HPDBC Chapter 148 Half the World
Chapter 148 Half the World
(This chapter is also 5,000 words long~)
January 11, 1989, early morning.
See Akasaka.
The silver, jagged exterior of the Akasaka Prince Hotel gleamed with a cold metallic sheen under the gloomy sky.
This skyscraper, designed by Kenzo Tange, was once the most bustling landmark in Tokyo during the bubble economy era. At this time of year, the lobby would have been packed with foreign dignitaries checking out and wealthy young men still hungover.
But today, it's as quiet as a giant icebox.
Due to the "self-restraint" order, all the hotel's banquet halls were closed, the bars were shut down, and even the background music in the lobby was turned off. Only uniformed waiters glided silently across the gleaming marble floor like ghosts.
Top floor, Royal Suite.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi sat on the leather sofa, a cup of black coffee in his hand. He wasn't busy with phone calls and documents as usual, but was instead in a rare state of idleness and relaxation.
For the "Emperor Seibu," who owned one-sixth of Japan's land, this silence, where the entire society was forced to shut down, was both a rare respite and a suffocating, unpleasant experience.
"President, Mr. Saionji has arrived."
Secretary Shimada's voice rang out from the doorway, his tone respectful.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi immediately turned around and put down his coffee cup. There was no displeasure on his face from being disturbed; instead, a genuine smile appeared on his face, the kind of smile one shows when seeing one's own kind.
"Please hurry. While everyone else in Tokyo is pretending to be asleep, they're the only ones awake."
The door was pushed open.
Shuichi walked in, with Satsuki following half a step behind him. Both father and daughter were dressed in solemn black formal attire, with white flowers for mourning pinned to their chests, but their spirits were exceptionally high.
"Chairman Tsutsumi," Shuichi bowed slightly, "it is rather presumptuous of me to disturb you on such a special day."
"Not at all, Shuichi-kun."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi strode forward, extended his hand, and firmly grasped Shuichi's hand.
"I feel at ease to see you at this time. The air outside is too stuffy, and all those politicians and bureaucrats are busy putting on a show of sadness. Only you come to talk business with me."
He turned to the side and nodded to Satsuki, his eyes filled with the appreciation of an elder for a junior, and even a hint of barely perceptible apprehension.
The upper echelons of Tokyo are well aware that the Saionji family, which has recently risen to prominence, is backed by this eldest daughter of the Saionji family.
Faced with such a monstrous genius, the various families could only helplessly say that the Saionji family was truly lucky, while also giving their own descendants a spur: "Look at the Saionji family..."
"Ms. Satsuki, it's been a long time. I heard that Uniqlo and S-Collection recently sold out of black clothes? Even my picky daughter lined up for them. You have excellent taste."
"That's all thanks to you." Satsuki bowed gracefully, her tone humble and proper. "Without Seibu Department Store's initial support, we wouldn't have reached the scale we are today."
"Come, please sit down."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi led the two to the sofa area by the window and even personally poured Shuichi a glass of water. Such treatment was almost unimaginable within the Seibu Group.
"What do you think of the current situation, Shuichi-kun?" Tsutsumi Yoshiaki sat back in the main seat, his tone casual, but his eyes were sharp.
"This is the darkness before dawn."
Xiu Yi picked up his water glass and looked out at the gray sky.
"Although everyone is currently exercising self-restraint and business activities have come to a standstill, this is merely a suppressed spring. Once the funerals are over, once that new tax law is implemented... the rebound will be stronger than anyone imagines."
Great minds think alike.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi nodded approvingly.
"Unfortunately, many people don't see this. My board members have been advising me these past few days to cut expenses and postpone investments." He sneered, "A bunch of short-sighted fools."
"Because others are fearful, now is the best time to be greedy."
Satsuki interjected at the opportune moment.
She opened the black briefcase that Fujita had handed her, took out an unbound document, and gently pushed it in front of Tsutsumi Yoshiaki.
