hideki Hanyu wants to go and see the scene.

From the very beginning, this project was designed to plot against Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, and he naturally could not allow the project to be completed before the Neon economic bubble burst.

Especially in this time and space, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi has obviously expanded his business.

As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the harder you fall.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi is now expanding without regard for the consequences, having completely forgotten the careful instructions his father gave him when he took over. He is even crazier than another world.

In this situation, once the bubble economy bursts, what awaits Yoshiaki Tsutsumi and the Seibu Group will only be an increasingly tragic fall.

After lunch, Hideki Hanyu and Akina Nakamori met up with staff from Cloud Music, Hanyu Real Estate, and Elf Communication, and started their afternoon schedule.

The first stop was to go to Kanagawa to see the construction site of the Pokemon Park.

As soon as he entered the construction site, the on-site manager brought people to greet Hideki Hanyu and took the initiative to show Hanyu Hideki around the construction site.

After watching for an hour, Hideki Hanyu was sure of one thing, that is, he would be lucky if the Pokemon Park could be completed in 1990, let alone before the collapse of the bubble economy.

Such progress made him feel relieved.

After all, knowing that Yoshiaki Tsutsumi was searching the damaged ship, he really didn't want to be tied to him any longer.

In a good mood, Hideki Hanyu left the construction site, left the employees of Elf Communication, and prepared to go to the Tama area.

And just before he left, something very interesting actually happened.

That person was the person in charge of the Seibu Group at the construction site, and he actually asked him in a roundabout way why he didn't come with Yoshiaki Tsutsumi.

Although he was asking why Yoshiaki Tsutsumi didn't come together, he was actually trying to find out Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's whereabouts.

Find another boss and ask about the whereabouts of your own boss?
Such a strange thing did not surprise Hideki Hanyu.

Because he probably knew that Yoshiaki Tsutsumi probably didn't have the energy to take care of the company's affairs during this period.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Yoshiaki Tsutsumi has once again retained his title as the world’s richest man and appears to be enjoying great things on the surface.

But few people know the suffering behind the scenes.

Coincidentally, Hanyu Hideki, who paid special attention to Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, knew something.

After the advent of the Heisei era, the Recruit bribery case, which had been suppressed due to "self-discipline", was reopened for investigation.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's Special Investigation Department is now like a mad dog, frantically pursuing all clues.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi relied on a lot of resources in Japanese politics to avoid the last crisis, but he could not avoid the reopened investigation this time.

Although it didn't cause any serious injuries to Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, it was enough to make him panic.

Under such circumstances, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi naturally had no time to take care of projects like Elf Park.

However, even if Hanyu Hideki knew this, he would not tell the person who asked.

So he just said, "I haven't seen Tisang recently," and left with his men.

The moment he got on the car, Hanyu Hideki curled up the corners of his mouth and said silently in his heart.

"It seems that Yoshiaki Tsutsumi in this time and space seems to be in a more embarrassed state."

(End of this chapter)