like a zero-sum game: If one were to go up, the other would invariably have to go down. Internecine Yakuza wars had been fought over circumstances even less definitively 38
connected, and Hisayuki had the sudden fear that this was going to be a war as well. The Aizukotetsu-kai simply could not afford to lose what they had invested in iPS Patent Japan, nor could they simply pull out, since the company’s cash reserves were nil. “It will be a war,” Hisayuki found himself prophesying and already planning how to limit the collateral damage, and even possibly how to outsource the whole mess to New York City.
“So what do you think?” Hiroshi questioned. He had been continuing to talk up his suggestion of some kind of partnership between the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Aizukotetsu-kai, an idea Hisayuki dismissed out of hand since he knew that if that were to happen, Aizukotetsu-kai would be swallowed up by the Yamaguchi.
The concept of partnership was one of the Yamaguchi-gumi’s main methods of expansion. “I tell you, Ishii-san,” Hiroshi went on when Hisayuki failed to respond immediately, “we all have to accept that the world as we knew it in our lifetime is rapidly changing, and we Yakuza have to change, too. The government is not going to leave us alone, like in the past, as evidenced by the anti-gang laws passed in ’92. It’s only going to get worse.”
“When I met with the vice minister just the other day, this issue came up.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said the laws that have been passed had been done so merely for political reasons, and that there was no intention of truly enforcing them.”
“And you believed him?”
“He said that if the government was serious about enforcement, they would have to pass something similar to the United States’ RICO Act, and they haven’t, and I know for certain that there isn’t anything in the works. So, yes, I believed him.”
“With all due respect, Ishii-san, I believe you are being much too trusting and even a bit naïve,” Hirsohi said, beginning a long monologue about his vision of the future with the Japanese government. “Soon the benign neglect that has characterized our relationship is going to change to become progressively more antagonistic. It stands to reason. Even today the government is envious of the money they believe that we, the Yakuza, are, from their perspective, sucking from the economy and paying little or no taxes on.”
As Hiroshi talked, Hisayuki became progressively more uncomfortable as a guest, and realized how easy it would be for the Yamaguchi-gumi to overwhelm the Aizukotetsu-kai, which he worried they might feel was appropriate if Hiroshi were to make the association between their conflicting investments in what was going to be a trillion-dollar industry.
39
Hisayuki allowed Hiroshi to continue his ranting about the government without offering any contradictions, such as the fact that the government needed the Yakuza. It was his sense and hope that if Hiroshi stayed on the issue of the government vs. the Yakuza, he’d be less likely to have any dangerous epiphanies.
“We Yakuza have to come together!” Hiroshi chimed like a politician on a soapbox, going back to his original issue of encouraging some sort of partnership between their two organizations. Hisayuki let him continue, even encouraging him a degree by nodding and smiling at appropriate times to give the impression that he was even considering the idea.
As Hiroshi droned on, Hisayuki thanked the gods that he’d paused at the beginning of the meeting and hadn’t started as he had initially planned—namely, to relate to Hiroshi what he had learned early that morning from Hideki Shimoda, his New York City saiko-komon . At nine-thirty he’d had a call from Hideki, who reported that as ordered, the threat to Kyoto University’s iPS patents had been significantly reduced because, as requested, Satoshi and his family had been eliminated.
connected, and Hisayuki had the sudden fear that this was going to be a war as well. The Aizukotetsu-kai simply could not afford to lose what they had invested in iPS Patent Japan, nor could they simply pull out, since the company’s cash reserves were nil. “It will be a war,” Hisayuki found himself prophesying and already planning how to limit the collateral damage, and even possibly how to outsource the whole mess to New York City.
“So what do you think?” Hiroshi questioned. He had been continuing to talk up his suggestion of some kind of partnership between the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Aizukotetsu-kai, an idea Hisayuki dismissed out of hand since he knew that if that were to happen, Aizukotetsu-kai would be swallowed up by the Yamaguchi.
The concept of partnership was one of the Yamaguchi-gumi’s main methods of expansion. “I tell you, Ishii-san,” Hiroshi went on when Hisayuki failed to respond immediately, “we all have to accept that the world as we knew it in our lifetime is rapidly changing, and we Yakuza have to change, too. The government is not going to leave us alone, like in the past, as evidenced by the anti-gang laws passed in ’92. It’s only going to get worse.”
“When I met with the vice minister just the other day, this issue came up.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said the laws that have been passed had been done so merely for political reasons, and that there was no intention of truly enforcing them.”
“And you believed him?”
“He said that if the government was serious about enforcement, they would have to pass something similar to the United States’ RICO Act, and they haven’t, and I know for certain that there isn’t anything in the works. So, yes, I believed him.”
“With all due respect, Ishii-san, I believe you are being much too trusting and even a bit naïve,” Hirsohi said, beginning a long monologue about his vision of the future with the Japanese government. “Soon the benign neglect that has characterized our relationship is going to change to become progressively more antagonistic. It stands to reason. Even today the government is envious of the money they believe that we, the Yakuza, are, from their perspective, sucking from the economy and paying little or no taxes on.”
As Hiroshi talked, Hisayuki became progressively more uncomfortable as a guest, and realized how easy it would be for the Yamaguchi-gumi to overwhelm the Aizukotetsu-kai, which he worried they might feel was appropriate if Hiroshi were to make the association between their conflicting investments in what was going to be a trillion-dollar industry.
39
Hisayuki allowed Hiroshi to continue his ranting about the government without offering any contradictions, such as the fact that the government needed the Yakuza. It was his sense and hope that if Hiroshi stayed on the issue of the government vs. the Yakuza, he’d be less likely to have any dangerous epiphanies.
“We Yakuza have to come together!” Hiroshi chimed like a politician on a soapbox, going back to his original issue of encouraging some sort of partnership between their two organizations. Hisayuki let him continue, even encouraging him a degree by nodding and smiling at appropriate times to give the impression that he was even considering the idea.
As Hiroshi droned on, Hisayuki thanked the gods that he’d paused at the beginning of the meeting and hadn’t started as he had initially planned—namely, to relate to Hiroshi what he had learned early that morning from Hideki Shimoda, his New York City saiko-komon . At nine-thirty he’d had a call from Hideki, who reported that as ordered, the threat to Kyoto University’s iPS patents had been significantly reduced because, as requested, Satoshi and his family had been eliminated.
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