Roosevelt Game (Ruzuveruto Gemu / ルーズヴェルト・ゲーム)

Aoshima Seisakujo (Manufacturing Co.) Board of Directors Conference Room

What do you mean? A 5 percent price cut is out of the question.

That's an annual loss of 1 billion yen.

You ought to reject such a ridiculous demand.

It's not that easy.

Toto Motors is a new customer that the Sales Department finally managed to get.

Even I can get new customers if we're going to give them everything they want.

Besides, if we don't agree to their demands,

they'll take their business elsewhere.

Elsewhere? Where's that?

- Itsuwa Electronics. - Itsuwa...

Itsuwa again? I must admit they've got great marketing skills.

- Unlike us. - But

they've only just recently entered the field of electronics.

There's no way they can beat our technology. Right, Kamiyama-san?

Don't you think so, Director?

Rather than, me, let's ask the President for his opinion.

What do you think, President Hosokawa?

I'm going to dissolve the baseball club.

What are you talking about, out of the blue?

Earlier, I was notified by Hakusui Bank's Branch Manager Isobe

that they may not be able to continue the loan from next term.

- For what reason? - Who knows. Ask the bank.

But one thing's clear.

If Hakusui stops the loan now,

we will go bankrupt for sure.

I don't mind giving in to Toto Motors' demand for a price cut, but

the problem isn't the amount.

It's losing the bank's trust because of that.

I thought Hakusui and our company had built a relationship of trust over the years, but

- why all of a sudden... - That can't be helped.

President Hosokawa's only been here a little more than 5 years.

- They don't know him that well yet. - I don't care what you think, but

as the president, I can't just sit back and wait for the death sentence.

We'll have to make an even greater cost cut

and give the bank an indication of our posture to rebuild the company.

And as the first step,

Aoshima Seisakujo Baseball Club...

will be dissolved.

Practice Game Aoshima Seisakujo vs Itsuwa Electronics

Bottom of the 9th, 2 Outs 0 - 12

That was fast~.

Inuhiko, don't be late swinging~.

Hey, Inuhiko. You're pathetic, you loser!

Show some balls! You're gettin' paid just to play baseball, aren't ya?

What, you jerk. You got somethin' to say? You contract worker, you.

Inuhiko, let's get moving!

Don't be late with your swing. Here comes the fastball.

Strike!

And I threw you a slow ball even a grade school kid could hit.

Over the outside corner just the way you like it.

If you can't hit that even when you knew what was coming, you're worse than a high school player.

You'd be better off just quitting.

You bastard!

Stop it!

Thank you.

Hey! Don't you mean I'm sorry!

Have the nerve to play an ugly game like that.

Isn't the company paying you guys to play ball?

Don't you have any pride?

Give me back my day off!

Idiots.

What will happen to the players?

- Needless to say, unnecessary personnel will be dismissed. - Hold it, please.

- In their own way through baseball, they... - After 9 official games,

their record is 0 wins, 8 losses, and 1 tie.

Right now, the baseball club is nothing but a baggage to the company.

What about the rest of you?

Do you really think it's okay to dissolve the baseball club?

I'm against it.

As it is, our products are precision instruments, and,

to put it badly, lacks flair.

But thanks to the baseball club, the name of Aoshima Seisakujo has spread to a certain degree.

Aren't they helping out as a marketing tool?

I agree.

Then let's take a vote. Those against dissolving the team.

Those for dissolving the team.

Which side are you on, Sasai-san?

It's true we spend 300 million yen a year for the upkeep of the baseball club.

The team hasn't even made it to the Inter-City Tournament in the last 7 years.

Right now, they're not even doing their job as a marketing tool.

But can we really dissolve it?

That baseball team is also our company's tradition

that Chairman Aoshima loves dearly.

Those of us who've worked here for a long time can never ask him to do that.

However, you're saying you can do it.

Can we count on you to persuade Chairman Aoshima?

- Then you're voting yes, right? - If you can persuade him, that is.

Otherwise, this discussion is a waste of time.

Aoshima Seisakujo is a medium-sized manufacturer of precision instruments,

with 1,500 employees and

annual sales of 50 billion,

located in Oume City in the Metropolitan Prefecture of Tokyo.

