Mid-January, 1990.
Nikkei Average Index: 37,520 points
Tokyo, Shinbashi Station West Exit.
A cold, miserable rain had been falling on and off for a week.
The wind whipped old newspapers and puddle water against the green public phone booth at the corner.
Kudo crammed his 170-pound frame into the cramped box.
The section chief from a mid-sized trading firm looked wrecked. His deep blue trench coat — half a month's salary — was stained at the hem. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down his unshaven chin.
His left hand crushed the black plastic receiver. His right fingers clawed at the metal seams of the payphone.
"Hello! Hello! Is this Daiwa Securities? This is Kudo! Account 7392!"
He shouted into the spit-flecked mouthpiece, voice cracking with panic.
On the line, the broker talked fast and breathless. In the background, other traders screamed margin calls and curses. Keyboards slammed.
"Mr. Kudo, I have your account. The Nikkei dropped another 230 points this morning. Your leveraged positions in Mitsubishi Estate and Nippon Steel are deep underwater. System shows your maintenance ratio at 118% — below the 130% warning line."
"Please deposit five million yen by 3:00 PM today," the broker said, exhausted. "If funds don't clear, we execute forced liquidation."
Kudo's legs buckled. His back hit the glass wall of the booth. Thud.
"Five million? Are you kidding!" His eyes were bloodshot. Spit hit the mouthpiece. "At the Great Opening Ceremony, your analysts were on TV saying this was a 'technical shakeout' before the launch! Said we'd blast past 40,000! I mortgaged my family home! Now you liquidate me?!"
"Mr. Kudo, analyst commentary is not a guarantee. Clause four of your margin agreement covers additional collateral." The broker's voice was flat. He'd taken hundreds of these calls. Empathy had died with the market. "Please raise funds. 3:00 PM is hard deadline."
"Bastards! Bloodsuckers! You're in bed with the funds, crashing this to steal our shares!"
Kudo kicked the steel door of the booth.
Beep— Beep— Beep—
The broker hung up. Dial tone filled the box.
Kudo heaved, chest pumping. Through fogged glass, he stared at the oblivious crowd rushing past.
Two weeks since the New Year open. No rebound.
Every morning, the index opened like a dull saw — down 200, down 300. A weak green candle would flicker, then the next day bled harder.
Death by a thousand cuts.
No crash, no panic, just slow suffocation. And it was strangling every leveraged gambler in Tokyo.
Kudo wiped sweat with a shaking hand.
He couldn't get liquidated. If they sold him out now, his high-priced shares would go for pennies. He'd lose everything and still owe debt. Worse — the company funds he'd "borrowed" to meet the last margin call would surface.
Prison awaited him. So did ruin.
He took a breath. His eyes got wild, desperate. He yanked a battered phone book from his coat and flipped pages with trembling fingers.
He shoved a fistful of 100-yen coins into the slot and dialed.
"Hello, Uncle? It's Kudo! Happy New Year, Happy New Year!"
He forced brightness into his voice, tone confident, manic.
"Yes, yes, work is amazing. Uncle, listen — there's an internal subscription unit in Minato Ward. I'm about to sign. Just need five million yen to close the deposit."
"Interest? Don't worry! Double the bank's best fixed rate! This is once-in-a-lifetime. Next month, after paperwork, I'll wire principal plus interest!"
"Please! Before 2:00 PM! I'm counting on you!"
He bowed to the receiver like his uncle could see him through the wires.
Call ended.
He leaned on the phone, drained.
"Average down… right, just add margin, buy the dip, lower my cost basis. One green day and I'm not just safe — I'm rich."
He muttered, self-hypnotizing.
He grabbed the last coins in his palm and jammed them into the slot for the next relative.
A coin slipped from his sweaty fingers.
It rolled down the metal chute.
Clink.
---
Clack!
A perfect sphere of clear ice hit the wall of a Baccarat crystal glass. Ring.
Chiyoda Ward, Otemachi. Mitsui Bank HQ, President's Office.
AC hummed, pumping warm air. Outside the bulletproof windows, cold rain blurred Tokyo's skyline.
President Yoshino sank into a deep-red leather sofa. Italian suit, perfect cut. Right hand holding pure malt whisky over that ice sphere.
Across the desk stood Mitsui's Head of Risk Control.
The man who normally approved tens of billions in credit now had sweat wrinkling his grip on a red-stamped report.
"President, pledged positions at Sumitomo, Fuji, and the other city banks… they're flashing red," the manager said, fast.
"Two weeks of decline. Collateral value on leveraged equity loans is evaporating. This morning, aggressive accounts broke 130% maintenance. Some are at 118%."
"No stampede yet, but every risk desk smells it. They're screaming for margin. Anyone who can't post cash gets liquidated."
He pushed his glasses up.
"Interbank market is freezing. Everyone's scared of catching someone else's bad debt. Overnight lending is locked. Liquidity is vanishing — you can watch it drain."
President Yoshino listened, silent.
He turned to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking toward Azabu-Juban.
Weeks ago, in the back room of 'The Club,' he'd met someone from the Saionji Family.
They'd given him a 'suggestion.' Predicted this exact slide.
He'd followed it.
Yoshino closed his eyes. His heart, long numb to numbers, pounded hard.
Relief flooded him. He'd survived.
In December, Mitsui had taken board heat and hard-closed every high-risk equity pledge loan. Cut the toxic artery to the stock market.
Now he watched peers scramble, watched titans who mocked Mitsui's "cowardice" beg for cash as their own pledge lines hit red.
Another life saved by Saionji. Another debt he couldn't repay.
He opened his eyes and killed the whisky.
"Notify Credit."
He looked at the Risk Manager.
"Terminate all remaining high-risk equity pledge accounts. Still hanging by a thread? Call them now. Demand full margin. Tell them Mitsui gives 24 hours to post cash."
The manager blinked, confused.
"President, if we call margin now, they have no cash. We force default, we seize collateral — but in this market, no buyer exists for those stocks or land. They become dead assets on Mitsui's books…"
"If we wait and it drops another 2,000, the collateral isn't worth paper," Yoshino cut him off, sharp.
"They can't pull cash from brokerage accounts. But their operating companies still have payables — money for suppliers, payroll for workers."
"Pressure them. Corner them. Make them raid every yen they can touch and plug Mitsui first."
Yoshino's eyes were hawk-hard. No debate.
"First bank to call the loan gets the last cash. Last bank gets dead debt and a high window."
"They go bankrupt so Mitsui lives. Clear?"
"Go."
The manager didn't argue again. He bowed deep.
"Yes! At once!"