dkrc Chapter 228 Osawa Ichiro's Decision
Chapter 228 Osawa Ichiro's Decision
Nagata Town.
Room 508, First Members' House of Representatives.
The three red landline phones on the desk started ringing incessantly almost simultaneously. The piercing ringing echoed throughout the spacious office, making one's eardrums ache.
Ichiro Osawa sat upright in his leather office chair. He placed his hands on his stomach, calmly watching his secretaries busily answering phone calls.
Hirano covered the microphone, walked quickly to the desk, and bent down slightly.
"Mr. Osawa... it's Chairman Matsuda of Kansai Heavy Industries." Hirano lowered his voice and spoke very quickly. "Chairman Matsuda said that this morning, several major city banks in Tokyo suddenly and without warning cut off all their bridge loans. The payment terms for the downstream supply chain were also forcibly cut off by Daitoa Corporation."
"The chairman said that if they can't raise 1 billion yen in cash by tomorrow, their No. 3 blast furnace will have to be shut down. He asked you to use your political influence to get the bank to grant them a few more days' grace."
Osawa Ichiro's gaze fell on Hirano's anxious face, but he did not respond immediately.
Beside another phone, another secretary covered the receiver and turned her head away.
"Teacher! It's the chairman of the Kanto Real Estate Alliance calling. Eight of their properties are facing construction companies blocking the entrances due to broken funding chains. They're demanding that the Ministry of Finance immediately intervene to stop the banks from withdrawing loans."
The vote bank is burning.
These people who called for help were all key financial backers supporting the Osawa faction. They were the source of political donations and the cornerstone of securing local votes.
Osawa Ichiro narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Tell them I'm communicating with the Ministry of Finance. Tell them to stabilize the situation first." Osawa's voice was calm, exuding an undeniable composure.
The secretaries nodded repeatedly and began to reassure the person on the other end of the phone.
Just then, Osawa's personal mini mobile phone in his pocket vibrated.
He took out his phone and glanced at the unsigned, encrypted number on the screen. He stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and pressed the answer button.
"Mr. Osawa."
A deep male voice, altered by a voice changer, came from the other end of the phone. It was a high-ranking informant planted by Osawa within Kasumigaseki.
"What's going on in the Ministry of Finance? Why are the banks suddenly withdrawing loans en masse?"
Daze's voice was low, and he got straight to the point.
"The Ministry of Finance's monitoring bureau just provided real-time data. This morning, several core companies of conglomerates, led by Fuji Bank and Daitoa Corporation, simultaneously cut off the underlying cash flow. Furthermore, they converted all the withdrawn yen offshore through foreign exchange channels into North American bonds."
The person with eyeliner speaks extremely fast.
"The Ministry of Finance just tried to issue administrative guidance requiring them to loosen monetary policy, but they rejected it all with the excuse of compliant risk aversion. Currently, the domestic interbank lending market is almost dry."
A blind voice rang out.
Ichiro Osawa slowly lowered his arm from the phone.
He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. The winter sun shone through the glass onto his face, but it couldn't dispel the gloom that had settled in his eyes.
A coordinated water cutoff. Unusual offshore fund movements. A perfect compliance excuse.
Osawa's mind raced. It was impossible for financial and trading giants of Fuji Bank and Daitoa Corporation to coordinate such a tacitly agreed-upon self-preservation action on the same morning without warning. There were only a handful of people in all of Japan who could simultaneously mobilize them and get them to willingly transfer massive amounts of funds overseas.
He immediately thought of the Saionji family, who had recently been selling off marginal assets and frantically shrinking their operations.
An uncontrollable chill crept up Daze's spine. A fine layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
There were no technical adjustments to mitigate risks whatsoever. The Saionji family was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
They exploited the fears of major conglomerates about the safety of their assets, creating an artificial drought that brought the entire national economy to a standstill.
This group is deliberately draining the lifeblood that keeps this country running.
Ichiro Osawa turned around. He strode to his desk and pulled open the bottom lockable drawer.
He took out a black, encrypted private line phone with complicated knobs.
This phone number connects directly to someone in the Saionji main family.
If these key financial backers go bankrupt due to a lack of funding, his painstakingly built political base will crumble instantly. Without money and votes, his power empire in Nagata-cho will cease to exist.
He must stop all of this.
Osawa picked up the receiver and his fingers spun rapidly across the dial pad. The gears clicked together with a series of rapid "clicks."
The line is connected.
