Chapter 338 Money is the father
"Mr. Hardy, I and all the cabinet members welcome you to Japan." Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru said respectfully with a smile on his face.
They got the news that Hadi's visit this time was not just to provide guidance on economic issues. The money from the last sale of military industrial enterprises totaled 570 million US dollars. It was said that Hadi persuaded the US government to bring the money back and prepare to use it to aid Japan and restore its economy.
Japan is now desperate for aid.
Hope for economic recovery.
570 million US dollars.
This is a huge amount of money that makes everyone excited.
Now the money is completely under Hadi's control and he has the final say on how to spend it. How could the Japanese government not be respectful?
Originally, when the Japanese-seized companies were sold, these people still had a lot of resentment towards Hardy because he handled Japanese assets at a low price. But now they are full of respect for Hardy, because those assets would only rot slowly if left there, but now they can be exchanged for much-needed funds. The American consortium will definitely develop after buying those assets, and will hire Japanese workers. No matter from which perspective, it is a good thing for Japan.
I used to think that Mr. Hardy was plundering Japanese assets, but now I know that Mr. Hardy had good intentions. Converting assets into money will indeed be of greater help to Japan today.
"Hello, Prime Minister. Let me introduce you. This is Mr. John Jay, Vice President of Manhattan Bank of the Rockefeller Foundation," Hardy introduced.
"Hello, President John Jay, welcome to Japan." Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru quickly bowed and shook hands.
The Rockefeller Foundation is one of the largest financial groups in the United States and has a huge influence on American politics and economy. He dare not neglect it.
"This is Charles Lee, the vice president of Morgan Stanley Investment Bank of the Morgan Financial Group." Hardy introduced the Morgan leader.
Yoshida Shigeru bowed again.
Hardy introduced people from the seven major conglomerates, each of them is famous. Originally, they did not dare to neglect any of these people when they came to Japan. Now that they have come together as a group, led by Hardy, the Japanese cabinet has become more and more aware of how great Hardy's influence is.
Mr. Hardy said before,
In view of the extremely depressed Japanese economy, which cannot be saved by some simple policies alone, they will bring an investment team here, and these are the people Mr. Hardy brought.
This made the Japanese cabinet feel more and more that Mr. Hardy really wanted to help Japan solve its current economic difficulties.
"Mr. Hardy, there is a podium over there and reporters are waiting. I hope you can say a few words and accept the interview. What do you think?" asked Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru.
"Sure." Hardy nodded in agreement.
He is not afraid of giving speeches.
Hardy stood on the podium and reporters held up their cameras and took a lot of photos of him. Hardy was wearing a straight Italian handmade suit, looking calm, handsome and domineering.
Hadi specifically asked Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru to stand next to him, which made Yoshida Shigeru a little flattered. He stood beside him with his hands in front of him, stepped back half a body length, and did not dare to stand on the same level as Hadi.
It can be seen that these Japanese officials were trained to be very submissive by MacArthur, at least on the surface.
Hadi glanced at the reporter and spoke loudly into the microphone:
"Before I came here, I asked the Japanese government to provide information on the current living conditions of the Japanese people and the economic development. The information the Japanese government gave me said that the Japanese economy is in chaos and on the verge of collapse. A large number of companies have closed down, and those that have not closed down cannot open. A large number of workers have been laid off. Prices are soaring, inflation is serious, and there is a shortage of food. Residents cannot even guarantee the most basic living needs."
At this point, Hadi looked at Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru.
"Is that so, Prime Minister?"
"Ah, yes, that is indeed the case now."
Yoshida Shigeru quickly replied that although the question was a bit embarrassing, it was indeed the fact.
Hardy continued.
With a heavy face he said:
"Why is the situation like this today? The source is because of the war. The Japanese people were deceived by imperialists and militarists and started the war. War is cruel, which is also the reason for Japan's current situation."
"Those militarists were sentenced last year. Some were hanged, and some were sentenced to life imprisonment. They received the punishment they deserved. Although they died, they left the consequences to the Japanese people. Before coming here, I talked about Japan with President Johnson. President Johnson said that only when Japan completely gets rid of the influence of imperialism and militarism can it return to the international community."
Whether it was Yoshida Shigeru on the stage, the Japanese cabinet members in the audience, or the Japanese reporters and welcoming entrepreneurs, all were excited when they heard the words that Japan might return to the international community.
Why?
Because Japan's current status is an occupied territory, it is not an "independent country" in legal terms. Later, Japan paid a great price to seek independence and become a sovereign country, and then joined the United Nations again in 1956.
And now, the United States is still exercising the most stringent economic and political control over Japan, and Japan sees no hope of regaining its independence.
Hardy's words today seemed like a ray of holy light.
How could the Japanese not be excited when they saw the hope of regaining sovereignty? This was something they desired more than economic recovery.
Many people looked at Hardy with eager eyes.
After saying this, Hadi turned to Yoshida Shigeru and said, "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, whether Japan has realized that it was wrong to start the war is crucial. This is a question of attitude. Only by recognizing the mistakes can we completely break with imperialism and militarism and regain the recognition of the international community."
