The Trader

 Chapter 23

A father's regrets is inevitably passed down to his child, whether they like it or not. 

The noble tale of avenging such wrongs could serve as a shield for me.

This is probably such a story.

"The chemical plant construction project in Sakata City is being revived, isn't it?"

"Yes. The project had been stalled once, but the land remains as it is. It's natural to think about reusing it somehow."

Listening to Tachibana's report, I turned my focus at the documents about the chemical plant planned for Sakata City.

Originally, this was the project that had caused my father to be convinted. It all started with the idea of using Russian oil , back when it was still the Soviet Union.

During the economic struggle of the Perestroika* period, this country, in the height of its economic bubble, had more than enough money to buy that oil.

[T/N-The Perestroika period refers to a significant era of political and economic reform in the Soviet Union, initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, who became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. The term "Perestroika" means "restructuring" in Russian. This period, primarily spanning from 1985 to 1991, aimed at reforming the stagnant Soviet economy and making the political system more transparent and open.]

Sakata was chosen among various cities along the Sea of Japan not only because it was sandwiched between the Niigata and Akita oil fields, enabling substantial processing, but also because it was intended to have an oil stockpile base for emergencies.

Behind the scenes, it was Secretary-General Katou, who was advancing in the political center as a rising star of that time, who forcibly changed the location of this facility from Niigata to Sakata , but in the end it is nothing but a story inside story to be presize.

"Finally, I understand why the Secretary-General bowed his head."

"So, whether you forgive him or not is entirely up to you, Milady."

The espionage scandal involving the Eastern Bloc was quietly covered up thanks to Secretary-General Katou's parliamentary immunity. However, this did not resolve the issue, and my father ended up as the scapegoat. It was a truly sordid affair.

"I'm not so sentimental as to seek vengeance for a father I never even knew. But why has this relic of the bubble era resurfaced now?" 

In response to my question, Tachibana pointed to a specific spot on the map.

Karafuto (Sakhalin).

He began to explain.

"Karafuto is in the process of economic reconstruction, mainly sustaining itself through arms and resource exports. Even so, the unemployment rate likely exceeds 20%.

The primary resource in Karafuto is natural gas. A plan to build a thermal power plant using that gas has emerged, and in conjunction with that, the chemical plant construction project is being revived."

Having annexed Karafuto, this World's Japan needed to use its scarce but competitive resource, natural gas, to revitalize Karafuto's economy.

The quickest way to utilize natural gas was through a thermal power plant.

"This is a public project involving Karafuto. The government likely to directly manage it, and Hokkaido and Niigata Prefecture also bid for it, but the winner was Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture."

"Is this the idea of Secretary-General Katou's apology?"

The Keika-in Group's subsidiary, Keika-in Chemical Industries, deals in chemicals.

If we participate in the bidding, they will likely favor us.

In return, the expectation would be financial support in the upcoming House of Councillors election.

"As I mentioned earlier, the decision is entirely up to you, Milady."

Tachibana remains indifferent, but it's undeniable that the Keika-in family feels abandoned. 

No one would complain if they claimed to have fulfilled their duty by bailing out the Far Eastern Bank.

"In times like this, I'd like to hear from a professional. Is there anyone well-versed in petrochemicals and natural gas?"

After a moment of thought, Tachibana answered.

I've heard from Keiko-san that Tachibana network is extensive, even though I'm unaware of it.

The name that came out of his mouth was indeed that of a person who is suitable in that category 

"There’s a man we keep as an advisor at Keika-in Trading. He used to work at Iwasaki Trading but lost in a factional struggle. His specialty was resource trading."

"Sounds perfect. Please arrange a meeting. I'll decide after talking with him."

※　※　※　※　※

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Nagayoshi Toudou*. I used to be the head of resource procurement at Iwasaki Trading. Now, I'm an advisor at Keika-in Trading, thanks to Mr. Tachibana."

