Shiawase Corporation

Shiawase is Japan’s classic zaibatsu, the eldest of the megacorps controlled by Japan’s most powerful family. After the second Crash, the players may have changed, but the game remains the same: making ridiculous sums of money. Shiawase proved that an old dog can learn new tricks when they recently pulled a complete reversal; first standing fiercely opposed to the Emperor’s reforms and now strangely standing alongside him. But as Shiawase’s main three divisions—Envirotech, Biotech, and Atomics—rake in billions of nuyen on new government contracts, one is left wondering who is pulling whose strings in that new relationship.

When the younger Shiawase clan ousted their elders in the 2064 Coup and Empress Hitomi took over as Chairman of the Board, the typical Japanese mindset assumed the Emperor had orchestrated the maneuver. But if you ask me, it’s the other way around. Shiawase gained more power over the Emperor than he gained over Shiawase, and Empress-turned-Chairman Hitomi Shiawase now has immense influence over the Japanese government.

— Baka Dabaka

With the elderly Korin Yamana as Shiawase’s new CEO and largest shareholder, his wife, the young Mitsuko Shiawase, stands to gain a great deal in the inevitable future. There’s no love lost between Mitsuko and the Empress, so expect some shadow action soon.

— Snopes

In perhaps one of the greatest corporate ironies, Shiawase promotes a strong sense of family values throughout Japan, recruiting, retaining, and raising entire extended families within the corporate culture. They take care of their people better than any other corporation in Japan, but they also expect the most devotion from them. The extended Shiawase clan is treated as royalty by devoted wageslaves and gossipsites who treat every rumor (as long as Shiawase Mediatech hasn’t decided to quash it before it gets out) as gospel truth. Meanwhile, each splinter of the shattered clan struggles for power amid the upper echelons.

One thing to remember about Shiawase is that the corporation is not what it seems. Its intrigues and dirty secrets are hidden behind layers of distraction, and its true intentions are masked with deception. No corporation is to be trusted, but at Shiawase subterfuge and betrayal are two of their major products.

— Icarus

AAA Corporation