3 bar menu

Chapter 46 – Talent Scouting?

While the new cabinet was busy maneuvering behind the scenes with budget planning, the Ootori zaibatsu was already making its next move.

I heard it somewhere—”War is always fought by thinking two or three moves ahead.”

That’s why, even though I’m still in the lower grades of elementary school, I’m doing grown-up-level work as the “Dreaming Miko.”
Honestly, I feel like I’m working more than I did in my past life.

(I kind of feel like I should be getting paid for this. I mean, weren’t villainous noble girls supposed to live in luxury and not work at all? Isn’t this weird?)

But no matter how much I think that, to everyone else, it just looks like a little girl complaining during pretend play—which is rough.

And while I’m grumbling in my head, reality drags me back in.

“Support for research at Tohoku University and assistance in acquiring technology patents, including overseas, huh.”

“That’s right. Oh, but for the support to Tohoku University, there are already individuals or groups who’ve been helping them, so make sure to coordinate with them properly. Also, send someone with technical knowledge to talk with Yagi, Uda, Okabe, and Takayanagi—the ones who developed the technology—and listen to them carefully.”

“I have no idea what this research is even going to be used for.”

“I don’t know the technical details either, but I know it’s going to be essential in the future.”

While Tokita took notes on the matter, my great-grandfather Souichirou listened to me with a half-doubtful look on his face.

Since this is about cutting-edge technology of the era, it seems a bit hard for them to grasp.

To be honest, I don’t fully understand it myself.
I only know the basics about things like the Yagi antenna—just surface-level knowledge

At best, I’ve seen it on old TV antennas or amateur radio setups.

However, after doing my own research—and having others investigate as well—about Japan’s industry, technology, and resources in this world, there’s one clear conclusion I’ve reached:

Japan has nothing.

People sometimes call Japan a treasure trove of underground resources, but that’s only true at the academic level.
There may be many types of resources, but almost none are present in large quantities.

Copper is a bit of an exception, but even that will need to be imported in about ten years.
And copper comes with its own issues—like toxic mining waste—which led to Japan’s first environmental pollution problem.

It really shows how the Meiji government essentially built modern Japan with just rice and mulberry trees (plus silkworms).

It’s a harsh reminder of how poor Japan is compared to other countries.

And when you realize that, it really feels poor, whether you want to admit it or not.

The one small saving grace is that there’s a decent amount of coal.
But even then, much of the domestic coal is of poor quality.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese Navy used high-quality British coal, while the British halted coal exports to Russia.
As a result, the Russian Navy had to rely on lower-quality Japanese coal, imported via countries like Germany—or so the story goes.

In other words, even Japan itself preferred not to use its own coal unless it had to.

All this only reinforces the conclusion that Japan’s most important resource is its people.

That’s why financial support for Tohoku University is part of a bigger strategy.
Back then, Tohoku University made globally recognized breakthroughs precisely because of generous local support.

Fukuzawa Yukichi(a character from Bungo Stray Dogs) really was right.

“Well, I’ll chalk this up to an investment in the future—but are you saying our zaibatsu should get into the electricity business?”

“Even if we don’t do it ourselves, we can just buy up a company if needed. We do have money, don’t we?”

I glanced at Tokita as I said this, and he gave a wry smile in return.

“With the buying and selling that Miss Reiko originally advised us to do, we’ve done quite well.”

“It’s scary how accurate it all was—well, I guess it’s because we knew in advance. By the way, Mitsubishi has been following our lead and started buying Dow index stocks since about last summer.”

“That’s great. Maybe we can use that to call in a favor later.”

“More likely they’ll complain about it. So, are we going ahead with the purchase?”

“Electrical appliances are still just getting started, so they won’t become a major business right away. More than that, I want to focus on laying the groundwork—or rather, doing some early talent scouting—for the mechanical industry, which is going to grow from here. Here’s the list.”

Saying that, I showed the compiled document to the two of them.

Today, both onii-sama and Grandfather were busy with their main duties in the army, so they weren’t at the mansion.

“True, these are all machine-related, but I hardly recognize any of the names.”

“If it’s about machinery, we should’ve called in Torasaburou.”

“Miss Reiko, this Kawanishi Machinery Works—do they make cars or trains?”

“No. That’s aircraft. It was started by someone who split off from Nakajima Aircraft. It’s under the Kawanishi Zaibatsu, and I believe they’re beginning to make flying boats. Get in touch with them and, if possible, invest a large sum. I want them to eventually make passenger planes.”

