Chapter 349: Open Japan Welcomes You

As the factories of the seven conglomerates gradually opened, many workers earned a little money, which they could use to buy food supplies on the black market.

This forms a perfect cycle.

Hardy brought in larger quantities of goods, and the black market business was more prosperous than before. As the stalls were opened, it was expected that he would have no problem making tens of millions of dollars a month.

In fact, as an economic envoy, he could have completely lifted Japan's restrictions on food and supplies. Now the United States' food production is very large and cannot be used up domestically, but Hardy still adopted the previous restriction policy.

Why?

This way you can make more money.

Why give them the same price when you can sell it at 10 times the price?

This situation will not change for at least one year.

The most important thing is that they use the black market to circle the Japanese gangs. Now the Straw Hat Pirates are developing rapidly and have become the largest gang in Japan, covering all regions of Japan.

This was very helpful to Hardy's later plans.

......

The Japanese Prime Minister received a call from the office of Economic Envoy Hadi, saying that there was something to discuss with him, so Yoshida Shigeru drove over quickly.

Hardy received Yoshida Shigeru at his apartment.

Now Hardy has more power than before, in charge of Japan's economy and culture, and Yoshida Shigeru is more respectful than before.

The servant brought two cups of tea.

One cup was placed in front of Yoshida Shigeru.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please have some tea," said Hardy.

Yoshida Shigeru quickly bowed to express his gratitude, and said respectfully, "I dare not ask Mr. Hardy to address you as Your Excellency. Please just call me Yoshida."

Hardy took a puff of his cigar, put it back in the ashtray, and said to Yoshida Shigeru: "I recently discovered something that I think needs to be changed, so I asked Prime Minister Yoshida to come over and study it."

"Ah~ Mr. Envoy, please speak."

"I saw a document that said prostitutes and brothel industries were legal in Japan before, right?" Hardy asked.

“Yes, it is legal.”

Japan was a feudal society before its defeat in the war. The brothel business had been around for thousands of years and had always been a legal business. In some movies, the scenes of arresting prostitutes were of women who were not legally registered. As long as they were legally registered, it was legal.

"Then MacArthur issued a decree banning brothels and prostitution businesses throughout Japan, and then legal brothels were closed down, right?" Hardy asked.

"Yes, Mr. Hardy. The decree was issued by General MacArthur. He felt that the prostitution business was immoral, so he ordered the brothel business to be illegal. Later, I signed the government executive order."

Yoshida Shigeru was very clear about this matter because he was the one who handled it.

"Has the prostitution business been stopped now?" Hardy asked.

Yoshida Shigeki was stunned.

Then he said awkwardly, "No, someone once reported to me that now all those women have turned to underground business, and more and more of them have become secret prostitutes. The number is probably more than before."

Hardy nodded.

Seriously.

"I think this order has failed. First of all, some states in the United States have legalized prostitution, which is also part of the culture."

"Also, some things cannot be banned by a single law. Not only have they not disappeared, but they have increased. According to my survey, the number of women working in this industry is probably ten times that of before."

"In the past, those brothels were legal and government-controlled, and those women had regular health checks. But now, they have gone underground, and no one knows whether they have any diseases. If they are sick, they will infect more people, which will have an extremely bad impact on society."

Yoshida Shigeru nodded, agreeing with what Hardy said.

The prostitution business has existed for a long time, and Yoshida Shigeru did not think it was immoral. Instead, he was more worried about losing control.

"The most important thing is that the government used to be able to collect taxes from the brothel business, but now, everything has gone underground and the government can't get a penny. It has also caused a considerable loss to government revenue. What do you think?" Hardy said.

"That's true," said Yoshida Shigeru.

"So I plan to promulgate a new decree to lift the previous ban and make the brothel business legal again. This will not only strengthen management but also increase government revenue. What do you think?" Hardy looked at Yoshida Shigeru and asked.

"Ah~ It's good to solve this one, but what about General MacArthur?"

The order was issued by MacArthur, and Yoshida Shigeru was worried about angering MacArthur.

Hardy looked at Yoshida Shigeru and said in a deep voice: "I am the economic envoy, responsible for Japan's economy and culture. Doesn't the issue of whether brothels are legal fall under the category of economy and culture? Since MacArthur made a wrong decision, I have the right to correct him."

