A young man sits at a workstation on the assembly line, facing the camera.

You can see his two buck teeth and the vegetables stuck in his teeth after lunch.

He looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, wearing a blue factory uniform. Although he should be at an age full of fighting spirit, his eyes were dull and gloomy like an old man.

I was asked if I had considered buying a house and getting married.

The young man just smiled and said: "House prices are rising every year. I may never be able to afford it, so I won't consider getting married."

"What will you do when you get old without children?"

"I'm old now, so maybe I can just find a random place to die!"

“.”

Ordinary words have no anger, no complaints, no hatred and no shouting.

But those eyes, which could be seen clearly even through the screen, revealed the numbness and despair towards the future life.

Then there is a new picture.

Without exception.

The eyes of the young people interviewed showed indifference, negativity and numbness towards the future. When talking about getting married and having children, they said that they would never be able to afford a house in this lifetime anyway and had never thought about these things.

If Kurigen Kazuko asked whether their parents would urge them to get married, the boys being interviewed would just smile and say, there's nothing they can do about it, but now the most basic condition for girls going on blind dates is a house, so they haven't contacted their families for a long time.

Watch the show on TV finish.

Kurigen Kazuko said with twinkling eyes: "The president has agreed to put the life and economy column on a schedule to attract ratings. Violent Dragon, how did you convince that guy?"

"It's nothing, just a casual chat. Maybe he thinks it's good too!" Nagano Nao lied casually. In fact, the real reason was nothing more than the relationship between Kobe TV and Toho.

In this invisible power struggle, he, Kobe TV, Seiji Tsutsumi, and the people being interviewed are all pawns.

But Kazuko Kurihara did not know that a very high-level struggle was unfolding. Even though she was a journalist with a high level of political acumen, she was completely unaware of the scale of this chessboard, which involved cabinet struggles, wars among conglomerates, and different class and party positions.

As a white-collar worker, she obviously did not have the consciousness of the middle class. She said in a class-betraying way, "You are awesome, Violent Dragon! Today's ratings have increased by 3%. At this rate, if the ratings continue to rise and you release your paper, it will definitely have an unexpected effect. By then, the drawbacks that real estate brings to the economy will surely attract more attention."

"Kazuko, you look happy, huh?"

"Of course I'm happy. Isn't it the duty of journalists to help people change bad situations through public opinion? In the case of a population crisis caused by declining birth rates, if the government is under pressure from public opinion, it will definitely change the current real estate structure. In this way, house prices will fall, and everyone's life will be better, right?"

Better? The lessons that humans have learned from history are indeed lessons that humans cannot learn! Nagano Nao laughed sarcastically and said, "You think too simply. Real estate involves so many interest groups. It's just that it's difficult to change. Apart from anything else, those who bought houses don't want to see house prices fall. This is the monopoly effect of vested interests."

"That's what I said, but it's good to be able to make a change. By the way, I'm going to the West District for an interview tomorrow. Do you have time to accompany me?"

"OK!"

“.”

Early the next morning.

Nagano Naoio met with Kurigen Kazuko as agreed.

On the streets of Japan, cleanliness is the first impression people give. Even though there are crowds of people and cars coming and going, you can't see any uncivilized phenomena such as garbage or spitting.

However, after passing through the bridge tunnel under the JR line, across a wide carriageway, and then crossing the road, a strange atmosphere permeated the air.

This is the Osaka XC zone.

On the north side of the bridge tunnel, there are elegant "single-family" houses, while on the south side of the bridge tunnel, there are dilapidated so-called "simple houses" built with various plastic boards and cardboard boxes.

People's clothes were no longer neat and tidy, and after a few coughs, you could see someone spitting everywhere. Turning into a small street, there was more garbage on the ground and more people.

Some were chatting, some were daydreaming, some were squatting in the corner to bask in the sun, some were smoking, some were not, and they were all in groups of three or five.

Most of them had expressionless expressions on their faces. Some of them had empty or half-empty beer cans under their feet or in their hands. There were cigarette butts all over the ground, and some people were standing in the corner and just urinating.

The smell of urine and the breath of poverty hit my nose.

Nagano Naoio frowned.

This kind of environment is not unfamiliar and can often be seen in urban villages.

However, he had never seen it again after becoming a Benzi, and he never imagined that a place like Kobe would have such a terrible environment.

"Violent Dragon, you have never been to such a place, right?" Kurigen Kazuko asked with a smile.

"No!" Nagano Nao looked at the people around him who had nothing to do, and was secretly alert and vigilant. The economic base determines the superstructure. The economy here looks very bad, and with so many young people gathered together, it can easily become the source of crime.

"Don't be nervous about the violent dragons! The security here is pretty good. They just don't want to work, and they won't do anything weird."

"Hezi, do you often come here for interviews?"

"Yeah! They are also part of the life of this city. Aren't they more real than in Tokyo Love Story?"

Introduced by Kazuko Kurihara.

The expression on Nagano Nao's face was quite strange.

Because most of the young people here are temporary workers, they work for a week, rest for two weeks, and then continue to earn money when the money is spent. Along the way, several SPs looked at Kurigen Kazuko, but they did not have any intention of attacking.