[T/N- in raws his name is Choukiji Todou, but in light novel official translation his name used Nagayoshi, so I will be sticking with this]

Why a top-notch elite salaryman is lingering here is due to losing out in internal politics.

Resource procurement involves flying around the world to bring resources to resource-scarce Japan. It's hardly possible to win in office politics when you're not even in the country.

That's when Tachibana picked him up.

"What does being an advisor entail exactly?"

"Well, I dabble in some resource trading with the company's money and provide consultation when needed."

He laughs heartily, but it's rumored that Keika-in Trading manages make ends meet within the Keika-in Group is entirely due to his trade involvements.

Because it's a small trading company, the profits generated by a top trader like him can turn a deficit into a surplus.

The fact that he's only given an ambiguous post like "advisor" indicates that Keika-in Trading also has its share of hereditary cliques.

I got off topic.

"If You're referring to the construction of the chemical complex in Sakata. I've looked into it to some extent, but it’s not a very promising venture."

At one time, major trading companies played a significant role in this country's foreign intelligence activities, as this nation did not officially have its own intelligence agency. Their ability to gather and analyze information has not yet diminished.

"When you say it's not promising, do you mean it's not profitable?"

"Yes. Since the currency crisis targeted at Southeast Asian countries, the prices of resources, including crude oil, have plummeted. Investing in natural gas from Sakhalin right now would mean buying high with low return that could very well means ending up with severe losses."

This essentially means that natural gas, already more expensive than crude oil, has become even less competitive due to the drop in oil prices.

Despite being a national policy, using high-priced natural gas in thermal power plants won't be profitable unless electricity demand increases significantly in this recession. Furthermore, if private companies get involved, the high costs and government-backed inefficiency could lead them to inevitable losses and withdrawal.

"With the recent environmental concerns, there’s been a move to replace coal-fired power plants. If it were up to me, I'd co-locate an oil-fired power plant and a chemical complex there. It would be more constructive to also consider cheap crude oil from a potentially collapsing Russia."

I gave Nagayoshi Toudou a sidelong glance. From past knowledge, I knew the ongoing Asian currency crisis would eventually hit Russia. Japan was about to have a chance to obtain crude oil, considered a lifeline, at incredibly low prices.

"Sounds good. Should we go ahead with that?"

"You make it sound easy, but we're talking about an investment of several billion yen if we go it alone."

Nagayoshi Toudou asked for confirmation, but he wasn’t questioning my sanity. He likely knew I had made various profitable deals through Tachibana and Ichijou. Since Tachibana brought him in, he had probably already conducted a thorough background check. In that case, I might as well involve him fully.

"I've made several billion dollars in foreign currency through overseas IT ventures, and I want to bring that money back to Japan."

Toudou immediately grasped the situation. As expected of a skilled trader.

"Ah, so the current burden on Ichijou-san is too heavy. You want me to take on that load? I can do it, but Keika-in Trading Company is too small to handle this."

Previously, the foreign currency earned by the Moonlight Fund had been brought into Japan as loans, a sort of backdoor method possible only through Keika-in Bank. Given that Ichijou had been navigating dangerous waters, it was wise to secure an alternative method in case he was no longer around. The solution lay in oil, a commodity essential to Japan but available only through imports. Not only would the construction of the chemical complex require a vast sum of money, but the building of tankers would also involve substantial expenditure.

Understanding my intentions, Nagayoshi Toudou proposed a deal.

"Currently, a major trading company is in trouble. Even if it's a lower-tier one, would you like to buy it ?"

At that moment, I never imagined how this decision will impact the future or how I would soon be embroiled in the international turmoil surrounding Russian oil, leading to an attempted abduction incident and eventually involving the acquisition of Russian government bonds after its collapse.

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳⁠

Authors Note

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻

At this point, it appears Runa turned to resources to bring back the profits made overseas to Japan. This led to provoking a struggling Russia, culminating in an attempted kidn

apping incident and eventually connecting to the post-collapse acquisition of Russian government bonds.