In 1983, Japan was still prospering. Although it could not be said to be at its peak, it was still at its peak.
Therefore, when you visit Japan at this time, you can definitely experience the charm of a modern developed country. At least for a Chinese at this time, as long as you come to Japan at this time, you will be shocked by everything here and even feel ashamed.
For example, the two "secretaries" brought by Cao Zhiqiang, Anping and Xu Chun, felt a severe impact when they followed Cao Zhiqiang and went shopping with brother and sister Masashi Sada.
In fact, when they walked out of the airport and took the monorail, Anping and Xuchun were greatly shocked. After all, this place was too modern and too clean.
That's right, let's not mention modernization, let's just talk about cleanliness. Tokyo at this time is really doing very well, far better than Tokyo in 2023.
Looking back at the current domestic situation, neither Beijing nor Shanghai can compare with Tokyo.
All in all, at least in terms of modernization and urban construction, there is indeed a big gap between the domestic capital and Tokyo at this time. They are simply two worlds apart.
Even though Anping and Xu Chun were both special staff and had received strict training, they gradually became taciturn when they saw this scene.
Without him, I was so touched that I felt depressed.
Cao Zhiqiang, on the other hand, kept talking and laughing, neither making a fuss nor showing a heavy expression. He seemed to feel that everything was normal and no big deal.
And his normality is not the kind of forced smile he pretends to be, he is really relaxed. Just like Sada Masashi and the others, it is all about pure fun and enjoyment, without the slightest psychological touch.
This may seem abnormal, but it is actually quite normal.
There is no other reason, just because Cao Zhiqiang traveled through this place, and later generations have already experienced this.
In the era when Cao Zhiqiang lived, China's urban construction, especially modernization, was much better than Tokyo in 1983.
On the contrary, in the city of Tokyo, after 2023, many places have actually lagged behind Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and most of them are resting on their laurels.
Therefore, from the perspective of his predecessor, Cao Zhiqiang did not feel that Tokyo was very great at this time, only that it was average.
In particular, the road was not very wide and there were telephone poles everywhere, which gave Cao Zhiqiang a very bad impression.
Compared with the criss-crossing transmission lines in the city, Cao Zhiqiang still prefers the simplicity of the later dynasty where most of the wires are underground.
To put it simply, although Ginza is good, after actually shopping around, Cao Zhiqiang found that it was just like that, which did not surprise him. It was just that there were more famous brand stores.
Relatively speaking, he prefers places like Ueno Park, which has beautiful scenery and well-maintained facilities. However, compared to the later scenic spots in Tianchao, it still seems a bit petty.
Cao Zhiqiang also knew that this comparison was inappropriate. After all, he was comparing the Chinese capital in 2323 to Tokyo in 1983, which was obviously different.
And strictly speaking, compared to the city scenery, Tokyo is actually more refined, while the capital of China is more rough and wild.
To put it bluntly, it was the capital city of the Celestial Dynasty, with relatively little historical preservation and not many real scenic spots, not even as good as Jinling City.
Cao Zhiqiang felt that it would have been much better if he had listened to Liang Sicheng's suggestion and retained the original ancient city of Peiping and built a new one in the west of Peiping.
But now, these can only be expressed with emotion. After all, what has happened cannot be changed.
Due to the limited time, I only had half a day to explore, so I could only take a quick tour. I didn’t go to many famous places in Tokyo, and I didn’t go to many interesting places.
Fortunately, we have plenty of time and we have a long time to come, so we can take our time to wander around and experience it.
Taking advantage of a break while sitting on a bench by the roadside, Cao Zhiqiang took the initiative to chat in Chinese with Anping, who was in a heavy mood: "Why, Lao An, your face is so heavy, are you too tired, or are you still in a bad mood?"
Anping subconsciously looked around and found that no one was looking at them, so he said to Cao Zhiqiang next to him: "President Cao..."
"Hey, don't call me president at this time." Cao Zhiqiang chuckled, "You are older than me, in private, please call me Xiao Cao."
