Saburo Arasaka

"Saburo is megalomaniacal and obsessed. He considers himself the most adept man to have ever lived, and sees it as his duty to elevate Japan to what he sees as its former glory"

- Corporation Report 2020 Volume 1

Saburo Arasaka is the CEO of the Arasaka Corporation and one of the most powerful men in the world. At 101 years old he still has a tight grip on the company, that he wishes to use as his tool for world domination.

Saburo Arasaka can be chosen as V's childhood hero during character creation in Cyberpunk 2077.

History
Saburo Asaka was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1919. His father was businessman and Arasaka founder Sasai Arasaka and could trace his lineage back to the age of samurai. He grew up in the Arasaka family estate located just outside of Tokyo and at a young age he joined the Imperial Japanese Navy as a fighter pilot. He quickly rose through the ranks and by the age of 23 he had already attained the rank of Lieutenant. As a skilled flying ace he had over 20 confirmed kills and is said to have a fierce pride both towards his country and the Emperor.

In 1942 during a routine bombing run over Guadalcanal his plane was almost shot down, heavily injured he managed the return flight back to base. After delivering his report he passed out and was transported back to Tokyo, where he discovered that due to his injuries he would never be able to fly again and he was also due to be medically discharged. His injuries were so severe that he lost his left eye and his right arm was so damaged, it was almost amputated. Saburo lamented over his injuries and wished he had died a dignified death over the skies of Guadalcanal, rather than face the humiliation of a cripple.

Due to the dishonor he bought upon himself and his family, he considered suicide (through Seppuku, ritual suicide]). On August 15th 1945, the day of the Japanese surrender, Saburo got a new lease on life, where he envisioned a Japan rising above the humiliation of losing the war, and becoming an economic powerhouse. He began intense studies into the fields of politics, economics and history as to become a worthy successor to his father and to ensure that Arasaka would one day rule the world.

Saburo took over the company in 1960 shortly after his fathers death and branched out from the simple manufacturing that his father started. Banking and Security along with Manufacturing were now the three pillars of the Arasaka Corporation and by the 2020 the company had become one of the most powerful corporations in the world, not to mention during these years Saburo's wealth multiplied tenfold, and he had become one of the richest men on the planet.

Saburo had undergone numerous surgeries to implant various cybernetics as well as a new eye and right arm for the ones he lost in World War 2. However, by 2020, he is wheelchair bound in his family‘s estate just outside of Tokyo. As of 2020, he is 101 years old and has handed over the reins of the company to his eldest son Kei, though it is just for show, as Saburo still runs the company from behind the scenes, having final say over everything as his puppet son stands in for him.

During the fourth corporate war, the Arasaka Corporation faced off against Militech which resulted in a nuclear bomb being detonated in the center of Night City. Saburo's plan of world domination was becoming a reality as he retreated his forces back to Japan, where it had stockpiled several nuclear missiles with the help of its ally, North Korea. The Japanese Self-Defense force managed to crush Arasaka's forces and delivered Saburo Arasaka's head to the United States.

Saburo thought of himself as the Shōgun, a military dictator that rules over even that of the emperor, and it was at this time that the company was referred to as The Arasaka Shogunate.

Goals
"Saburo continues to work for the fulfillment of what he sees as the ultimate destiny for his corporation: to bring about the rise of a new Imperial Japanese Dynasty under the name Arasaka."

- Corporation Report 2020 Volume 1

Like his samurai ancestors, Saburo was incredibly proud and honorable, and after his humiliating and crippling defeat in WW2 he planned to restore his honor by seppuku. He attempted this on August 15th 1945, during the Emperor Hirohito's surrender speech to the nation. It was this event that made him realize that Japan would never become the militaristic power it once was, but rather it could evolve into an economical and commercial power that could rule east asia once again and possibly the world. Saburo began to study to one-day take control over his fathers company and to use his vast amounts of wealth to catapult the Arasaka Corporation onto the world stage.

Saburo uses three key areas of his company as tools to further his plans, the security division, the bank and the secretive black operations.

Within a month of his fathers passing black operations such as blackmail, bribery, extortion, assassination and abduction were already underway. These black operations usually uncover dirt on important figures such as politicians, celebrities and other corporate types, which Saburo uses against them—never for money—but for influence and information. As well as these black operations the company uses its security division to steal information from its own clients, who it had sworn to protect. The corporation has never been caught and the data stolen is not sold on for profit, but rather for Saburo to use the trends in the data to influence business decisions for the most profitable outcome. The bank is primarily used as a bargaining tool against other corporations that may be failing and need a previous load to stay afloat, but it has been known to be used for money laundering between Arasaka and the dummy corporations it owns.

Family

 * Sasai Arasaka – Father
 * Michiko Arasaka - Third Wife
 * Kei Arasaka – Eldest Son
 * Hanako Arasaka – Daughter
 * Yorinobu Arasaka – Youngest Son