Chapter 506 Special Interview

November 10, 1991, happened to be the fourth month after the Takeshita family collected necessities and food from the Agricultural Federation Association.

The Agricultural Federation controls core industries such as agriculture, forestry, and fishery. Even though the three pillars of the old era have been gradually replaced, due to the scarcity of land in Japan and the extremely precious vegetables and fruits, these industries still have great value and profits.

The government's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is the immediate boss of the Agricultural Federation. The original minister was Ryutaro Hashimoto, but now he is succeeded by a middle-aged man named Ichiro Kuroda, an important backbone of the Hashimoto faction in the Liberal Democratic Party.

Ichiro Kuroda is a member of Ryutaro Hashimoto, and is naturally a loyal supporter of the Kitahara clan. He is always paying attention to changes in prices. Since the Agricultural Federation Association secretly sold necessities, grain and other goods to the Takeshita family, domestic prices in Japan have It started to rise quietly.

Kitahara Sosuke bought half of the remaining supplies, and now only less than a quarter of the original remains. Once a supplies crisis breaks out, it will definitely become a major disaster that spreads across the country.

Ichiro Kuroda did not want to bear such charges during his term. He also contacted the six presidents who controlled the Agricultural Federation Association. The leader, President Maeda, always played Tai Chi with him and had no intention of solving the problem. He kept going back and forth. , Kuroda Ichiro gave up the negotiation.

He was monitoring on behalf of them, but he had no idea about Hashimoto Ryutaro and Kitahara Sosuke's plans.

But now, four months have passed, and domestic prices in Japan have skyrocketed by 18%, which means that a product that originally cost 100 yen now costs 118 yen. From a numerical point of view, it seems that the horror of rising prices cannot be felt, but this is coverage When it comes to the increase in all commodities, for those people who live an ordinary life of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, this level of increase is very obvious.

"Things seem to have become a little more expensive."

"Before, the marble soda only cost 50 yen, but now it costs 58 yen!"

Similar complaints are heard endlessly. People's dissatisfaction can be heard walking on the street, in ramen shops, and in parks.

In order to ensure the supply of necessities and materials in the six major cities, supply chains in remote areas and suburban counties in the country have actually been cut off!

When Ichiro Kuroda received similar information, fortunately, his staff rushed to deal with it quickly and did not let the situation escalate further. Otherwise, the prime minister's cabinet, which was under economic pressure, would have another reason to be impeached, which would be really difficult.

During the previous prime ministers and cabinets, he was unable to enter the center of power and was always the most marginalized figure in the Liberal Democratic Party. This was something that could not be helped. He was from an ordinary background, had no support from a wealthy family, and his wife was just an ordinary public servant. , even though both of them graduated from the Faculty of Law of Tokyo University and have a certain social circle, they are still too young to compete with those wealthy families.

If Ryutaro Hashimoto hadn't come to visit him in person, he wouldn't have even thought that he would succeed this big boss in controlling the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries!

Even if the person who really holds power is Hashimoto Ryutaro, he is very satisfied.

This is the beginning of something further!

Therefore, Ichiro Kuroda likes the current prime minister's cabinet very much.

His Excellency Tomiichi Murayama is older and more stable. He is not as ambitious as Miyazawa Kiichi, Takeshita Noboru and others. He often retreats to the second line and is always silent during cabinet meetings. Although he is a bit of a failure as prime minister, such a leader is Make people feel comfortable.

As long as he is still in office, his position as minister will not be shaken.

Therefore, the current economic crisis and inflation must not be allowed to affect the prestige of the Prime Minister's cabinet.

As Ichiro Kuroda walked in the corridor, the public officials who came and went bowed to him and stood on both sides. This feeling of respect fascinated him.

Half an hour ago, he suddenly received a secret message from Ryutaro Hashimoto, asking him to go to the General Affairs Office building for talks.

It was probably the material crisis that broke out in that suburban county that disturbed Minister Hashimoto. Kuroda Ichiro thought about his words during the interview for a while, his expression solemn.