This made Nagano Nao think of two words - lie down! Following the footsteps of Kurigen and Ono, they came to a young man playing mahjong with his back bare.

Kazuko Kurigen put on her signature smile and easily got the other party's permission to start the interview.

The other person said: "I'm not considering finding a girlfriend anymore! Being single is actually pretty good too, there's not much pressure."

"But it's not good to continue like this! Why don't you try harder, Sanyan-kun?"

"What's the point of working hard? You can't afford a house anyway!"

"Then we have to consider things like marriage, right? Won't our parents be anxious?"

"What can I do if I'm anxious? I've been on blind dates with several girls before, but their minimum requirement was to have a 50-square-foot house. Even if I work 12 hours a day, I can't buy one until I'm 35 years old. Can they wait for me that long?"

“.”

The boy named Sanyan is about 26 or 27 years old and speaks very cheerfully.

We talked about our biggest dream, which was not to buy a house, get married, or get promoted, but to have a five-story independent space if we had enough money.

However, his cheerful smile, melancholy eyes, and the look of loss of confidence in life made it clear to everyone that he had no hope for the future.

That day.

The program was produced and broadcast again.

For a long time.

The life and economics program hosted by Kazuko Kurihara is very popular among the elderly because it is related to people's livelihood.

She is very aggressive during interviews and her questions are very sharp. Plus, she is beautiful and is popular among many young people from Kobe to Osaka.

At present, high housing prices are plaguing the lives of countless young people. Once such a continuous schedule program was broadcast, it quickly attracted a lot of attention.

The TV station's ratings soared.

As planned, an interview with Naoio Nagano, an expert from the Institute of Biosafety, appeared on the main economic column on the weekend evening.

It is said that the negative attitude of young people towards life has led to a continuous decline in the fertility rate, which has doubled the pressure on future public spending. Therefore, Japan's social security has been forced to raise the issue of delaying retirement and increasing the amount of social security contributions.

He also said that the amount of real estate loans has continued to rise, that the per capita debt is now the highest in the world, that young people are under great pressure to survive, and that the birth rate is in danger of further decline . Another day like this will pass.

But no one expected that the boy named Sanyan, who had been interviewed before and looked sunny and cheerful, would commit suicide by burning charcoal in his rental house. Bang! Kyoto, Fushimi District.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi looked at the report on the news and slapped the antique in his hand to the ground.

All major media outlets were flooded with news about Mitsuhiko's suicide by charcoal burning, and the programs that Kobe TV had been broadcasting put real estate at the forefront.

Because in an interview on a show, Sanyan mentioned that if he really couldn't afford a house and had no place to live, he might die. That's why.

His death was attributed to his inability to buy a house and his complete loss of hope in life. At the same time.

Seiji Tsutsumi put down the newspaper in his hand and closed his eyes tiredly. With his decades of experience in politics and economics, how could he not see that a stranglehold on the Seibu Group was beginning.

The complicated and tangled emotions between brothers are ultimately a shackle.

But thinking about a young person dying for this, and many more dying without being reported, my conscience is torturing me over and over again at the same time.

Central Bank of Japan.

Although the parachuted-in president from the Ministry of Finance has always been sidelined, he has just taken office and many things need to be dealt with.

Looking at the work that had just been completed on the table, Sanzhong Kangye stroked his aching forehead.

Judging from the data, the amount of real estate investment has climbed to a terrifying level, and per capita debt continues to rise. If it is not controlled, it may turn into a debt crisis.

I don't know when this country with a large number of savings has become a country with a large number of debts! If we really want to find out the reason, it is because after the Plaza Accord, in order to curb the appreciation of the yen, he released the monetary base against all odds to avoid the possible risks of a rapid appreciation of the yen.

Now that it has come to this, if the responsibility is passed down, not only will he be implicated, but his family and Mitsubishi will probably be suppressed by political opponents and other financial groups . He made a phone call.

Not long after, the person on the other side sighed and said, "It seems that Master Jiwu's words are really coming true!"

Hear this name.

There was a heaviness in Sanzhong Kangye's eyes.

Master Jiwu was proficient in the Book of Changes and metaphysics throughout his life. During Japan's post-war development, he was always able to make the most favorable judgments about the country's destiny. Before his death, he said that an era was about to end, which was considered a taboo by the major families, but they had to treat it with caution.

Now, Emperor Showa has passed away, and Konosuke Matsushita, the god of business, has also been inspired by the Emperor. The balance of the Cold War is now tilted, and the world is changing. There are really too few choices to make.

Hang up the phone.

Mie Yasuno stood in front of the map.

He shifted his gaze from the United States to the North and sighed silently.

Some people hate those people who study the Book of Changes and engage in metaphysics and talk in a mysterious way, but today, they are neither in a position to cry nor to laugh. The next day.

The Ministry of Finance meeting was held at the beginning of the month as usual.

Nine bureaus, including the Bureau of Accounting, Bureau of Taxation, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Finance, Bureau of Securities, Bureau of Banking, Bureau of International Finance, Bureau of Mint, and Bureau of Printing, as well as their responsible persons were all present.

"At present, foreign trade exports have been seriously affected by the appreciation of the exchange rate. Raising interest rates again, and by 250 basis points, has Mr. Sanchong considered the consequences of doing so?"

(End of this chapter)