Chapter 321 Japan's Special Envoy for Economic Guidance
After playing golf with Major General Williams, Hardy went to Washington to visit President Johnson.
Although Johnson was very busy, he still made time to invite Hardy to dinner at the White House, and the two then talked for a long time in the office.
"Hardy, I heard that you have made a lot of investments in Hong Kong. Do you want to talk to me about Hong Kong?" Johnson asked.
Hardy shook his head.
"No, I want to talk to the President about Japan."
Johnson was slightly surprised.
He knew that Hadi had made a lot of investments in Hong Kong recently. Because of the war in the north, he was afraid that his investments would fail, so he came to his side, hoping that the government would put pressure on him to keep his investments. Unexpectedly, Hadi did not intend to talk about Hong Kong, but talked about Japan instead.
"What's wrong with Japan?" Johnson asked.
"On my way back from Hong Kong, I passed by Japan and got off the plane to take a look. At the same time, I read some data. Although inflation was curbed after the implementation of the 'Dodge Plan', the Japanese economy also fell into a severe recession again," said Hardy.
Johnson smiled faintly and said, "Our policy towards Japan is to exercise a high degree of control over it politically, economically, and militarily. This is in the interests of the United States."
Hardy smiled and said, "I am not begging for mercy for Japan. You know I once fought against the Japanese on the battlefield and I don't have a good impression of them. What I am thinking is that the current method of controlling the Japanese economy is just to control and attack. Maybe there is a better method with a more far-reaching impact."
"Oh, tell me about it?"
"From the Marshall Plan, I thought about whether we could also implement an economic plan for Japan, acquire Japanese industries, and control their industrial economy in our hands."
"If any local companies start to rise, we will do our utmost to suppress them and keep the entire economy firmly in our hands. Even if they recover in the future, they will not be able to become strong."
Hardy speaks his mind.
"Do you think you can control it?" Johnson asked.
"Haha, it won't work just relying on the Hardy Group or the California Consortium, so I plan to contact Rockefeller, Morgan, and other consortiums and persuade them to act together. Do you think that with such power, we can't control Japan's economy?" Hardy said.
"You want to organize an expedition?"
"Yes, I plan to organize an economic delegation to Japan, but I hope to get the government's approval here. After all, Japan is a defeated country, and all investments need the government's approval, and the possible plans are not small." Hardy said.
President Johnson thought about it.
"Hadi, I think your proposal is fine and consistent with the government's policy toward Japan. I have a suggestion. The name of the inspection team is a bit weak. It would be better to set up an 'economic guidance team'," said Johnson.
"'Economic Steering Group,' what's the difference?" Hardy asked.
"The government has cut off economic aid to Japan. Japan is indeed having a hard time. The Japanese government has repeatedly requested continued aid, but I rejected all their requests."
"Now you mentioned the future economic control plan for Japan. I think it is feasible. On the one hand, we can control the Japanese economy, and on the other hand, we can let them be self-reliant and obtain food through production without having to ask for aid all the time."
"The economic inspection team is an investment team, while the economic guidance team is semi-official. I can give you the title of 'Japan Economic Guidance Special Envoy' to guide the Japanese economy, which will make it easier for you to act."
Finally, Hardy understood.
The 'Special Envoy for Japan's Economic Guidance' represents the US government in guiding Japan's economy. Isn't this the economic emperor of Japan?
Although not as powerful as MacArthur, the military and political emperor, he was sufficient for Japan.
Hardy was overjoyed.
I had the urge to hug Johnson and kiss him.
Hardy had gone to great lengths to help Johnson, and now the rewards were starting to show.
It doesn’t matter whether Hardy is an official or not. The main thing is that with this identity, he can act more easily in Japan.
In fact, Johnson didn't care much about Japan. After Japan was defeated in the war and disbanded its army, the United States stationed troops there, and the emperor became a mascot. Coupled with a series of policies, Japan has now been severely circumcised.
At this time, Japan's geopolitics is not yet prominent, and it will not become an eastern bridgehead until next year.
And gradually relaxed restrictions on Japan.
"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to ask you," said Hardy.
"What is it?"
"After the war, according to regulations, the government confiscated many of Japan's former military industrial enterprises, including factories, machines, etc. I checked and found that many of them were sealed there. This is too wasteful. Does the government plan to sell them?" Hardy asked.
Johnson looked at Hardy and smiled, "If you want, I can sell it to you, but those things are quite a lot."
"Some scraps. I think the price can be lower." said Hardy.
Johnson laughed and said, "You are now Japan's economic envoy. I'll leave the handling of those materials to you. After all, it is an economic issue."
Hardy and President Johnson talked about many details until very late when Hardy left.
......
The next day.