Yoshida Shigeru's mind was racing.
They had discussed before whether Japan should admit its mistakes. The United States controlled their public opinion and thoughts, and also required Japan to recognize the mistake of launching an aggressive war.
But on this point, Japan has always been ambiguous.
Why?
To find out the reason, we need to study Japan's national character.
They revered the emperor as a god, were influenced by the spirit of Bushido, believed in the pragmatic principle of the survival of the fittest, and also believed in the theory of racial superiority.
Now the emperor has been trained by MacArthur and admits that he is just an ordinary person, not a god.
If we admit again that war is wrong.
If they lose the spirit of Bushido, they are afraid that the Japanese nation will lose its backbone and will never be able to stand up again.
So although it is twisted.
Still have to maintain that little bit of dignity.
Now, the issue of Hadi makes Yoshida Shigeru very uncomfortable. Hadi just said that Japan must abandon imperialism and militarism before returning to the international community. If he does not admit his mistakes, today's newspapers will definitely report it extensively, and it is estimated that Japan will be described as not forgetting imperialism and militarism.
Then their hope of regaining independence would be completely gone.
It would also offend the United States. The U.S. government and MacArthur have been deeply transforming Japan in recent years. The goal set by the United States is to "ensure that Japan no longer becomes a threat to world security and peace."
If they are found to still harbor the ideas of restoring imperialism and militarism in their bones, I believe the US government and MacArthur will carry out another round of purges.
"Hayi, yes, we must sincerely admit that it was wrong to start that war. On behalf of Japan, I express my regret for that war." Yoshida Shigeru bowed to Hardy with an extremely sincere attitude.
Click, click.
Reporters took photos desperately to record this moment.
The reporter even wrote down Yoshida Shigeru's words verbatim in a notebook. I believe that Hardy's speech and Yoshida Shigeru's statement expressing regret for admitting the mistakes of the war will definitely become the headlines in tomorrow's newspapers.
Hardy smiled inwardly.
Do you think this is the end? I know you are stubborn and I will slowly destroy you bit by bit through public opinion.
This is just the beginning.
Hadi continued speaking.
"The Japanese government's social survey shows that the number of unemployed people in Japan has reached 13 million, and this 13 million does not include women and children. This is a very scary number, accounting for more than 30% of the total labor force in Japan."
"Inflation is severe and prices are soaring. Today's prices in Japan are 20 times higher than before the war. This is a terrible number. Some economic experts have analyzed that if this situation cannot be effectively changed, it may take Japan 100 years to recover."
Whether it was Yoshida Shigeru on the stage or the cabinet members and Japanese entrepreneurs below the stage, all of them had very heavy expressions.
Hardy is right, they are also pessimistic about Japan's future.
Hardy paused.
Intentionally giving people a break.
"During my visit, I will make an overall plan for Japan's economy, including several aspects. First, abolish some backward feudal economic rules. Second, carry out comprehensive demilitarization reform. Japan will focus on developing the people's livelihood economy in the future. Third, formulate the economic direction. Japan is an island country with scarce resources and cannot provide raw materials locally. Therefore, after our analysis, Japan is more suitable for an export-oriented economic strategy."
"For example, we could open a TV factory to provide cheaper TVs to the United States and Europe, or develop the textile industry to import raw materials such as cotton wool from the United States and Australia and make them into fabrics or ready-made clothes for export."
"It can also make clothing, shoes and hats, furniture, home appliances, toys, musical instruments, auto parts, rubber products, gemstone processing, ceramics, audio equipment, etc."
"I have obtained the president's permission to open up advanced American technology to Japan and allow the introduction of advanced production equipment and processes."
"I was appointed as the special economic envoy to Japan in May this year. The reason why I didn't come is because I know the problems in Japan, but coming here will not help at all. Since it is difficult to solve the problems internally, I am ready to seek help from outside forces."
After that, Hardy pointed to the seven major conglomerates and said with a smile, "I invite the California Consortium, the Rockefeller Consortium, the Morgan Consortium, the Cleveland Consortium, the Texas Consortium, the DuPont Consortium, and the Mellon Consortium to come to Japan with me to invest in Japan. I believe that with them here, construction funds and sales channels will become smooth."
Wuuuuu~~!
Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru, cabinet members and dozens of entrepreneurs present applauded together. They knew that these big conglomerates could just stretch out their hands and pull their companies out of the quagmire.
"In addition, in order to start the operation, we must have a start-up fund. I thought about the seized military industrial enterprises. Those enterprises have been completely seized according to the orders of the United Nations and the Allied Command. How to make use of them and turn them into treasures? I thought about it for a long time and finally decided to sell them to raise start-up funds."
"This time I came here and brought back all the $570 million from the sale of the business. I will use this money entirely for aid and economic development in Japan."
Wuuuuu~!
Wuuuuuuuuuu~!
There was even louder applause from the audience.
Everything else is virtual, but money is something real. Now in Japan, it is all about money. If Hardy can bring it to them, then they are willing to call him dad.
It's that simple.