Maeda Group
Nickname: Cockroaches (disrespectful), Towers (respectful)
Maeda, formally The Maeda Group, began with its hands in agricultural production and spread heavily into the retail sector. They claim their founder was a member of the prominent Maeda clan during the Sengoku Period. There’s no evidence to substantiate this claim, and no named Maeda family members hold leadership positions in the conglomerate.
On the Kindred side, they’ve grown a reputation for physical force. During most of the major anti-zaibatsu rebellions, Maeda enforcers cracked down on the insurrectionists. Maeda has consistently provided policing forces for Elysiums and Masquerade enforcement. Where most cities use blood hunts, Tokyo uses Maeda hit squads. Curiously, as years went by, violence became less and less a concern, so Maeda’s influence waned dramatically.
Lately, they’ve seen profits drop due to anti-GMO sentiments, many of which Hototogisu manufactured with propaganda and online rumor campaigns. Between this, and the unpopularity of their enforcers, Maeda’s now seen as the weakest link among the zaibatsu. Maeda’s leadership has resisted the Hototogisu alliance harder than any other conglomerate, and won’t last another decade under its current momentum.
Maeda’s most ambitious employees have been allocated to the New Special Projects Division. Their stated goal is to expand into new territories, with the understanding that Maeda’s power in agriculture and brick and mortar retail may not exist in the coming years. For some, this means outside the Tokyo metro area, and even outside Japan in some cases. The New Special Projects Division is dedicated to the survival of the corporation, even if that means strategic withdrawal from Tokyo.
Many of the more independent Maeda minds have branched into organized crime. Their thought: Quick money is the answer to the corporation’s problems. With more capital to invest into expansion, Maeda might survive in the end. The flaw in that plan is that organized crime is risky business. Other Kindred already have their hands in that pie, and don’t like encroaching corporate action. Gang syndicates — popularly called Yakuza, or Boryokudan (violence gangs) — don’t take kindly to domineering outside forces, and they often respond violently to threats.
Zaibatsu Advantage: Maeda employees benefit from a trained oath called the Mind of Infinite Immutability. Rolls using their Resistance Attributes (Composure, Resolve, and Stamina) benefit from a bonus equal to their Maeda Status dots. Resisted rolls against Maeda members subtract their Status dots as a penalty.
Comments