"It's better to call President Cao to avoid any misunderstandings." Anping said with a slight smile.
Immediately afterwards, Anping sighed with a sigh on his face: "Although I only heard about it before, I didn't see it. But now when I really come here, I find that the gap between us and them is really huge. I don't know when and how long it will take." To get to where they are now, fifty years, or a hundred years?”
Cao Zhiqiang chuckled: "Don't worry, it won't take fifty or a hundred years, but at most forty years, we will be able to reach or even catch up with today's Tokyo."
"How is that possible?" Anping smiled and shook his head.
"Is there anything impossible about this?" Cao Zhiqiang chuckled, "If you don't believe it, just wait and see. Anyway, forty years is not long. With a snap of your fingers, you can live a good life and you will see it soon."
"I hope so." An Ping smiled lightly.
"Cheer up!" Cao Zhiqiang patted Anping on the shoulder and said with a smile, "If you want the country to be prosperous and strong, you must not be discouraged or depressed. You must have confidence in yourself, and then go step by step, and in the process of catching up, use Use your own hands to build the country better and better.
Instead of fishing in the abyss, it is better to retreat and build a net, do what we can do, that is enough, and leave the rest to God's will, what do you think? "
Anping smiled: "You are very optimistic, but I am a party member and do not believe in the feudal superstition of God's will."
"How can this be feudal superstition?" Cao Zhiqiang chuckled, "God's will, or it can be said to be destiny. The essence of our country is actually a civilization. As long as the core of civilization does not fall, even if it falls behind for a while, sooner or later it will rise again. .
Even though Japan seems to be doing well now, it is actually a country that is cooking under fire and has inherent deficiencies. Strictly speaking, it is a colony of the United States.
However, Japan is so proud now that it has forgotten its identity as a colony and even wants to break away from the shackles of the sovereign state. This is a recipe for disaster.
Therefore, Japan's disaster is just around the corner.
You see, in a few years, this country will be beaten to death by their suzerain boss, the United States, and will be stagnant for a long time.
At that time, it will be our chance to start catching up.
All in all, don't be fooled by the superficial prosperity of this country.
In the final analysis, this is a country with no autonomy and a colony of the United States.
As long as this attribute remains unchanged, all prosperity is like the moon in the water, and it all depends on the face of the suzerain country.
We are different.
Although we are very poor now, we are an independent and sovereign country. We have eliminated all the troubles and travel lightly. Our size is not comparable to that of Japan.
So, don’t be dazzled by temporary strength or weakness.
We have such a large territory and population, rich resources, unified culture, and a relatively simple ethnic structure. These are the basic conditions for a modern and powerful country.
On the other hand, Japan is far from our basic market.
Even if Japan's current people's livelihood economy is indeed quite good, it actually doesn't matter when it comes to the competition between major powers.
The future is ours after all, we must have confidence in ourselves.
In other words, our comparison target is only the United States. As for Japan, it is just a dog. Who can compare with whom? "
"Haha." Anping smiled, "You seem to look down on this country very much, but this country is clearly ahead of us in many fields, and it even beat us to the point of losing our temper. If it hadn't been for the fact that it later provoked the American guy by seeking death. , it is very likely that our country will be destroyed.”
"Nonsense." Cao Zhiqiang curled his lips, "It's not that I look down on Japan. Let's not talk about their current technological leadership. In fact, it is the result of deliberate feeding by the United States. Let's talk about the Anti-Japanese War. Even if Japan did not take action against the United States, it would not be able to defeat China. .
The reason is very simple, the strength is too weak! "
"Oh." Anping looked at Cao Zhiqiang, smiled and said, "That's not a small statement. The Japanese Empire was one of the main forces in Japan at that time. Is this still too weak?"
"Of course." Cao Zhiqiang chuckled, "Actually, when it comes to the Communist Party of that year, in terms of overall strength, even if they were all added up, they couldn't beat the United States, let alone the Soviet Union, the British, the French and the Chinese.
So judging from the conspiracy theory of who benefits and who is the most suspect, World War II was basically caused by the United States.