A few seconds later, a very faint clinking sound of ceramic cups and saucers colliding came through the receiver.
"Mr. Osawa."
"Ms. Saionji." Ichiro Osawa gripped the receiver tightly, trying to keep his voice steady. "The current economic situation is experiencing some uncontrollable fluctuations. Several key industrial giants in the region are facing extremely tight cash flow, and public discontent is boiling over. For the sake of maintaining political stability, I hope the Saionji Group can ease liquidity at the grassroots level and stop this withdrawal of funds that could trigger social unrest."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. The faint sound of water flowing as black tea was brewed could be heard.
"Mr. Osawa."
Satsuki's voice remained gentle, yet it carried a chilling coldness.
"The market is simply cleaning out the waste of excessive leverage. This is the self-metabolism of the economic cycle."
"Japan doesn't need useless things that drag down its economy, do you understand?"
Osawa's breathing became rapid.
The Saionji family had no intention of concealing their actions.
"However, the Ministry of Finance is preparing an emergency bailout proposal. If many companies go bankrupt, the pressure on the cabinet will be immense..."
"Do not act rashly."
Satsuki abruptly cut him off. Her cold voice pierced the radio waves, like an icy dagger pressed against Osawa's throat.
"In the next month, I want you to use your position in Congress to block any bailout or intervention proposals from the Ministry of Finance."
"Let the market regulate itself."
A fine layer of cold sweat seeped from Osawa Ichiro's forehead.
He swallowed.
His current political status, the funds for his faction's operations, and even the confidence that allows him to stand here and issue orders, all depend on the support of the Saionji family behind him.
Faced with the overwhelming pressure of capital, his once-proud political skills appeared so pale and powerless.
"I see."
Daze gritted his teeth, trying his best to keep his voice steady.
He slowly hung up the phone. The receiver fell back to its base with a dull thud.
Ichiro Osawa leaned back in his leather chair, maintaining his upright posture, but the rise and fall of his chest was noticeably faster than usual. He could clearly feel that the shirt on his back was already soaked with a layer of cold sweat and felt slightly cool.
He opened his eyes, his gaze revealing an uncontrollable tremor.
The Saionji family's true intentions had nothing to do with avoiding danger. This group was actively fanning the flames, pushing the giant ship of Japan, along with everyone on board, into an abyss of no return.
Daze closed his eyes.
Disobeying the Saionji family?
The thought flashed through his mind for a fleeting moment before he instinctively extinguished it.
No, absolutely not.
Outsiders may not know, but he knows the Saionji family's methods better than anyone else.
If you defy orders head-on, you will never have a good ending.
However, the cost of compromise is equally heavy.
Is this how you're going to be controlled by others your whole life? Obeying their orders to destroy your own defenses, ultimately becoming a puppet that can be discarded at any time?
Osawa's masseter muscles protrude slightly.
He was unwilling to accept it. As a politician who had climbed to the pinnacle of power, he was absolutely unwilling to accept it.
Where do we find the leverage to resist?
Osawa's eyelids trembled slightly in the darkness. His breathing was heavy.
The administrative guidance of the Ministry of Finance has been ignored. The power of the Saionji family has taken shape, and major domestic forces, including the "Big Three" zaibatsu, are scrambling to protect themselves.
On this depleted island, there is no longer any tangible force capable of directly confronting that massive capital.
A higher level of power must be introduced.
The internal negotiation documents of the recent Japan-U.S. Structural Insurgents Agreement (SII) flashed through my mind.
By the way, Washington...Wall Street...
He was well aware of the Saionji family's deep connections and vested interests on Wall Street, but he also believed that these people would never stand idly by and watch the Saionji family do such a thing.
There's still a chance...
A full minute passed.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
His gaze hardened again.
Don't underestimate Japanese politicians, you bastards!
Osawa sat up straight. He pulled open the middle drawer of his desk. From the deepest compartment, he took out a private address book with a black cover.
Fingers flipped quickly through the yellowed pages.
My gaze settled on one of the pages. There, I found an encrypted number with the special prefix reserved for the U.S. Embassy.
Ichiro Osawa picked up the regular landline handset from the table again. He pressed the internal call button.
"Hirano." Osawa's voice returned to its cold, hard tone, and it was very low. "Cancel all my appointments this afternoon. Use that anonymous identity to arrange a secret meeting."
He looked at the number in his contacts.
"The location was set at that teahouse in the port area. The contact person... said that an old friend wanted to discuss the topic of 'structural barriers'."