kvmb Chapter 154 A Declaration Against the Current
Chapter 154 A Declaration Against the Current
10:00 AM.
Kasumigaseki, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) building.
The phone in the Director of the Bureau of Industrial Policy's office hadn't stopped ringing since morning. Protests from retail associations, grievances from small and medium-sized business owners, and even inquiries from some bigwigs within the ruling party came in like a tidal wave.
The bureau chief hung up the phone from Darong Group, his face ashen.
"It's all in chaos."
He loosened his tie and paced restlessly around the office.
The implementation of the consumption tax was already fraught with resistance. The government barely managed to get the business community to accept the tacit understanding of "passing on costs across the entire industry" through various forms of publicity and reassurance. Everyone raised prices together, so no one lost out, and the public would just complain a bit and then accept it.
But now, the Saionji family has stepped forward.
If SA Group doesn't raise prices, what will happen to other businesses? If they don't raise prices either, they'll have to pay out of their own pockets, and many will go out of business. If they do raise prices, customers will go to Saionji's stores, and many will still go out of business.
This is disrupting the order of "harmony (Wa)".
"Director, Mr. Shuichi Saionji has arrived," the secretary reported quietly as she opened the door.
"Let him in."
The bureau chief retie his tie, sat back down at his desk, and adopted a serious, bureaucratic expression.
A few seconds later, Shuichi walked in.
He was wearing a dark gray double-breasted suit, carrying a black top hat, walking with composure, and wearing a gentle and humble smile.
"Your Excellency, I apologize for disturbing you amidst your busy schedule."
Shuichi bowed slightly, handed his top hat to the attendant behind him, and then walked straight to the guest seat and sat down.
"Saionji-kun."
The director didn't have tea served. He placed his hands on the table, his gaze sharply fixed on Xiu Yi.
"Today's newspapers are making quite a stir."
"It's just a little bit of commercial promotion," Shuichi replied with a smile. "To give back to our customers."
"Giving back to customers?"
The director snorted and took out a document from his drawer, which was the "Guiding Opinions on Maintaining Fair Market Competition".
"Saionji-kun, do you know how much effort the government has put into implementing the new tax law? The current situation is very fragile. If the 'unconventional' actions of one company cause the entire price system in the distribution chain to collapse, it could trigger expectations of deflation..."
The bureau chief leaned forward and emphasized his words.
"This is a national calamity."
"Please consider the bigger picture. Withdraw GG and implement tax-inclusive pricing according to industry standards."
This is an order, not a discussion.
In Japan, while the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's (MITI) "administrative guidance" lacks legal force, no company dares to ignore it. This is because MITI controls import and export quotas, industry subsidies, and countless hidden approval powers.
Xiuyi looked at the bureau chief's oppressive face.
He showed no sign of panic.
He slowly took a document out of his briefcase. The cover bore the crest of Saionji Industrial Co., Ltd.
"Your Excellency, I fully understand the 'overall situation' you mentioned."
Xiu Yi handed over the document with both hands.
"However, I would also like you to take a look at this data."
The bureau chief took the document with suspicion and opened it.
That was a document titled "S-Mart and S-Style Supply Chain Cost Structure and Affordable Grocery Basket Plan".
The first page is a cost accounting sheet from a Shanghai factory. The purchase price of cotton yarn, labor costs, water and electricity bills, transportation costs... every figure is accurate to two decimal places. And in the "Comprehensive Cost per Unit" column at the very bottom, the figure is shockingly low.
The second page is a direct supply list of agricultural products from S-Farm in Hokkaido. Potatoes, onions, rice. No middlemen, no layers of markups from agricultural cooperatives, straight from the field to the factory, and then to the shelves of S-Mart.
The third page is an analysis of S-Mart's operating model: warehouse-style display, minimalist SKUs, and membership-based prepayment.
The director became increasingly alarmed as he looked at it.
"this……"
He looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Is this true?"
"Absolutely true." Shuichi nodded frankly. "This is the result of the Saionji family's global expansion over the past three years. Our costs are only 60% of the industry average."
Shuichi leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Your Excellency, we are not dumping. Even if we maintain the original price, even if we pay the 3% tax on behalf of our customers, we still have a profit. And it's a reasonable profit."
This is called the "distribution revolution".
Shuichi's gaze sharpened.
"Isn't the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's (MITI) mission to encourage companies to reduce costs through technological innovation and management optimization?"
"Does the government really want businesses to use the consumption tax as a pretext to inflate prices and let inflation devour the wallets of the people?"
The bureau chief opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.
If the Saionji family were operating at a loss to gain publicity, he could use "unfair competition" as a pretext to criticize them. But they reduced costs through their own abilities, which aligns with the core capitalist value of "efficiency."
If he were to force the Saionji family to raise prices now, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry would be seen as a criminal for "obstructing companies from reducing costs and increasing efficiency" and "colluding with unscrupulous merchants to exploit the people."
"But..." the director wiped the sweat from his brow, "what about the other companies? They don't have a supply chain like yours..."
That's their problem.
Shuichi interrupted him, his voice gentle yet possessing a beauty that seemed indifferent to the fate of others.
"In a market economy, the fittest survive. If we demand that those who are running fast stop and wait just because others are slower, how can this country progress?"