For example, Germany or Japan, which one was not milked by the United States back then? No, was it fed?
After raising a wolf cub, biting the old British and French, and bringing down the older countries, you can come to power and become the boss.
It's just a pity that the United States had a good idea, but the actual execution went wrong. Unexpectedly, it not only fed itself, but also raised the monster of the Soviet Union, which led to the current Cold War model of two powers competing for hegemony.
But you see, this model of two-power struggle for hegemony will not last long. At best, the Soviet Union will collapse early next year, and then become the only country dominated by the United States.
By then, no, there is no need to wait until then. At this time, the United States is already impatient and is waiting to kill dogs for meat.
Therefore, a country like Japan is actually very sad. Even if you are living a good life now, you will be ripped off sooner or later if you make a list.
To put it more vividly, this country is like a pig being raised in captivity.
When there is no fat, it is okay when the owner is not hungry, but once the owner is hungry and the pig becomes fat, it is time to kill the pig for meat.
Do you really think this kind of country is very good? "
"What's your point of view?" Xu Chun, who had been silent next to him, couldn't help but said, "It's too alarmist."
"Yes." Anping also said seriously, "President Cao, optimism and confidence are a good thing, but blind confidence is arrogance."
Cao Zhiqiang looked at Anping and then at Xu Chun, who also had a serious face. He moved his mouth and was about to continue the debate.
But soon, he shrugged boredly.
Yes, there is no point in arguing with them, so what if you win.
What's more, they may not win yet. After all, this is not the confident era of 2023 when they are attacking the boss, but the inferiority era of 1983.
Very few people can see things from the front and back, and have not personally experienced the country's prosperity. Naturally, they do not have that kind of arrogance and confidence.
In this period, if you say how strong your country is and how great its potential is, you will be despised and ridiculed. It is generally correct to say that the West is strong and the West is awesome.
The backbone of the country and the nation has been interrupted for a long time. Now most Chinese people have not straightened up and habitually worship foreign countries.
Even the professionals in the two special departments of Anping and Xu Chun just felt heavy-hearted, a kind of mournful force of a weak country struggling, and did not have the mentality of a big country that suppresses small bullies.
So, what are you fighting for? What is there to fight for?
Different ways don't work together. For these two people, it's enough to make good use of them.
Thinking of this, Cao Zhiqiang smiled: "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore, but you two have to be careful and don't show such a heavy expression of concern for the country and the people all day long.
Remember, you two are ordinary college students, my secretaries, and you are here to see me abroad.
So, be happy, even if you say ya za hoo, just don't look serious.
You are so worried about the country and the people, anyone who sees it will be suspicious.
As I said before, behave more like a young person who likes to pursue fashion and novelty. Be more lively and advocating foreign things, so that you won't be suspected by others. Do you understand? "
Anping and Xu Chun looked at each other and nodded together.
Immediately afterwards, Anping and Xu Chun's expressions changed. They were no longer concerned about the country and the people, with their brows furrowed and their mouths pursed. Instead, their faces were full of excitement, as if they were curious about and excited about everything they saw. .
"That's right!" Cao Zhiqiang snapped his fingers and said with a smile, "This is just right! This is in line with the characteristics of the times."
After saying that, when he saw Masashi Sada and the others walking over with ice cream cones, Cao Zhiqiang stood up on his own initiative and said, "They are back. Let's continue shopping and eating. We must let them fulfill their duties as landlords."
Next, Cao Zhiqiang and others continued shopping with the Sada brothers and sisters.
After receiving Cao Zhiqiang's instructions, Anping and Xu Chun no longer had heavy expressions. Instead, they both acted cheerfully and lively. They seemed to be fresh and curious about everything around them, and they kept asking Reiko Sada and Shigeri Sada to ask questions. West.
On the contrary, Cao Zhiqiang did not participate in it. Instead, he got together with Masashi Sada and chatted while shopping.
Cao Zhiqiang is not interested in the so-called advanced electrical appliances or fashionable clothes. He is more interested in various tape records.
