Tokyo Reborn: Dark Superstar

Chapter 44 Sweeping the Nation
  Minister Kadokawa Hideyuki suddenly stood up in his seat when he heard the female voice on the phone.

"Hi! Director!"

"Yes, there are the latest releases from Sony Records!"

"Yes! It's called killing that Tokyo man."

"Yes! I am also very optimistic about this single and am ready to order 10 copies."

"Understood! I'll contact Sony Records and get the signed poster. I'll send it to you right away!"

"Hi! Thank you for your hard work!"

Kadokawa Hideyuki bowed and hung up the phone.

…………

This call came from Kadokawa Ryoko, the board director of Kadokawa Bookstore, the head of Kadokawa Xiangjiang office and the mainland market.

Ryoko Kadokawa is an important member of the Kadokawa family and the sister of president Haruki Kadokawa. She is still single.

In the 70s, because he was addicted to Bruce Lee, he took the initiative to take charge of the bookstore business in Hong Kong. He also visited the local martial arts gym to learn martial arts.

She also sponsored the first martial arts competition in Hong Kong.

In the honeymoon period between China and Japan in the past few years, Asia's largest entertainment market has opened up. Kadokawa Ryoko is responsible for the expansion of inland business part-time, and her voice within the Kadokawa family has expanded dramatically.

This is why Kadokawa Hideyuki, head of the audiovisual sales department, is so respectful.

....................................

Attracting the attention of the board of directors, Kadokawa Hideyuki took out the record of "Killing That Tokyo Man" and listened to it.

After listening, Kadokawa Hideyuki silently lit a cigarette and sat on the sofa chair in the office in silence for a while.

…………

I used to be that kind of corporate warrior who worked overtime until 1 a.m. every day. The entire department was making great progress, working hard and holding meetings all night long.

After get off work, everyone went to an izakaya to drink, chatting about the Plaza Accord, the newly purchased house and Tokyo Stock Exchange stocks.

The Nikkei Index soared from 4 to 4, and the price of land in Ginza 8000-chome was raised from 75 US dollars per square meter to US dollars per square meter.

Everyone is making a lot of money. It is really a nostalgic golden age...

…………

Suddenly one day, when Kadokawa Hideyuki came to work to check in, he heard that their minister had jumped from the rooftop.

A colleague told him that the house price in Tokyo that the minister bought with a loan plummeted by 85.4% in an instant, and the bank forcibly repossessed it. After the judicial auction, he still owed an astronomical amount of debt.

Almost overnight, countless people turned from rich to wealthy, and the minister was one of them.

The minister’s widowed wife went to work at the Yao Gang nightclub in Ginza to pay off her debts...

People jumped from the rooftop every day. Kadokawa Hideyuki knew four colleagues who jumped from the building. There was also a girl from the company's front desk who went to Diamond Cinema to make video movies to pay off her debts.

NHK TV's documentary investigates how RB killed at least 1 people during the collapse of Tokyo's property market and stock market crash.

RB's famous suicide forest, where suicides peaked in the early 90s, with more than 2000 people...

…………

Every era has its songs.

In the 20s of the Dragon Kingdom, it was "a big river with wide waves, and the wind blew the fragrance of rice and flowers on both sides..."

Xiangjiang in the era of the Four Asian Tigers is "Under the Lion Rock". The United States during the Vietnam War was Bob Dylan's "blowin' in the wind" (The answer is blowing in the wind)
  …………

Hideyuki Kadokawa put out his cigarette butts and revised the planned order numbers again, increasing the number of Sony's new records to 15.

"The era when the bubble economy burst requires a song to record this era."

....................................

On Monday of the second week, Minister Kadokawa Hideyuki regretted his decision.

"Hideyuki Kadokawa! Let me say it again, I don't want explanations, I just want records!!"

"The prediction of the audio and video sales department of your headquarters is really outrageous! Our Nagoya branch will definitely report the situation to the president!"

"Minister, I am the store manager of Shibuya Bookstore. When will our 6000 albums arrive?"

"Minister, the Shinjuku store has submitted the application form, but the 7000 records have not been shipped yet?"

"Moses Moses, I am the marketing manager of the Osaka branch... Are you kidding the audiovisual sales department of your headquarters? You only gave us 5 records in Osaka?!"

The entire audiovisual sales department has been reduced to a customer service center, and the phone calls are so hot...

In just a few days, "Killing That Tokyo Man" was sold out. Director Kadokawa Hideyuki was scolded by the senior executives, branch managers, and store managers below, and he couldn't hold his head up.

…………

Hideyuki Kadokawa, head of the audiovisual sales department, never expected that even though he ordered 5 more records, the song "Kill That Tokyo Man" was still in short supply and sold out in two or three days...

The independent singer cooperation agreement signed between Sony Records and Bunta Takakura caused many channel dealers to misjudge.

Can an independent singer make such a big splash? !

With this level of resource investment... this Takakura Bunta wants to fight in the first and decisive battle, and decide the outcome in one battle...

The anxious Kadokawa Hideyuki drank two cups of coffee to calm down and dialed the number of Sony Records Executive Vice President Hirai Kazuo.

"Mr. Kazuo Hirai, are you free tonight?"

"I'm really sorry to trouble you. Thanks to your care, we went to the Yao Gang nightclub in Ginza. The human body sushi there... yes... it's the widow-themed restaurant..."

....................................

"Kill That Tokyo Man" was featured on TV Asahi's variety show "Late Night!" The ending credits of "スーパーアドベンチャー" (Late Night! Super Adventure) were broadcast, which attracted the attention of people who drank and watched the show late at night...

When Sony Records' resources enabled "Kill That Tokyo Man" to be broadcast on "MUSIC STATION", TV Asahi's old music program, the response was excellent.

A large number of people called the TV station to ask about the song, and other major music programs also followed suit.

The next night, RB's most famous music program, NHK TV's "Music Japan" also began to recommend this song.

"Music Japan" was the most popular music program in Tokyo in 1996. Namie Amuro, Mai Kuraki, Arashi, V6, SMAP, etc. all had new songs on this program when they first debuted.

Then, major music magazines and radio stations began to discuss this song, making it the hottest topic in the music industry at the moment.

In less than a week, the 23 wards of Tokyo including Shibuya, Shinjuku, Chiyoda, Minato, and Bunkyo wards began to run out of stock, and then began to spread to other areas.

…………

Kazuo Hirai, the executive vice president of Sony Records, asked the production lines of major suppliers to prioritize orders for "Killing That Tokyo Man" and operate at full capacity.

"Killing That Tokyo Man" became a hit all of a sudden, and with Sony's strong investment of resources, it began to sweep the country.

(End of this chapter)