He stood up and picked up his top hat.
"Your Excellency, I think you are well aware of the significant public discontent. The government needs a 'pressure relief valve'."
"S-Mart is willing to act as a pressure relief valve. We want to tell the public that the cost of living can be controlled and prices can remain stable."
"Isn't this helping the government maintain 'stability'?"
The bureau chief looked at Xiu Yi.
He suddenly realized that he was being completely led by the nose by the other party. Righteousness, economic logic, political considerations—every card the other party played was flawlessly executed.
"……I see."
The director closed the document and waved his hand weakly.
"Leave the documents. I will report to the minister."
"Thank you for your understanding, Director."
Xiu Yi bowed slightly, then turned and walked towards the door.
He stopped at the door and looked back.
"By the way, Director. I heard your daughter is also a student at St. Hua Academy?"
The bureau chief paused, then asked, "What... what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Xiu smiled. "My daughter Satsuki often mentions her, saying she's a very outstanding child. Perhaps we can let them get to know each other better sometime."
After saying that, he pushed open the door and left.
The bureau chief sat in his chair, staring at the closed door; his shirt was soaked with sweat.
He understood.
The Saionji family was reminding him.
In this circle, everyone is connected.
……
3 PM.
The streets of Tokyo.
Under a gloomy sky, a huge crane is slowly lifting a brand new sign.
That wasn't a traditional neon lightbox, but a huge, minimalist soft-light box.
White background, black text.
【S-Mart】
Next to it is a red square logo and a line of small text: Life Wear & Food.
Passersby stopped and looked up at the enormous thing that had suddenly appeared on the street corner.
"Is this the supermarket that the newspaper mentioned doesn't raise prices?"
"It looks so high-end, like an art museum."
"Is it really cheap? This kind of renovation..."
"Whatever, it's a membership system anyway. I heard that with a membership card, a box of eggs is only 10 yen!"
Discussions rose and fell.
Satsuki sat in the black sedan across the street, watching through the tinted windows as the sign was firmly fixed to the building's exterior wall.
"Young Miss".
Fujita Tsuyoshi sat in the driver's seat and glanced at the rearview mirror.
"It seems there's some activity at Daiei. President Nakauchi has gone to the Retailers Association."
"Let him go."
Satsuki held a biography of Walmart founder Sam Walton in her hand, without looking up.
"Lions don't need to heed the protests of the flock."
She closed the book and tapped her fingertips lightly on the cover.
"Is the lightbox lit up?"
Not yet, the circuit is being tested.
"Then wait a bit."
Satsuki looked out the window.
A few minutes later.
"Sizzle—"
A faint hum of electricity seemed to penetrate the noise of the street.
The huge lightbox suddenly lit up.
It wasn't a blinding white light, but a warm, soft glow, like that of a full moon. The light shone on the gray street, making it appear exceptionally clean, serene, and even somewhat sacred.
Bathed in this light, the colorful shop signs around them, plastered with "Big Sale" labels, suddenly seemed vulgar and unbearable.
"It's lit up."
Satsuki said softly.
She looked at the light, and S-Mart's image was reflected in her eyes.
"This is our lighthouse."
"In this era that is about to descend into chaos and inflation, we will use this lamp to attract all the moths in Tokyo."
……
……
……
At this point, some astute readers might ask: "Would this cold, minimalist, and sophisticated style of interior design have worked in Japan at the time? The Japanese didn't like that at all! They preferred visual noise and excitement! Author, you clearly don't understand Japan!" Here, please allow me to explain:
First, we need to understand the deepest psychological pain point of Japanese housewives in 1989: the pain of saving face at the cost of suffering. At the peak of this bubble economy, everyone was competing to be the most extravagant. Going to those traditional markets plastered with red bomb stickers, blaring loudspeakers, and littered with cardboard boxes to snatch up discounted vegetables, while affordable, would subconsciously create a sense of shame: "I'm getting poorer," "I'm haggling over a few dollars."
S-Mart's upscale decor is essentially a "fig leaf" for dignity. It provides housewives with a perfect psychological construct—"I come here to buy bargains not because I'm broke, but because I appreciate this sophisticated, rational lifestyle." It uses the environment of a high-end department store (like Takashimaya) to sell at market prices. This stark contrast gives consumers an ultimate sense of pleasure—"not only getting a good deal, but also maintaining dignity."
Secondly, there's the "visual noise reduction." At the time, the streets of Japan were indeed dazzling, even bordering on "light pollution." But in that high-saturation, high-noise carnival environment, the blank, quiet, and warm-toned spaces of S-Mart became a rare "spiritual sanctuary." Its quietness and soothing atmosphere offered a sophisticated sense of order, allowing people to pause in the bustling city.
Finally, and most importantly, this aesthetic has deep roots in Japan. Looking at the evolution of modern Japanese aesthetics, this minimalist, orderly, and refined style (such as the design language represented by Muji) is inherently part of Japanese cultural DNA, only temporarily obscured by the extravagance of the bubble economy era. Since this aesthetic reform was historically inevitable, why can't our protagonist personally ignite this revolution?
In conclusion, the author believes that the plan is logically consistent. If you have different opinions, please feel free to discuss them.