Chapter 522 Interview
On the second day of mid-June, Shirakawa Electric appeared on the headlines of major newspapers and magazines as expected.
This extra-long shareholders' meeting is destined to become a landmark event in the history of the Japanese economy.
"The invincible Shirakawa!"
"13 hours and 30 minutes! The longest shareholder meeting in Neon's history!"
"No compromise! Shirakawa Electric confronts the General Association House head-on!"
"The cancer clinging to listed companies will always be punished for their crimes!"
The Nikkei Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, and Asahi Shimbun all reported extensively on yesterday's events on that day.
Of course, the Mainichi Shimbun, which is owned by Shirakawa Holdings, will not be absent either, and it has directed its attack directly at the general meeting house itself.
The Shirakawa Electric shareholders' meeting is indeed worth writing about, but the general meeting room is the crux of the matter.
As the mouthpiece of Shirakawa Holdings, the Mainichi Shimbun even published the notice letter that Sosoya handed to Shirakawa Electric.
The words "10 billion yen" are extremely conspicuous on the entire newspaper.
This naked number, like the naked ambition of the club, was exposed in broad daylight.
Although Ryuichi Koike strongly denied in front of the camera that this was not the work of the general association,
However, due to intensive coverage by major media outlets, the General Association House was still pushed to the forefront.
Even a super giant company like Shirakawa Electric was blackmailed by the general association, what about other general companies?
For the first time, the Japanese people had a direct impression of this evil group hidden in the stock market.
The Sosoya is different from the Yakuza like the Yamaguchi-gumi. Their target is not ordinary people, but listed companies.
Therefore, compared with the impression of violent groups, the General Association has always been low-key.
But after this incident, everyone finally knew that such a lawless underworld organization existed.
Taking advantage of the public's disgust with the general association, company presidents who had been blackmailed by it in the past have also spoken out.
"It's a very troublesome existence. Most of the time they are just making trouble for no reason."
"They oppose any resolution announced by the company. They don't even understand these resolutions, they just oppose them for the sake of opposing them."
"Although it's not stated explicitly, it's actually extortion. As long as you pay the special consultant fee, there will be no more opinions immediately."
How many hundreds of listed companies has the Association House targeted over the years?
Although most people remained silent, as long as a few stood up, it would create a trend of condemnation.
However, what really attracted everyone's attention was the extra-long shareholders' meeting of Shirakawa Electric.
As a national brand, it naturally attracts a lot of attention when it encounters such an incident.
Regardless of what the final outcome will be, there is a general consensus among all sectors of society that Shirakawa Electric is a tough nut to crack.
The founder of the group personally confronted the General Association at the meeting and fought for more than ten hours, eventually forcing the other side to retreat.
This determination to never give in is enough to make many people understand that Shirakawa Electric will never surrender.
There is still a lot of buzz about this matter outside, but Shirakawa Electric has already returned to normal.
As the direct party involved in this incident, Shirakawa Feng received a special visitor at the Shirakawa Holdings Building.
"Mr. Shirakawa, it is an honor to have this opportunity to interview you.
Our conversation will be recorded. Is that okay with you?"
As he spoke, Kenji Nagano took out a pocket recorder and placed it on the table between the two of them.
"Of course," Baichuan Feng smiled carefreely, "This is your job, there is no problem."
As he said this, he glanced around and saw that the tape recorder was a product of Shirakawa Electric.
Mr. Nagano is very thoughtful. Shirakawa Kaede feels a little proud inside.
In fact, he didn't want to be interviewed, but he had to give this person some face.
Kenji Nagano graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Kyoto University and is currently the deputy editor-in-chief of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Such an identity can only be said to be commendable, but it is not to the point where Baichuan Feng must receive him.
However, his father is very powerful. Nagano Masao is currently serving as the chairman of the Keiran Federation, which is the top figure in the financial world.
With such a relationship, Baichuan Feng must of course give some face.
After all, Shirakawa Holdings is also a member of the chaebol group, so strictly speaking, Kenji Nagano can also be considered a member of their own forces.
Although he is very respectful to Baichuan Feng, he is actually ten years older than Baichuan Feng.
However, as a reporter, Kenji Nagano is well versed in the ways of the world, especially since his interview subject is Shirakawa Kaede, who is hailed as a legend in the business world.
So even though his own relationship was strong enough, Kenji Nagano still gave Shirakawa Kaede enough respect.
"Something big happened yesterday."
Kenji Nagano took out his notebook and began to casually talk about what happened yesterday.
"Yesterday?" Bai Chuanfeng smiled, "It was indeed impressive."
Nagano: So, Mr. Shirakawa, what do you think about what happened yesterday?
Shirakawa Kaede: It's just a farce, but I need to apologize to those shareholders who really want to make suggestions and offer advice to Shirakawa Electric.
Kenji Nagano: Did the General Meeting of Shareholders have a big impact?
Shirakawa Kaede: In terms of the order of the meeting, it caused some confusion.