It would not be a good thing if Murayama Tomiichi's cabinet was forced to step down at this time.

Arriving at the office door, before knocking on the door, Kuroda Ichiro heard a familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

Kitahara Sosuke!

He's in it too!

It stands to reason that non-public employees cannot enter and leave important government agencies like the General Affairs Office at will to avoid leaking secrets. However, Kitahara Sosuke is different. He is now a specialist in Tokyo Kyodo Bank. Tokyo Kyoto belongs to the Financial Services Agency and is considered half of the government. Institution.

After knocking on the door, the conversation inside suddenly stopped, and the voice of Ryutaro Hashimoto came.

"Please come in."

Ichiro Kuroda pushed open the door and found that inside were not only Sosuke Kitahara and Ryutaro Hashimoto, but also a young man with a shaved head.

"You're here, Ichiro." Ryutaro Hashimoto stood up with a smile, welcomed him into the office, and closed the door.

Kitahara Sosuke, who was sitting on the sofa, also stood up and bowed slightly. He remembered the name of this middle-aged man - Ichiro Kuroda, which was similar to the name of a well-known cartoonist.

Ryutaro Hashimoto was originally affected by Miyazawa Kiichi and was forced to leave the political arena. Later, he took the opportunity to come back and took a post in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which had a moderate power. Later, Sosuke Kitahara and him promoted the decomposition of the Ministry of Finance. Ryutaro Hashimoto Returning to the top again, the vacant position was given to Ichiro Kuroda.

At that time, Hashimoto Ryutaro also provided several other candidates for Kitahara Sosuke's reference. Kitahara Sosuke made repeated decisions and chose Kuroda Ichiro.

The reason is simple.

Kuroda Ichiro is a loyal backbone of the Hashimoto faction, and his own strength is weak, unlike others who are backed by various wealthy families.

Such people have a wild fire in their hearts and are also easy to control.

"This is our first meeting. Please give me your advice, Minister Kuroda. I am Sosuke Kitahara." He smiled and extended his hand.

This was indeed the first meeting between the two of them. They had only met on the phone before. Kuroda Ichiro also smiled and extended his hand: "Hello, President Kitahara, I can finally see your true face. You are indeed more handsome than in the photo." .”

"Minister Kuroda is also the youngest cabinet minister I have ever met." Kitahara Sosuke exchanged business blows with him for a while, then pulled him back to sit on the sofa and introduced the young man standing next to him, "This It’s our well-known reporter from Kitahara TV, Ryuya Saito.”

Saito Ryuya, who stood upright, was extremely shocked.

It is simply unimaginable that he can one day chat and laugh with cabinet ministers!

He is only 27 years old this year. Although he is the same age as Kitahara Sosuke, he still thinks of a rookie who has just entered the society. Among his college classmates at the same time, the best one is the bank section chief.

"Reporter Saito, hello." Kuroda Ichiro immediately searched for information in his mind, but unfortunately there seemed to be no information about Saito Ryuya.

"Hello, Minister Kuroda!" Saito Ryu didn't dare to neglect, bowing ninety degrees to show respect.

"Saito-san is the backbone elite of our Kitahara TV station. I came here this time to interview Minister Kuroda for a special interview program." Kitahara Sosuke smiled and pointed to the camera on the side.

Seeing a camera filming, Kuroda Ichiro immediately sat upright, rearranged his clothes, and asked with a smile: "Oh? Do a special interview program for me?"

"Yes, after the recording is completed, we will ask the best editor to make it into a video and publish it on the TV station." Kitahara Sosuke smiled and nodded.

"That's no problem at all." Ichiro Kuroda replied, "As long as it doesn't involve government secrets, I will tell you everything I know."

"Then please answer my first question, Minister Kuroda, I heard that an appalling material shortage broke out in Miyagi Prefecture. Is this true?"

Saito Ryuya pushed up his glasses and said something shocking.