“Understood. But aircraft, huh…”

“Yeah. Right now, seaplanes are still mainstream, and in Japan’s case, building airfields all over the country won’t happen for a long time. I figured we could connect distant places by using large flying boats, which would be cheaper than building infrastructure.”

“I see your point. But is that the only company involved with aircraft? Then, what about this spinning company?”

Now my great-grandfather asked with a slightly puzzled tone.

If you didn’t know the background, you’d naturally wonder why it was on the list.

“That one, have Uncle Torasaburou go there. I’ve heard the inventor knows him, but they might not even have a company yet. Also, it’s not just that one, but there’s someone there who wants to make automobiles.

The company in Hiroshima just rebuilt after a fire, so let’s give them American-made cars or trucks and have them make replicas before someone else takes them. If possible, have Uncle Torasaburou handle that discussion as well.”

“Hiroshima is considered part of the Ootori family’s base. Even if the local banks are involved in something, it should be easy to intervene. In some cases, it might be worth swallowing up the bank itself. It likely has that kind of value.”

“There should be someone like Uncle Torasaburou there.”

“It seems there are people like him all around. Still, this is quite an unusual series of stories. Now, about this company in Ishikawa?”

“Well, for now, let’s give them heavy machinery and tractors collected from all over the world. And also provide financial assistance. The same goes for the others, but I think low-interest loans will be fine. And be careful with this one. The founder is a relative of Yoshida Shigeru from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“Yoshida Shigeru… Makino, huh? That will require some groundwork.”

“Yes. But the company itself should be small.”

“If it’s a small or struggling company, we wouldn’t mind acquiring it and bringing it into our fold. Also, about the last company—should we have them make tanks?”

“Huh? Can anyone besides the army make tanks?”

At this, my great-grandfather furrows his brow.

“Actually, it’s the opposite. Right now, the army’s factory in Osaka is developing them, but the truth is, there’s no place in Japan that has the technology to make tanks. The military is still in the process of figuring it out from scratch. Tatsuya, who’s involved, had a sour look on his face. He said it’s still too difficult for Japan.”

“If my onii-sama is in trouble, we’ll make them work on it with all our might. But then again, it’s not like civilians can get their hands on an actual tank.”

I inadvertently stand up, clenching my fists at my chest in a strong pose, but quickly realize the issue is more complicated than I thought.

“If we make something with a tracked system, then if we have Kiichirou and Tatsuya work on it and place an order, we should be able to provide tanks from the last war that the military bought from the UK and France as a technological sample.”

“I see. So, are you buying the whole company?”

“Unless another zaibatsu has already gotten involved, it’ll depend on their intentions. The companies you’ve mentioned, Reiko, will likely grow big.”

“I can’t say for sure if it’ll turn out the way I saw in my dream, but in my dream, all of these companies grow, and they end up becoming the ones to lead Japan through the different eras.”

“Is there more?”

“Regardless of whether we bring them under our wing or not, I want to eventually rationalize production management to prepare for competition with overseas companies. It’s not about craftsmanship, but rather setting up many machine tools that anyone can use and produce in large quantities, like Ford.”

“Well then…”

Tokita interjects.

“As expected of Tokita, he knows everything.”

“I happen to know an economist who’s acquainted with Torasaburou. How about we ask him for his cooperation?”

“Please do. If possible, I’d even like to have him fully take on the management of our entire zaibatsu.”

“That’s a bit too hasty, and we also have many small factories. First, we’ll start by acquiring small companies and building a system that can compete with other zaibatsu.”

“Got it.”

And so, the scheming continued.

Everything mentioned here is only possible because of the cheat-like future knowledge and the growing wealth at my disposal.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Yagi, Uda, Okabe, Takayanagi

Doctors who made new inventions at Tohoku University.
They invented the Yagi antenna, magnetron, and electronic television, similar to fish bones.

However, many of their inventions were not understood in Japan at the time, and it wasn’t until they saw them being used overseas that their value was recognized.

Companies mentioned in the discussion:

Kawanishi Machine Works = Kawanishi Aircraft
Spinning Company = Toyota Automatic Loom Works = Toyota Motor Corporation
Hiroshima Company = Toyo Kogyo = Mazda Motor Corporation
Ishikawa Company = Komatsu Limited

Economist
In this era, it would likely be Yoichi Ueno.
Although he didn’t achieve much prominence in pre-war history, there were indeed such talents in pre-war Japan hidden somewhere.