The Tyrant Billionaire

"This time, I brought back the entire $570 million from those sales. I will dedicate this money entirely to aid Japan and support its economic reconstruction."

The applause grew even louder.

This time, the applause was even more enthusiastic.

Words can be vague, but money is concrete. Right now, what Japan lacked most was funds. If Hardy could bring money, then they'd be willing to call him "emperor."

That's how simple it was.

...

The speech ended.

Hardy led a group of more than forty members of the Economic Advisory Group from the airport and checked into the Tokyo Imperial Hotel.

The Tokyo Imperial Hotel, built in 1923, is Japan's top-tier hotel. When General MacArthur first arrived, he also stayed here. Later, after the Allied headquarters was set up in the Dai-Ichi Building, MacArthur was provided with a Japanese-style estate, and only then did he move out of the hotel.

To ensure security,

Hardy specifically dispatched HD security personnel to Japan to be responsible for protection. They did not come with Hardy but were sent to Japan two months earlier. A total of more than 200 people had already purchased a location in Japan to establish an HD Security branch.

The security of the Economic Advisory Group was entrusted to HD Security, and naturally, the expenses were covered by the government, as Hardy and his team were acting on behalf of the government.

After flying for over ten hours, the members of the delegation were exhausted. They rested for the day, with a welcome reception organized by the Japanese government scheduled for two days later.

Meanwhile, journalists returned to their respective news agencies and got busy.

The arrival of the Economic Advisory Group and Hardy's speech at the airport revealed significant information.

The next morning, the headlines of every major newspaper focused on the arrival of the Economic Advisory Group in Tokyo and the content of Hardy's speech.

Yomiuri Shimbun.

"Yesterday, the U.S. Economic Advisory Group arrived in Tokyo to begin providing guidance on Japan's economic development. At the airport, the Economic Envoy delivered a speech..."

This was followed by the full transcript of Hardy's speech.

Certain parts were bolded, such as when Hardy said: "President Johnson has stated that Japan must completely rid itself of imperialist and Nazis ideology if it is to have any chance of rejoining the international community."

Following the transcript was an analytical commentary, which said:

"Hardy's statement suggests that Japan still has a chance to rejoin the international community. The obstacle remains those who started the war, their imperialist and Nazis ideologies, which dragged Japan into the abyss and remain the stumbling blocks to Japan's recovery."

Nikkei Shimbun:

"Envoy Hardy brings the latest aid, aiming to completely abandon the military-industrial complex and focus on developing the civilian sector. If Japan can become a production hub, it will create jobs for millions and rapidly restore the economy."

Hardy's Global Times, which had already gained a good foothold in Japan, had now become a nationwide newspaper.

Unlike other newspapers, which still faced profit pressures, Global Times enjoyed significant subsidies from the parent company during its expansion, allowing it to grow rapidly.

Global Times focused on topics the Japanese papers avoided, or didn't want to touch:

"Envoy Hardy once again criticized Japan for starting the war and called on Japan to acknowledge its mistakes sincerely and apologize. Only by fully breaking with the imperialist and Nazis factions that started the war can Japan achieve the reconstruction goals set by the United Nations."

"Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida later expressed sincere recognition on behalf of Japan that starting the war was a mistake, and he offered Japan's apology for it."

The report was accompanied by a photograph of Yoshida bowing.

This news caused a massive reaction in Japanese society. Japan's economy was on the verge of collapse, with many citizens unable to meet even basic living standards. Some were starving, and there had even been deaths from hunger.

People hoped that someone would help them out of this dire situation.

The Japanese public welcomed Hardy's arrival, especially after reading the reports, which showed that Envoy Hardy was putting great effort into improving Japan's current situation. He had sold off useless military enterprises in advance and brought back urgently needed cash.

In the eyes of many Japanese,

Hardy's actions made him seem like an angel saving them from suffering.

The public's impression of Hardy was overwhelmingly positive.

Selling off Japan's assets? They saw it as him thinking solely of their best interests, turning waste into something valuable. It was rare to find someone who was so genuinely willing to help Japan. Many felt ashamed for having misunderstood him before, and their respect for Hardy deepened.

As for Hardy's planned reforms in Japan, which focused on a complete shift from military to civilian industries, a strong push for the civilian economy, and the abandonment of military and resource-heavy industries while slowing down manufacturing development to first address the population's immediate survival needs, many Japanese people believed this approach was exactly what Japan needed.

With food still scarce, why worry about costly and resource-draining heavy industries? The top priority should be getting Japan's economy back on track.

What the average citizen wanted was simple:

They just wanted to survive and live well. What did the politicians' plans have to do with them? They only wanted to ensure their families could survive and live a little better.

Seeing Hardy's reform direction, Americans and Europeans alike believed Hardy's guidance was on the right track.

Regardless of other matters, if Japan were to lose its heavy industry and military-industrial complex, it would naturally become less aggressive, aligning perfectly with the United Nations' requirements.

At this point, Hardy had already become a household name in Japan. Many privately referred to him as the "New Economic Czar of Japan," with control over life and death decisions for the country's economy.

Many people agreed with this title.

However, this greatly angered one individual—MacArthur. MacArthur had originally been in charge of all affairs in Japan, including military, economic, and cultural matters. He had been the true supreme ruler of Japan, able to control everything.

But now, Hardy had come and taken control of Japan's economy, which in turn weakened MacArthur's power. Naturally, no one would be happy about having their authority diminished.