"Uncle Tsutsumi, this is Saionji Corporation's financial report from last month. I apologize if I may presume, but I think you might find it interesting."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi glanced at it.
The striking net profit figure—65 billion yen—made his hand holding the cup pause slightly.
In this bubble era where the whole of Japan is frantically borrowing money and everyone is playing with the appreciation of paper assets, it is still possible to squeeze out such a terrifying amount of real cash flow through real industries.
"Impressive."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi put down the paper, leaned forward, and his smile deepened. He knew that Shuichi hadn't come to show off.
"Shuichi-kun, with so many bullets, which prey do you want to shoot?"
"We want to paint a picture."
Shuichi said with a smile.
"Chairman Tsutsumi, Seibu Real Estate is going public this year, and you need a grand enough story to support the stock price. We have money, but we lack a large enough canvas."
"We want to paint a picture of the sea with you."
Satsuki stood up, not towards Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, but towards the huge floor-to-ceiling window. She stretched out her hand, her fingertips touching the cold glass, pointing to the vast Tokyo Bay.
Odaiba.
"That reclamation site number 13."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi paused for a moment, then frowned. As the god of the land, he knew every inch of Tokyo like the back of his hand.
"There?"
He walked to Satsuki's side and looked at the gray sea.
"There's nothing there now except reeds and seabirds. Although the Metropolitan Government has expressed interest in development, that's to address the landfill problem. Commercial development there would cost an astronomical amount in infrastructure. And..."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi pointed to the isolated island separated by the sea.
"There are no roads there. In the real estate industry, land without roads is dead land."
"Because there is no road, we have the final say on how to build it."
Shuichi stood up, walked to Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's side, took out a folded map from his pocket, and spread it out on the coffee table.
It was a planning map of Tokyo Bay, with large areas circled in red by Satsuki.
"Chairman Tsutsumi, you hold a large land reserve around Odaiba. If that land remains barren, you can't monetize it. But if we join forces..."
Xiuichi pressed his finger heavily on the center of the map.
"The Saionji family is willing to fund the construction of the 'Saionji Tower' on Plot 13. We want to move all of SA Group's headquarters there, bringing 30,000 employees and the most concentrated consumer power in all of Tokyo."
"We want to build a 'city within a city' on that sea."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi looked at the map on the table, his fingers lightly tapping the circled plot number 13.
Instead of getting excited, he raised his eyelids and scrutinized Xiuichi in front of him with a deep gaze.
"Shuichi-kun, I don't understand."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi leaned back on the sofa, his tone tinged with a playful inquiry.
"In terms of capital, you are now richer than a country; in terms of connections, The Club is full of big shots from Nagata-cho. Even Ichiro Osawa has to be subservient to you now."
He pointed out the window in the direction of Xiaguan (the government administrative center).
"Logically speaking, obtaining approval from the Ministry of Construction shouldn't be difficult for the Saionji family right now. Why are they giving me a share of the profits?"
This is the instinct of an apex predator. He doesn't believe in free lunches; he needs to know where his opponent's weaknesses lie.
Xiu Yi didn't panic. He even gave a wry smile and calmly spread his hands.
"Chairman Tsutsumi, just as you said. We have many friends in Nagata-cho."
"But sometimes, having too many friends can become a burden."
"The Recruit incident happened not long ago, and we were... a little more active during that turmoil." Shuichi said tactfully, "Now, the bureaucrats in Kasumigaseki get on their nerves at the mere sight of the name 'Saionji.' They're afraid of being targeted by the Special Investigation Department, afraid of being dragged into factional infighting."
"Even for legitimate applications, they don't dare stamp my documents now. They're afraid it'll be a hot potato."
Shuichi sighed, his gaze sincere.
"The Saionji family now is a politically too-sharp knife. It can be used to kill, but using it for construction... is terrifying."
"Therefore, we need a face that is 'safe'."