That's it for cassettes and vinyl records. What attracts Cao Zhiqiang the most is actually CD records.
When I asked Masashi Sada, I learned that CD records and CD players had been commercialized in Japan as early as last year, that is, they had been launched on the market.
However, because today's CD machines are too expensive, CDs are also too expensive, so the CDs at this time are generally the enduring ones of classical music.
Like pop music, the mainstream at this time was still cassettes and vinyl records.
Among them, cassettes are a more popular music medium, while vinyl records are a bit more high-end and are generally only played by those with petty bourgeoisie and above. But in general, vinyl records are not unusual.
In addition, the price of cassettes in Japan at this time was also very high.
Take Masashi Sada as an example. He released a single cassette at this time. The price of a cassette is around 3,500 yen. Based on the exchange rate of yen to RMB 120 to 1 at this time, that is about 29 yuan per cassette. It is more than five times and nearly six times the price of a tape in China.
Blank tapes are cheaper, but they also cost 1,500 yen, which is equivalent to RMB 12.5 yuan per tape.
In other words, if calculated according to the market price, Masashi Sada released a single tape for 3,500 yen, leaving aside the tape price of 1,500 yen, leaving a premium income of 2,000 yen.
It seems that the price of selling a tape of pop songs in Japan is very high, but there are also many institutions waiting to score.
According to Masashi Sada, the Japanese record industry is now very sound, especially the share ratio, which is basically fixed.
Masashi Sada has a premium of 2,000 yen because he has recently become a popular singer. Most singers have a premium of 1,000 yen, which means that it is common for a tape to sell for 2,500 yen.
Generally speaking, singers can get 0.5% of the selling price. Only popular singers, such as Akina Nakamori and Masashi Sada, can get 1% or more.
For example, today's Masashi Sada, he can now get 1% of the selling price, which is 3500 yen. He can get 35 yen.
However, lyricists and composers receive more, each receiving 2% of the selling price, which is 70 yen.
If the lyrics and music are written by the same person, then they are combined together, that is, they can get 140 yen.
Even if you write lyrics, compose music and sing, you can only get 5% of the selling price, before tax.
For example, for a 3,500 yen tape, if the songwriter and singer are both the same person, then he can get 175 yen, which is only 1.45 yuan in RMB!
From this perspective, the money you get from being a singer in Japan is not much different from being a singer in mainland China.
Of course, this is Cao Zhiqiang’s personal situation.
After all, he has his own record company in mainland China, and he has the final say in releasing records. Of course, he can get a high share of the profits for himself.
If it were other ordinary mainland singers, they would never get the profit sharing model for releasing a tape in mainland China at this time.
The reason is very simple. The record distribution model in mainland China at this time is not a share-sharing system, but an employment system. That is, the record company finds a singer to sing, and then the singer releases many records. The profit has nothing to do with the singer. At most, if the performance is good, the singer will be given more bonuses. .
If the song you sing has more than a million tapes distributed in China, and the record company can give you a reward of 10,000 yuan, you are already very conscientious.
For example, Li Lingyu later recorded an album in the mid-1980s and sold eight million copies, but she only received a bonus of 40,000 yuan.
Therefore, if other mainland singers come to Japan and become popular, it will indeed be more profitable.
But for Cao Zhiqiang, if Japan's sharing model is followed, even if he becomes a popular singer like Masashi Sada, the actual money he will receive is not much.
Unless, like in mainland China, he has his own record distribution company in Japan, and he can have the final say on the release of records.
But unfortunately, this idea is just a thought.
Because Japan looks very Western, but in fact it is very xenophobic, especially since he is Chinese.
Unless he marries a Japanese wife and then opens a record company here in the name of her Japanese wife.
Or, find a particularly reliable Japanese partner, open a company in Japan in the name of a joint venture, and the president must be Japanese.
In any case, it is very troublesome for a foreigner to make the most money in Japan.
Unless he is American.
But the problem is, he is not!
Don't want to be either.
(End of chapter)
