Chapter 236: East Asia Media

Tokyo, Minato Ward, in a luxury apartment on the 48th floor of Roppongi Hills that Charles bought, overlooking Tokyo Bay.

Lin Chi-ling, who had just returned from Osaka, was immediately brought here by Charles. The over-430-square-meter flat with exquisite decorations impressed her.

"This must be expensive, right?" asked Ms. Lin as she sat on the sofa.

"Approximately 1.4 million yen per square meter!" replied Charles.

"So, have you found any artist agencies or something? There should be thousands of such companies in Japan, right?" Charles poured a glass of champagne and handed it to her as he asked.

"I don't have any particular ideas, but I'm familiar with a few small modeling agencies," Lin Chi-ling said, taking out several documents from her bag.

"Here, I organized these. They're small companies and the artists they manage!"

Charles shook his head, showing no interest in these small companies. "Just choose one that operates in Tokyo and buy it. Consider it a gift from me."

"Me?" Ms. Lin shook her head. "I don't know how to manage a company. Plus, these agencies may be cheap, but they need resources to grow."

Charles smiled, acknowledging her awareness.

"I'll let Dawn Investments handle it. I'll ask Takahashi to acquire one directly and give you shares. If it grows, it's an asset for you," Charles said casually. Investing a bit of money in a few TV dramas could still make a profit.

"Alright," Ms. Lin nodded. She understood that capital was necessary for development.

"This one also has operations in Osaka and manages some young models mainly for magazines and fashion weeklies," Lin Chi-ling said, pulling out a file. "And, it seems like they want to branch into film and television!"

Charles glanced at it briefly. "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift?"

"Oh, there's a 20-year-old artist named Keiko Kitagawa who made a cameo in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. She's very pretty and wants to transition into acting!" Ms. Lin explained, even showing Charles a photo.

"Alright, just invest directly in new drama productions. Becoming an actress isn't that hard!" Charles replied, not expecting it to be Keiko Kitagawa.

Before long, the doorbell rang. Charles smiled at Ms. Lin. "I'm going to introduce someone to you. She's quite famous in Japan!"

As he opened the door, Kyoko Fukada appeared.

The three of them sat on the sofa. Lin Chi-ling wondered if Kyoko Fukada had already been won over by Charles.

Kyoko Fukada, though not very familiar with Lin Chi-ling, somewhat understood their relationship.

"Alright, we're all friends here," Charles smiled, putting his arms around both women. "Kyoko, we're discussing the acquisition of an artist agency. We've decided on a small modeling company. What do you think?"

Ms. Lin handed the company's information to Kyoko Fukada, who was a leading artist at Horipro.

Horipro was one of Japan's top artist agencies, mainly dealing with artist management, TV commercials, and TV production.

"This company isn't big. Without resource input, it will develop slowly," said Kyoko, who, despite being a seasoned idol, was with a company known for good resources but low salaries. However, Horipro was a very humane company.

"Following the Horipro model, covering artist management, TV commercials, and TV drama production," Charles said, then whispered to Kyoko, "Is it troublesome to transfer agencies?"

Kyoko nodded. "Yes, it's troublesome. I'm doing well in my company, and transferring would cause a stir. However, we can deepen our cooperation. Horipro has many artists, many of whom earn the minimum monthly wage and need work!"

Charles smiled. "Your agency has another good actress, Haruka Ayase. Can we sign her?"

"Haruka Ayase? This year, she's starring in a drama adapted from Keigo Higashino's novel Into the White Night. She's one of the company's promoted artists. But if you're willing to pay the price, it's possible!" Kyoko said. Currently, Haruka Ayase wasn't as famous as Kyoko Fukada.

"By the way, there's a small agency called Sweetpower that's not big but has a few female actresses with good potential!" Kyoko whispered to Charles.

"They are all female actresses. Next time I'll introduce Haruka Ayase to you!" she added.

Charles kissed Kyoko on the cheek, appreciating her understanding.

"My company is planning to acquire King Records Japan. It seems they have AKS's music contracts. We could sign some of the AKB48 members, right?" Charles asked.

"Of course we can. AKB48 is a newly formed large idol group in Japan. AKS manages them, but there are so many members, it's hard to manage all of them. Signing them to other agencies could increase their influence and benefit the group. They just need to participate in AKB48's group activities," Kyoko explained. "Many agencies recommend their young girls as a stepping stone!"

"Very well," Charles said, then turned to Lin Chi-ling. "Tomorrow, I'll send someone to acquire Sweet Power and the modeling company you liked."

Quickly, Charles came up with a new idea and instructed Lily Ying to register a cultural entertainment company called East Asia Media in Hong Kong, which would serve as the main entity. East Asia Media would then establish subsidiaries in Japan and Korea.

Within three days, Takahashi had acquired Sweet Power and the modeling company for a total of 80 million yen on Charles's behalf.

For Takahashi, these low-grade artist agencies were just toys for the boss and not something to worry about.

The acquisition of King Records Japan with its 5-billion-yen investment in a new headquarters in Shibuya was the real big deal for Takahashi.

While Capet Pictures was scouting locations for their new headquarters in Shibuya, Charles was in an office building three streets away from Capet International's Japan branch.

The two small companies, Sweet Power and the modeling agency, were renamed East Asia International Japan Co., Ltd., with this place as the new office address.

Charles and Lin Chi-ling were here meeting the president of East Asia International Japan, which was the former president of Sweet Power, Ms. Naomi Okada.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.