Matsuzawa Takuji

Matsuzawa Takuji
Matsuzawa Takuji in 1963
Chief Secretary of the State of Guangdong
Incumbent Assumed Office: 1960
Preceded by	Unidentifed
Representative Director of Yasuda Bank's Guangdong Branch
Incumbent Assumed Office: 1959
Preceded by	Unidentifed
Personal details
Native Name	松沢卓二
Date of Birth	17th July 1913
Place of Birth	Toyko, Kanto Prefecture, Japan
Age at start	48 years old
Nationality	Japanese
Role	Starting head of government
Political Party	Rippoukai - Zaikaiha (Yasuda)
Ideology	Corporatocracy

Matsuzawa Takuji is the Chief Secretary of Guangdong from 1960 and and the representative director of Yasuda Bank in the region since 1959. Following the Yasuda Crisis, he is made the interim Chief Executive as various parties vie for the position.

In-Game Description

As Chief Secretary

The Representative Director of Yasuda Bank's Guangdong branch since 1959, Matzuawa Takuji runs the financial conglomerate's operations in Guangdong - which are but one part of a sprawling financial network that stretches from Tokyo to Calcutta. Yasuda's prominent position as the only one of the Big Four zaibatsus amongst the Four Companies means that Matsuzawa also serves as the de facto second-in-command of the civil government, the Chief Secretary, on top of his corporate duties.

After a distinguished career in the Home Islands managing major corporate clients and the Ministry of Finance, Matsuzawa was rumored to be a prime candidate to join the board of directors, making his assignment to Guangdong a surprise - most so to Matsuzawa himself. Yasuda's recent turn towards breakneck overseas expansion (as encouraged by Prime Minister Ino's government) might partially explain things, but many still wonder as to the true reason why Matsuzawa was sidelined - and whether it simply reflects differences over business strategy, or something more.

As Chief Executive

'In every crisis, lies great opportunity', so the Western saying goes - unless you're Matsuzawa Takuji, in which case the more apt Eastern aphorism might be 'the carp on the cutting board.' With Yasuda Bank being taken apart by its creditors, the political establishment, and the media in Tokyo, Matsuzawa had his hands full simply putting the company's affairs in order in Guangdong. That is, until the former Chief Executive abandoned ship, with the remaining tycoons pushing the poisoned chalice into Matsuzawa's hands.

With communications from Tokyo all but severed, Matsuzawa has not been formally appointed by the Japanese government to his position. Nor does he have the luxury of waiting: the aftershock of Yasuda's collapse and the political turmoil in Tokyo has left Guangdong's budget deep in the red, scaring investors even as the local populace turn to crime and vice to make up for lost wages. The remaining tycoons jockey for position with honeyed words and convenient 'plans', no doubt aiming to become Chief Executive themselves once the dust clears.

Although Matsuzawa savors the clarity of knowing that his assignment to Guangdong was the work of a corrupt cabal working against him, the fallout from their schemes has led to his entire life's work crumbling to dust around him. There is no coming back from this, no matter how innocent he was; he is a dead man walking, and all he can do is to keep it all together until the curtains close.