The Washington Post published a small report: "In view of the severe economic recession in Japan, President Johnson, at the repeated request of the Japanese government, is preparing to organize a 'Japan Economic Guidance Mission' to visit Japan to provide guidance on economic issues."
"President Johnson has temporarily appointed Mr. Jon Hardy, Chairman of the Hardy Group, as Special Economic Envoy of the Japan Economic Guidance Mission."
The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the head of government. He can directly appoint officials within the White House, members of the Cabinet, and ambassadors to various countries.
The so-called special envoy, that is, the special envoy of the president, is strictly speaking an official of the White House and can be announced directly by the president.
Trump appointed his daughter as presidential adviser, and later appointed his son-in-law as security adviser. Many people found this strange. Isn't this nepotism? In fact, this is how the United States works.
Many people know about Hadi's relationship with President Johnson. As the owner of a conglomerate, there is nothing wrong with him being an economic guidance envoy.
Not to mention it’s Japan.
No one in the United States is paying attention to Japan right now.
All we know is that he is a defeated country that was hit by an atomic bomb by the United States. His life must be miserable, otherwise he would not need a special envoy for economic guidance.
san francisco.
janini estate.
After opening the newspaper, Giannini was slightly stunned when he saw the appointment report. He knew that Hardy was planning to organize an economic delegation to Japan, but he did not expect that after a trip to the White House, he would get a special envoy of the economic guidance group.
But thinking about it, this identity seems to be more useful than the inspection team.
Giannini smiled and said, "This is the advantage of supporting politicians. When you want to do something, you can do it."
"Ring, ring, ring~!"
The phone rang in the living room of the Giannini estate.
It was other partners of the California Consortium who called to ask whether Giannini knew about Hadi's role as Japan's special economic envoy.
Giannini smiled and said, "Before Hardy went to Washington, he came to visit me. He thought Japan would develop in the future and planned to invest there."
"I have agreed to let the consortium follow up. Don't worry, he will definitely gather everyone before going to Japan. If there are companies within the consortium that want to invest in Japan, they can go with us." said Giannini.
"So that's how it is. Is there money to be made in Japan?" asked the partner.
"Hardy thinks there's money to be made."
The person on the other end of the phone hesitated for a few seconds. "Hardy's investments are always fanciful, but he seems to have never failed so far. I think I can trust him."
......
Not only Giannini saw Hardy's commission report, but David Rockefeller also saw it. Now the European expedition has long ended and David has returned to New York.
David was a little surprised when he accidentally read about Hadi's appointment in the newspaper today.
How come Hadi suddenly became Japan's economic envoy? Does he have new ideas about Japan?
David has actually always been curious about Hardy's investment.
Including the last investment in HSBC.
He also has an experimental nature. The situation in that Eastern country has been changing dramatically recently, and David has been paying close attention to it. After all, he has invested tens of millions of dollars.
I really want to talk to Hardy.
He picked up the phone and called the Hardy Group in Los Angeles, asking them to help contact Hardy and tell them that David Rockefeller was looking for him. The staff of the Hardy Group did not dare to delay and quickly contacted Hardy in Washington.
Not long.
The phone in David's office rang.
Hardy's voice came from inside.
"David, why did you think of calling me?" Hardy said with a smile.
"I've been wanting to talk to you and hear your views on Hong Kong because of the current situation there. I'm worried that the investment will be wasted. Also, I read in the newspaper today that you were appointed as Japan's special economic envoy by President Johnson. What's going on?" David said.
"I'm about to go to New York. Let's meet and talk in detail when we get there," said Hardy.
"Okay, I'll wait for you in New York," said David.
......
At this moment, the Japanese ambassador is on his way to the hotel where Hadi is staying in Washington. The embassy received a notice in the morning that Hadi was appointed as Japan's special economic envoy and will travel to Japan soon to provide economic guidance to Japan. The embassy was asked to notify the Japanese side to prepare for reception when the time comes.
Today, Japan's economy is on the verge of collapse.
The Japanese government has been seeking help from the US government, but the Johnson administration clearly has no intention of continuing to help Japan.
Now, a special economic envoy was suddenly appointed to go to Japan to guide economic affairs. The Japanese side felt that there was hope and immediately telegraphed the Japanese side. After receiving a reply from the Japanese side, the ambassador rushed to meet Hadi.
The ambassador naturally knew about Hadi's situation.
A well-known American tycoon with assets of several billion dollars and dozens of industries under his name, he is one of the partners of the California Consortium and was also the biggest supporter of President Johnson during the election.
He owns the Global Times and ABC TV and is now the largest media tycoon in the United States. He was a member of the last Marshall Plan European expedition and has made huge investments in various European countries. Whether in his real capacity or as an official envoy, he is enough to make the Japanese government dare not neglect him.
The secretary informed Hadi that the Japanese ambassador to the United States was visiting, and Hadi put down the newspaper and let him in.
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