Arasaka Corporation
The Arasaka Corporation is a business that features in Cyberpunk.
Contents |
History
The Arasaka Corporation (Japanese: アラサカ社 or 荒坂社) was founded in 1915 by Sasai Arasaka in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The company originally was focused on manufacturing and took full advantage of World War II to forward their wealth and power by supplying the Imperial Army. However Sasai foresaw the defeat of Japan and worked to ensure his company and fortune would survive the war by spreading his wealth across the globe, out of the reach of the post-war leadership. Soon enough the Japanese surrendered and the country was in ruin, with most cities destroyed by the constant bombings. On August 15th, 1945, the Emperor broadcast the edict of surrender and renounced his divinity. Saburo Arasaka, a former lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy and son of Sasai, was thunderstruck. He was on the verge of seppuku in the compound's cherry tree grove of the hospital when he had a moment of epiphany and a vision. Right at that moment, Saburo saw the wisdom of his father's actions. As family scion, that fortune would soon be his to control, a fortune that, if wielded correctly, would permit a clever man to push Japan back towards a position of power from which it could dominate the world politically and economically. The children of Amaterasu would prevail, if not under the Emperor, then under another deity: commerce. Saburo drew the half inch of dagger that had penetrated his abdominal muscles before the vision had stayed his hand and returned to the household. That same night, he began to study politics, economics, and history, which continued until his father's death. Although Japan's economy and industry were in ruins, Saburo studied all matters of business, economics, and politics while attending Todai. This was to ensure he had the skills necessary to accomplish his goals. Sasai had capitalized on wartime industry, but against Saburo's impassioned urging, he had made sure that the bulk of the Arasaka fortune was covertly protected in concealed overseas assets and accounts.
Overview
In appearance, Arasaka was a world-wide megacorporation that dealt in corporate security, banking, and manufacturing. It was one of the most influential megacorporations in the world. The company was also the largest distributor of Japanese-made merchandise throughout the American, European, and Asian markets. Arasaka-branded weapons and military vehicles were among the most sought after by police and security firms. Over the years, it had developed a dark reputation as a corporation that was to be feared and one which covered its tracks using assassins, an army of lawyers, as well as an alleged connection to the Yakuza.
The total value of Arasaka's properties in 2020 was roughly ¥9.5 Trillion, €$475 Billion. Together with two or three other large corporations, Arasaka is approaching the barrier of half a billion Eb. Of those €$475 billion, €$175 billion is from Arasaka Bank. Most of the bank's assets consist of corporate and government debt for loans. €$200 billion represent the value, accounts and liquid and solid assets of the security and manufacturing branches. The remaining €$100 billion represent the value of Arasaka-owned subsidiary corporations, secret fund reserves and the personal fortune of 10,000 million euros from Saburo Arasaka and the family. By 2077, the corporation doubled its value to €$890 Billion across all its total properties.
The company was the largest and most powerful armed forces of any corporation in the world, with their guards renowned worldwide and feared by many. Most firms will look to licensing from Arasaka corporate security guards, couriers, or mercenaries to protect their assets. However, Arasaka assets take priority if they are at risk and the troops themselves are loyal to death to the Japanese conglomerate.
The Arasaka Corporation is a highly diversified corporation, however only one of its branches is much more ubiquitously visible than the others, especially in the EEC and NUSA: the Arasaka Security division. Arasaka was famous for their black clad guards that are employed by many of the powerful people and corporations in the world. Even if the guards are not present, the Arasaka logo appears prominently on many weapons, computers, and other security equipment routinely used by the security teams of many organizations and companies. Arasaka is the world's most obvious force for private and corporate security contracting. It is common knowledge that Arasaka Security is the best way to protect a person's assets or themselves, Arasaka contracts and rents its security services in various ways. Arasaka is not the only company that offers this service, but it is the largest and most reputable. Arasaka's security personnel are known to be the best trained and best equipped then any other service. They are not cheap, but the investment is generally considered profitable. Arasaka can provide groups of one to one thousand agents per contract. The service is twenty-four hours a day, and the guards can be accommodated, at the discretion of the contractors, privately, on site or in the local offices of Arasaka. All Arasaka guards are fully trained in security procedures, equipment handling, and urban combat, armed and unarmed, at close range. Depending on how much the contractor wants to pay for each guard, there are various levels of weaponry and specialization available, from unarmed counter guards to fully armed and armored rapid response combat gear.
It had the made a habit of buying up other companies worldwide, and bleeding out the competition of other Japanese corporations. They also give a heavy amount of support to Japanese communities all over the globe, despite their business practices and overall history being considered unethical.
Known products of the company included:
- Arasaka Riot 8 :
- Arasaka Combat 10 :
- Arasaka Kuma Land Rover :
- Lexus ZS-5000 :
The Arasaka Corporation has many enemies around the world. These enemies range from; corporations that compete directly with the company or have clashed with it, powerful individuals who suspect that their blackmailers have some relation to Arasaka, and even law enforcement officers from all over the world who suspect the extent of the illegal operations of Arasaka.
Members
- Sasai Arasaka :
- Saburo Arasaka :
- Kei Arasaka :
- Hanako Arasaka :
- Michiko Arasaka :
- Yorinobu Arasaka :
- Shintaro Takayama :
- Katsuo Iwashima :
- Goro Takemura :
- Adam Smasher :
Notes
- Arasaka was created by Mike Pondsmith where it featured in the setting of the Cyberpunk universe.
In other media
Television
Video games
Appearances
- Cyberpunk:
External Links
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