"I hope the Japanese government will issue a new law as soon as possible to remove the previous ban. Of course, even if it is declared legal, it cannot be like before, where you can open it wherever you want. I think some regulations should be made."

"For example, we can concentrate all these specialty industries in one area. Doing this kind of business in that area is legal, but doing it outside of that area is illegal. This makes management easier."

......

Yoshida Shigeru left Hardy's apartment and sighed slightly after getting in the car. Envoy Hardy was exercising his rights, and this decree was issued and formulated by MacArthur. If the government relaxes it now, MacArthur will definitely be angry.

It was obvious that the two retired emperors were fighting for power, and they were caught in the middle.

I dare not offend anyone.

He cannot afford to offend anyone. Now Hadi is in charge of Japan's economy, and not just administrative power. More importantly, Hadi truly controls Japan's economic lifeline.

Today, all of Japan's large companies are controlled by seven major conglomerates.

Japan's financial industry is entirely controlled by seven major conglomerates.

Most of Japan's small industries are controlled by the financial industry and indirectly by the seven major conglomerates.

Offended Hardy,

Just a thought from him could cause the Japanese economy to collapse.

And what about MacArthur?

He is in charge of government appointments in Japan and even has the power of life and death.

Yoshida Shigeru felt it was too difficult.

After returning to the Prime Minister's Office, Yoshida Shigeru immediately convened a meeting of cabinet members. In fact, the ministers present did not care about opening up the brothel business, and the matter itself was not a big deal.

The biggest problem was that it involved the power struggle between Hardy and MacArthur, which made everyone worried.

Finally, the Minister of Health and Welfare said tentatively: "Why don't we secretly send a telegram to General MacArthur to inform him of this matter. If General MacArthur objects, he will naturally go to Special Envoy Hardy."

"They are both big shots, let them fight it out."

"Special Envoy Hadi said that a decision must be made within three days at most," said Yoshida Shigeru.

"If General MacArthur has any opinion, I estimate that he will respond within three days," said the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Although this proposal was not a good one, there was no better way, so Yoshida Shigeru immediately had someone send a secret telegram to MacArthur.

MacArthur had been at the Osaka base. To be honest, he felt very uncomfortable after reading the telegram. It was he who issued the ban on prostitution, and now Hardy wanted to change it, which was obviously a slap in his face.

In the past, MacArthur would have stopped Hardy.

But now the matter of his cousin Judson has not been dealt with yet, and he is afraid of being caught, so now he tries to keep a low profile and is unwilling to have a conflict with Hardy.

Crumble up the telegram and throw it into the paper basket.

Just pretend you don't know about this.

Three days passed and MacArthur still did not respond. The Japanese cabinet members actually understood what MacArthur meant, but many people were still surprised because it showed that MacArthur was unwilling to offend Special Envoy Hardy.

Hardy's position in their hearts grew even more.

A few days later.

The Japanese government issued a decree lifting a previous ban on brothel business, but with another stipulation that brothels can only operate within a certain area; any business outside that area would be illegal.

The operating rights are authorized by the government.

There are many advantages to operating within a restricted scope. It is easy to scale up and easier to manage. As soon as this decree was issued, it immediately attracted widespread attention from Japanese society.

Many people were delighted.

Especially men.

After all, this is a tradition that has been maintained for thousands of years. It would be a pity to cancel it. Now that there is a legal venue, there will be no need to hide it in the future.

In fact, the Japanese government is also willing to see this result. After the previous ban, all open businesses moved underground and the government could no longer collect taxes. Now after legalization, the government can still collect some taxes.

And don't underestimate this tax. The Japanese government is very poor right now, and this income is definitely a considerable amount.

Yomiuri Shimbun.

"There are many benefits to restoring the legalization of brothels. Practitioners will undergo regular medical examinations and become safer. The government can collect taxes and have legal protection. Practitioners will also be more stable and society will be more active."

Asahi Shimbun.

"Japanese society should have its own characteristics. Red-light district is one of Japan's business cards. In the future, it may attract more people to come to Japan. It is very good that Japan should become more open. We should shout, 'Open Japan welcomes the world to come to Japan.'"

......

Many businessmen immediately saw the benefits here, but when they approached the government hoping to obtain the operating rights, they found that it was impossible to get them because all the operating rights in various places had been given away.

Hardy asked to open up this business, naturally he wanted to control it. He had previously asked Duncan to unify the gangs for the sake of the red-light district business.