Satsuki took over the conversation at the opportune moment.
"Uncle Tsutsumi, you are the pillar of the Japanese construction industry. Officials in the Ministry of Construction trust you, or rather, they are used to giving the Seibu Group the green light."
"If you were to step in, this wouldn't be a 'political conspiracy,' but rather 'national infrastructure.'"
"We need to leverage your influence to thaw our situation."
After listening, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi fell into a brief silence.
His fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.
"Da, da, da."
He was calculating. But it wasn't a simple matter of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
As a seasoned hunter who had navigated the political and business worlds for decades, he naturally sensed the undercurrent of "using someone else to do his dirty work" behind the plan. The Saionji family provided the money and land, but pushed the toughest part—securing government approvals, building the cross-sea bridge, and bearing the infrastructure risks—all onto Seibu.
The little girl sitting across from him wanted to use him as a bulldozer to flatten the obstacles on her path to wealth.
but.
He knew better than anyone the significance of this seemingly desolate "landfill" in Xiaguan's secret documents.
Three days ago, he had drinks with the Vice Minister of Construction at a restaurant. The government wanted to move the coastal deputy capital, but lacked the funds; the provincial capital wanted to do it, but feared the consequences.
The Saionji family is wealthy, but they are unable to move forward due to political reasons.
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi has the connections and the approvals, but he lacks a grand enough story to support Seibu Real Estate's IPO.
"A city on the sea", "Heisei-kyo", "The heart of Tokyo in the 21st century".
What could be a sexier subject than this?
"It's just mutual exploitation."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi made his judgment in his mind.
Since the Saionji family is willing to put up tens of billions of yen as "fuel," he doesn't mind being the "captain" of this giant ship. When the bridge is completed and land prices have increased tenfold, it remains to be seen who will be the master and who will be the vassal.
If you want to take advantage of me, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, you'd better be prepared to pay the price.
Having figured this out, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's jawline relaxed, then gradually lifted, revealing a highly ambitious, even slightly sinister, smile.
"Hehe...I see."
He let out a short laugh and picked up the cigar that was beside him.
"Since Shuichi-kun has been so frank, I won't beat around the bush either."
"I'll handle things with the bureaucrats. They won't dare to disrespect Yoshiaki Tsutsumi."
He took a red and blue pencil out of his pocket and drew a heavy line on the map.
The line extends from Shibaura Wharf, crosses the sea, and plunges into the heart of Odaiba.
"it is good."
"If we're going to play, let's play big."
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's voice carried a sense of pride, a confidence that the wasteland was already his for the taking.
"I'll take care of the Ministry of Construction. I'll get them to build this Rainbow Bridge."
"And here—"
He drew another line connecting Shinbashi and Toyosu, a vital transportation artery he had been eyeing for a long time but had never made a decision about.
"The new Yurikamome railway. I will have Seibu Railway participate in the bidding. We want to connect this isolated island to the heart of Tokyo."
He looked up at Xiuichi and extended his hand.
"Shuichi-kun, since you have the guts to burn money at sea, then I, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, will go crazy with you."
"We own half of this sea."
Shuichi reached out and firmly grasped the hand that held the lifeline of Japanese land prices.
"It's a pleasure working with you, Chairman Tsutsumi."
"No," Tsutsumi Yoshiaki corrected, his eyes sincere, "they are allies."
……
Half an hour later.
A black Nissan President drove out of the underground parking garage of the Akasaka Prince Hotel.
It started raining and snowing outside, and the windshield wipers made a monotonous sound as they scraped against the windshield.
Shuichi sat in the back seat, loosened his tie, and let out a long sigh. Even he, in the seemingly friendly but undercurrent-filled game just now, had a slight sweat on his back.
"Wow, what a big appetite..."
He looked out at the gray street and sighed.