Hosokawa, the President,

in just a few years after being recruited from another company,

saw the possibility of developing an image sensor for

digital cameras by using Aoshima Seisakujo's infrared thermal sensor technology

and boosted business for the company.

Image sensor

is a semiconductor charge-coupled device

that converts an optical image into a digital signal.

In a digital camera,

it has a critical role that affects picture quality.

That image sensor went on to become

their main product, accounting for 40 percent of their earnings.

Chairman Aoshima, the company's founder, who bought into that achievement,

made the unprecedented move and named Hosokawa the President.

However, that created dissatisfaction among the long-serving employees,

and caused discord within the company.

2 years later,

that very image sensor sparked the beginning

of what was to become Aoshima Seisakujo's greatest crisis.

I'm going to the Chairman's residence. Make an appointment for me.

He won't be at his residence today.

Probably.

I'm still uncertain as to what Hakusui Bank's intentions are.

However, it's imperative that we get them to continue the loan.

I'd like to get your opinion as to how we should go about...

Quit beating around the bush, Hosokawa.

Just get to the point.

Then let me speak frankly.

I came here today

to ask for your permission to dissolve the baseball club.

For the sake of preserving the company, I ask for your understanding.

In order the make the bank continue the loan,

the first thing we have to do is dissolve baseball club

which is costing us 300 million yen every year to maintain.

As far as I'm concerned, it's only 300 million yen.

Let me say just one thing.

In a company, there are numerical figures for people and numerical figures for things.

It you're talking about numerical figure for things, like keeping cost of material down,

you can cut back as much as you want.

But if you're talking about cutting down on the number of people accompanied by lay-offs,

you need to have an ism as a manager.

Do you think you have that?

Well?

I have no such thing.

However, please rest assured.

I will protect Aoshima Seisakujo without fail.

No matter what I have to do.

If I had to give you an answer,

that is my ism.

This is the story of comebacks by men who, in a company driven to

the brinks of bankruptcy, desperately kept on

struggling and battling, and continued

to go after the ball until the very end.

- What the hell is going on, Chief? - Calm down, Kousaku.

Idiot! How can I stay calm.

Not when our coach, top pitcher, and clean-up hitter all left.

What're we gonna do!

Do you suppose they were hired away by another company as reinforcement for their team?

All they said was they were quitting, and gave no reason.

The Suponichi Tournament and

and the preliminaries for the Inter-City Tournament's right around the corner.

How are we going to compete?

For amateur baseball,

what's known as the two big titles are

the Inter-City Tournament in the summer and

the All Japan Championship Tournament in the fall.

In particular, the Inter-City Tournament

is played in the Tokyo Dome,

and with NHK broadcasting it,

it is indeed the grand stage of amateur baseball that players yearn to be on.

In the past, Aoshima Seisakujo's baseball club

made regular appearances in the tournament,

but now, there is no trace left of that former glory.

As far as pitchers go, we have Saruta-san and Manda so we may be able to get by, but

can we even enter the tournament if we don't have a coach?

At any rate, we're making an urgent search for a new coach.

There aren't any decent coaches left this time of year, are there?

Now that we're in this situation, this year again...

I'm dissolving Aoshima Seisakujo's baseball club.

Oki.

Okihara, we're all going out for lunch.

What about you? Come join us.

Come with us for a change.

I'm sorry.

I'm working on an urgent shipment. I'm sorry.

Tagawa-san, that's why I told you.

You're wasting your time asking him.

The guy never spends money.

He won't even join us for drinks,

and I've never seen him spending money on anything since he started working here.

God knows how much he's got saved up.

Okihara-kun.

From the Chief.

Here it comes.

Thanks.

- You know... - Misato.

- We're going. - Okay, I'm coming.

See you around.

Sorry. Let's go.

I have been nurturing Japanix based on those beliefs.

Federation of Economic Organizations Spring Gathering

The Government talks about monetary easing

and growth strategy as if

the economy is making a gradual recovery, however,

that applies to only a handful of major corporations...

He's eloquent as always.

He's indeed qualified to aim for the next chairman's seat of the Federation of Economic Organizations .