After Zaboru finished visiting his old school, another eting was taking place on the governnt side. This ti, it was within the Ministry of Education of Japan. Inside a quiet conference room, the Minister of Education, Sports, Culture, Science, and Technology, Keisuke Adachihara himself, was eting with one of his assistants. Their discussion revolved around an increasingly unpleasant issue — the noticeable decline in the number of young high school students applying to universities.
"So," Keisuke said as he reviewed the docunts in front of him, "the major reason behind this trend is Zaboru Renkonan's history, right?" He looked up, his expression serious. "A high school graduate who imdiately started a business, and now that business has beco the biggest entertainnt company in the world. That story really stirred young people, especially here in Japan, didn't it?" Keisuke asked. His assistant nodded in agreent, preparing to elaborate further.
"The decrease over the last four years is around eight percent of total high school graduates who would normally go on to university," the assistant explained. "It's not that universities are losing their appeal or relevance. Rather, within that eight percent, a significant portion of young people want to directly follow Zaboru Renkonan's footsteps. They believe that skipping higher education and jumping straight into business will lead them to similar success. A small number of them do manage to beco decent or moderately successful, but the vast majority fail in their attempts at starting and sustaining a business."
He continued carefully, choosing his words with caution. "When that happens, many of these young n begin desperately looking for funding just to keep themselves afloat. So rely heavily on their parents, slowly draining family savings and creating tension at ho. Others turn to far worse options — loan sharks and underground lenders. As a result, we're seeing a noticeable rise in young debtors, unstable employnt, and long-term unemploynt among youths, which is rapidly developing into a serious social problem."
Keisuke Adachihara's eyes widened in disbelief. "Loan sharks? Is it Hamazou?" he asked sharply. "I thought Hamazou was done with illegal activities?"
His assistant shook his head slowly. "That's true, sir. Hamazou itself is no longer involved in loan shark operations," he explained. "However, the activity didn't disappear. It was taken over by a new group — the Takajima Family. They're a newly ford yakuza gang, founded by one of Hamazou's forr higher-ups who defected when Hamazou decided to abandon its criminal past. His na is Take Takajima."
The assistant continued, his tone serious. "At the mont, the Takajima Family is effectively replacing Hamazou in the underworld, at least in certain regions. And even though Hamazou now operates entirely within legal boundaries, they don't want any yakuza groups interfering with their legitimate businesses. That tension has made the situation much hotter than it appears on the surface."
Keisuke let out a long sigh, rubbing his temple lightly as if trying to push away the weight of the discussion. "Fine, enough about the yakuza," he said firmly. "That's below my pay grade anyway. There are other departnts whose job is to deal with underworld matters." He straightened his posture and looked back at the docunts on the table. "What we actually need to adjust is the young n problem. Which ans… many young people are falling into debt, aren't they?"
His assistant, Denzo Goto, nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, Adachihara-san. It's becoming quite troubleso," he replied. After hesitating for a brief mont, he carefully added, "Do you think… we can place so of the bla on Zaboru for this situation?"
Keisuke sighed again, this ti more sharply, and imdiately shook his head. "Absolutely not," he said without the slightest hesitation. "He isn't doing anything wrong. In fact, his company, ZAGE, has brought an enormous amount of positivity to Japan. Economically, culturally, and even indirectly to education itself." He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Jobs, innovation, global recognition — all of that ca from him even the rise of many Japanese capable speaking English are big part of ZAGE too."
He paused briefly before continuing, his tone turning more thoughtful. "What we need to do right now isn't blaming him. What we need is to make young people understand just how difficult it truly is to beco soone like Zaboru Renkonan." Keisuke tapped the table lightly. "His case is unrealistic. Zaboru Renkonan is a once-in-a-century individual. A statistical anomaly."
"We can't allow young people to believe that his path is sothing easily replicated," Keisuke continued. "Skipping education, rushing into business, and expecting imdiate success — that's a dangerous illusion. What they need is realistic expectations. They need to understand that success requires preparation, discipline, failure, and often a far more conventional route than the story they admire."