"Not only does he want to build roads, but he also wants to monopolize the railway's operating rights. He's trying to turn Odaiba into Seibu's backyard, not even wanting to let go of a single grain of rice in toll fees."
"If he weren't greedy, he wouldn't be Yoshiaki Tsutsumi."
Satsuki leaned back in the leather seat, toying with the black lace glove that had been prepared for the funeral.
"He felt like he had taken the steering wheel, that he was the one in control of the project. After all, he held the reins on everything, from the bridge and the road to the trams that would eventually run."
Satsuki turned her head to look out the window at the jagged, silver building that was gradually disappearing into the rain and mist.
"But he forgot that in this world, the person holding the steering wheel is often also the one locked in the car."
"Locked in the car?" Xiu asked.
"The hundreds of billions invested in infrastructure are the chains."
Satsuki's voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling undertone.
"He thought he was acquiring land, but he was actually burdening himself. Odaiba is a bottomless pit. To fill that sea and build those roads, you need a constant flow of cash."
"When all his funds turned into concrete buried deep in the sea, into immobile railway tracks..."
Satsuki stretched out her slender fingers and gently drew a horizontal line on the fogged car window.
"Once the tide goes out, he will be the one who is stuck the deepest in the mud. At that time, this huge asset will be the anchor that drags him down."
As Xiu Yi listened to his daughter's calm analysis, he felt somewhat relieved, but his brows were still slightly furrowed.
"But Satsuki, the Seibu Group is too big. Odaiba alone is probably not enough to cripple him. Tsutsumi Yoshiaki holds one-sixth of the land in Japan; he's got too much blood on his hands."
"Of course. I didn't expect to win all his chips with just this one hand."
Satsuki looked away and pulled a new project schedule from her briefcase.
The title above clearly reads: "[Hokkaido Niseko 'Gokurakukan' Project]".
"Lions are very strong; being shot once won't necessarily kill them. So, we need a second bullet."
She handed the schedule to Xiu Yi.
"We received news from Mr. Kurokawa that the main structure of the glass dome has been completed. At the current pace, the world's largest man-made rainforest will definitely be finished before the first snowfall of this winter."
"The winter of 1989..."
Shuichi looked at the magnificent rendering—a glass palace radiating golden light on the snowy wasteland of Hokkaido.
"That was when the bubble was at its most dazzling."
"That's right."
A hunter's glint flashed in Satsuki's eyes.
"At that time, Odaiba's infrastructure development will be straining its cash flow. And we will light up the most luxurious lamp in all of Japan in Hokkaido."
"For Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who has a 'mountain-collecting obsession' and will not allow anyone to surpass him in the resort industry, a 'Gokurakukan' in Hokkaido that is the pinnacle of perfection upon completion would be an irresistible temptation for him."
"At that time, we will sell him this even bigger bomb for the highest price we've ever paid in our lives."
Satsuki's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sweet yet cruel smile.
"On the left is the quagmire of Odaiba, and on the right is the dream of Hokkaido."
"If he drinks two cups of poisoned wine together, even the 'Emperor of the Western Martial Kingdom' would probably have to vomit up all the wealth he has accumulated over the past few decades."
Shuichi looked at his daughter.
The streetlights outside the car window flashed by, casting dappled shadows on her delicate face.
He suddenly realized that today's seemingly thrilling negotiations were just the beginning of a grand scheme.
"Let's go, Father."
Satsuki put her gloves back on, shielding her fingertips from the chill.
"The rain is getting heavier."
"We have to get back, after all... the funeral has only just begun."
The black sedan accelerated, breaking through the rain, and drove towards the already arrived, crazy and cruel Heisei era.
Behind them, the silver Akasaka Prince Hotel still stood tall in the wind and rain, arrogantly looking down upon all living beings.
The black sedan drove over the puddles on the road, and in those murky puddles, the silver reflection of the towering building shattered instantly, the mud kicked up by the wheels scattering into the cold, rainy night in Tokyo.