Kenji Nagano: So the General Meeting House is more like a negative existence for the shareholders' meeting?
Shirakawa Kaede: Of course, this is something everyone knows.
Kenji Nagano: Can you be more specific?
Shirakawa Kaede: Take Shirakawa Electric as an example. Because we rejected them, a week before the shareholders' meeting, the stock market was full of rumors about Shirakawa Electric.
Although all these so-called gossips were confirmed to be rumors, the stock price of Shirakawa Electric was still affected by them and fluctuated greatly.
There is no doubt that the General Association does not mind the means it uses in order to achieve a certain goal.
Nagano Kenji: Some kind of purpose?
Baichuan Feng had a smile on his face: They call it consulting fees, but everyone knows the truth.
Kenji Nagano: So the 10 billion yen consulting fee reported in the Mainichi Shimbun is true?
Shirakawa Kaede: This letter was indeed some kind of settlement terms sent by external forces to Shirakawa Electric. I was also shocked when I saw them.
Kenji Nagano: It's really surprising. What was your first thought when you encountered such a thing?
Baichuan Feng shrugged: At first I thought it was a prank, but it turns out no one is so boring.
Yesterday’s shareholders’ meeting was the price we paid for rejecting this condition.
Kenji Nagano: Do you have any specific measures against violent groups like the Sosoya that are restricted by law?
Shirakawa Kaede: Since it is a group subject to legal restrictions, we are of course willing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in investigating it.
Of course, considering that similar incidents may occur again at future shareholders' meetings, we are planning to set up a shareholder representative coordinating committee.
In the future, it will select the candidates for participating in the shareholders' meeting every year, and the review members of the coordination committee itself will all come from outside, and Shirakawa Electric will not participate.
Kenji Nagano: That’s a good idea. Can I ask a somewhat sensitive personal question next?
Baichuan Feng shrugged: Please go ahead and I will answer carefully.
Kenji Nagano laughed out loud, then restrained his expression: I heard that before the shareholders' meeting started yesterday, Mr. Ogawa from the general meeting room gave you a special gift?
Baichuan Feng had an indifferent expression and a calm tone: A very extreme greeting gift, and of course it is definitely impressive.
Kenji Nagano's tone was full of tentativeness: It was said that the gift was very rude, and Hasegawa-san seemed very angry about it?
Baichuan Feng glanced at him lightly: Believe me, anyone who receives such a gift will never forgive the other person's behavior.
Kenji Nagano was very curious about what kind of thing made the other party feel unforgivable, and there were many different opinions about this so-called meeting gift.
However, seeing Baichuan Feng's indifferent expression, he wisely avoided the topic.
Kenji Nagano: Mr. Shirakawa, please tell us about Japan's current economy.
Shirakawa Kaede: This is a very big question, and we who are in the vortex may not be able to see it very clearly.
Kenji Nagano: You seem to have a different view on the current environment?
Baichuan Feng shook his head: It's just a sigh. The returns from investing in the stock market and real estate even exceed the income of an ordinary person from a year of hard work.
High-priced apartments have appeared in the city center that ordinary white-collar workers cannot afford even if they work hard for four lifetimes. These phenomena are enough to destroy people's values.
Everyone feels that hard work is not worthwhile and complains about the gap between the rich and the poor.
In the frenzy of worshipping money, people are caught in the whirlpool of desire, lamenting their life but unable to extricate themselves.
…
"Bang" Looking at the Nikkei News special report in his hand, Ryuichi Koike angrily slammed it on the table.
"This guy is a black-hearted capitalist himself, but now he is acting so compassionate. How shameless!"
"Xiao Chi-san, do you want to go look for Xiao Lin-san?
If we can take over the shares of Shirakawa Electric held by Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank, we can openly participate in the other party's business decision-making.
In that case, then..." Ogawa Kaoru gave a meaningful look.
"I'm afraid it won't be easy for Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank to let go. This is an important investment for them."
Although Ryuichi Koike was tempted, he was not stupid. How could Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank give up its shares in Shirakawa Electric?
“Many of Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank’s accounts are here with us. How can we know if we don’t give it a try?
With Kobayashi-san's mediation, it might not be impossible."
However, Ogawa Kaoru doesn't think so. He believes that everything depends on human efforts, and he has leverage over many people within Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank.
Bewitched by Ogawa Kaoru, Koike Ryuichi could no longer suppress his inner desires.
Yes, it’s almost there. Now the General Association has acquired nearly 10% of the shares of Shirakawa Electric.
If the share held by Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank is added, they will have a 20% controlling stake in white goods.
According to the Equity Method, once the controlling stake reaches 20%, the General Association can openly participate in the daily operations of Shirakawa Electric.
As long as he can get into the inside, Koike Ryuichi has plenty of ways to slowly destroy Shirakawa Electric.
Thinking of this, he immediately picked up the phone and started calling a confidential person in the Ministry of Finance.