Denzo nodded and asked carefully, "Should we ask Zaboru to give a speech, then?"
Kenji chuckled imdiately and shook his head. "You really think you can ask Zaboru just like that, huh?" he said with a faint smile. "Please respect him more. He's a young billionaire, you know. We don't want to offend him." His tone turned more serious as he continued. "No, we won't ask him directly like this. Instead, I'll personally talk to him, explain that this kind of issue exists, and see whether that brilliant mind of his can co up with a solution. This can wait — it's not urgent for him — but for us, it's sothing we need to take very seriously."
Denzo then spoke again, his tone more cautious this ti. "But ZAGE has also caused quite a few problems in Japan," he said. "Issues like video ga addiction among young people, a noticeable lack of enthusiasm toward studying, and even rumors spreading that ZAGE is becoming a monopoly within the video ga industry."
Kenji let out a tired sigh and replied calmly, "Those are relatively common problems among young people, Denzo. Most of them will eventually grow out of it." He leaned forward slightly, his voice steady. "Besides, Zaboru himself is already aware of these situations. That's precisely why he constantly emphasizes to young people not to play video gas endlessly and to always manage their ti responsibly. He has never encouraged blind obsession."
Kenji continued, shifting to the monopoly accusation. "As for the monopoly rumors… Denzo, you do know that Zaboru is often labeled as a 'bad businessman,' right?" He gave a dry chuckle. "And do you know why? It's because he openly praises his competitors' gas. He promotes good products even when they aren't made by ZAGE."
He shook his head slowly. "I honestly don't know whether ZAGE wants to monopolize the industry or not. From what I see, it's not that ZAGE is crushing others — it's simply that ZAGE is far ahead of everyone else. And when one company keeps innovating while others fail to keep up, it naturally starts to look like ZAGE is the only one remaining."
Denzo scratched his head awkwardly. "Umm… Adachihara-san, are you perhaps a fan of Zaboru?" he asked half-jokingly.
Kenji laughed at that and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not a fan of him," he replied honestly. "But my kids are." He paused for a mont, then added, "And do you know how much easier he's made my job? Ever since his company, ZAGE, rose to prominence, the departnt that benefited the most was mine. Economic growth, educational cooperation, international outreach — all of it helped us trendously."
He leaned back slightly and sighed. "That's why, as the governnt — especially in my departnt — we need to maintain a good relationship with him. Besides, he's unlike most businessn. He isn't greedy, and he doesn't exploit his influence for personal gain."
Denzo let out a quiet sigh as he processed everything they had discussed. "I see… then when do you want to schedule a eting with Zaboru Renkonan?" he asked carefully. "He's often out of the country, after all, so it might be better to plan this from a long-term perspective."
Kenji fell silent for a mont, his gaze drifting toward the window as he thought it through. "Let's schedule it for August," he finally said. "Like I said before, it's not urgent for him. But for us, this issue is urgent." His tone was firm, leaving no room for doubt. "The longer this drags on, the harder it will be to manage the consequences."
"First, we need to hold etings with the relevant parties and discuss this thoroughly so we can determine the best possible approach," Kenji said firmly. "This isn't sothing we can solve with a single announcent or policy." He continued without pause. "Second, we need to act fast. The graduation dates this year are approaching, and the number of graduates is increasing. We must make these young people aware of the reality they're stepping into before they make irreversible decisions."
With that direction made clear, Kenji pushed his chair back and stood up, adjusting his jacket as if resetting his focus. "Let's go," he said decisively. "We still have a lot of work to do regarding this issue, and we can't afford to lose montum now."
Denzo nodded in agreent and followed Kenji out of the room, both of them aware that this was only the beginning of a much larger challenge.
anwhile, Zaboru was back in his office, a grin spreading across his face as new information about the Akai Z2 phones reached him.
To be continue
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