After Zaboru finished visiting his old school, another meeting was taking place on the government side. This time, 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 meeting 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 documents 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 immediately started a business, and now that business has become the biggest entertainment company in the world. That story really stirred young people, especially here in Japan, didn't it?" Keisuke asked. His assistant nodded in agreement, 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 become 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 men begin desperately looking for funding just to keep themselves afloat. Some rely heavily on their parents, slowly draining family savings and creating tension at home. Others turn to far worse options — loan sharks and underground lenders. As a result, we're seeing a noticeable rise in young debtors, unstable employment, and long-term unemployment 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 formed yakuza gang, founded by one of Hamazou's former higher-ups who defected when Hamazou decided to abandon its criminal past. His name is Take Takajima."
The assistant continued, his tone serious. "At the moment, 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 departments whose job is to deal with underworld matters." He straightened his posture and looked back at the documents on the table. "What we actually need to adjust is the young men problem. Which means… 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 troublesome," he replied. After hesitating for a brief moment, he carefully added, "Do you think… we can place some of the blame on Zaboru for this situation?"
Keisuke sighed again, this time more sharply, and immediately 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 came 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 become someone 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 something easily replicated," Keisuke continued. "Skipping education, rushing into business, and expecting immediate 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 immediately 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 come up with a solution. This can wait — it's not urgent for him — but for us, it's something we need to take very seriously."
Denzo then spoke again, his tone more cautious this time. "But ZAGE has also caused quite a few problems in Japan," he said. "Issues like video game addiction among young people, a noticeable lack of enthusiasm toward studying, and even rumors spreading that ZAGE is becoming a monopoly within the video game 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 games endlessly and to always manage their time 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' games. 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 moment, then added, "And do you know how much easier he's made my job? Ever since his company, ZAGE, rose to prominence, the department that benefited the most was mine. Economic growth, educational cooperation, international outreach — all of it helped us tremendously."
He leaned back slightly and sighed. "That's why, as the government — especially in my department — we need to maintain a good relationship with him. Besides, he's unlike most businessmen. 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 meeting 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 moment, 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 meetings with the relevant parties and discuss this thoroughly so we can determine the best possible approach," Kenji said firmly. "This isn't something we can solve with a single announcement 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 momentum now."
Denzo nodded in agreement and followed Kenji out of the room, both of them aware that this was only the beginning of a much larger challenge.
Meanwhile, 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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