Kei Arasaka

Kei Arasaka (荒坂 敬) was the eldest son of Saburo Arasaka, and CEO of the Arasaka Corporation from 1997 to 2023. Kei was the logical Heir to the Arasaka Empire and out of Saburo's three kids he was his most trusted confidante. He was calculating, cold, and efficient in everything he did. Kei shared his father's ideals of dominating the world through Arasaka doing whatever it took to accomplish his vision. However he wasn't ambitious like Saburo, being more like a puppet and never showed any interest that were his own.

Kei felt more like a robot following out orders that were given to him. He lived and died for his fathers ambition and corporation, very rarely ever showing emotion. He cared for his younger half-sister Hanako and worked hard to ensure her happiness, but she didn't share the same feelings towards him. Kei may have been a logical thinker, but in life he never thought for himself, instead he died thinking of the honor of his family.

1980 - 1990s
Kei Arasaka was the eldest son of Saburo Arasaka born in 1980 Tokyo, Japan, who would eventually become CEO of the Arasaka Corporation. He was Saburo's most trusted child, and the only who believed in his fathers goals, enough so to that he continued his fathers work after acquiring the corporation. Kei was challenged in rigorous schools and from a early age he was groomed to inherit the corporation after his fathers retirement. His experience in business, finance, and investing is only second to his father.

Kei considered himself of a man of action; in 1999, Kei amused himself by training at the Hokkaido facility, but when he took this training more seriously than his schooling, Saburo put a stop to it immediately. He still kept fit and occasionally practiced marksmanship and martial arts even after leaving the training camp.

2000s
Kei took control of the corporation in the 2000s, in his 20s he was the CEO of the Arasaka corporation, and he had many years of executive experience, despite his age. Although it was said that Saburo still made the most critical decisions. Kei had always been fully aware of his fathers methods and the true scope of Arasaka's power. He shared the same ideals of his father, in his nationalistic dreams and had every intention of following through even after his father passed away. Unlike Saburo, who almost never leaves home, Kei traveled around the world and into LEO on business. In fact, he was abroad just as often as he's in Tokyo or at the family compound.

At some point in the 2000s Kei married his wife who was a woman of pure Japanese descent, however an American citizen. Kei and his wife then had Michiko, the first grandchild of Saburo. Kei was afraid of the trouble his family could get into if rivals knew of their ties to the Arasaka Corporation, he also kept it secret from his family in Japan because of the effects it would have on his father. Kei knew his father wouldn't be pleased with a half American granddaughter despite being pure Japanese. Kei protected his family by keeping them a secret as he carried out his duties around the world.

While Kei wasn't as driven as his father, he was calculating, cold, and efficient. While Saburo's spirits would rise and fall with the fortunes of his brainchild, Kei maintained a detachment he considered imperative to objective decision making. Very rarely did Kei actually show emotion, and when he did it was only with trusted friends and family. He was devoted to his father and younger half-sister Hanako in Japan, and wished the best for both of them. Kei worked hard to ensure their happiness and comfort at all times.

Saburo became virtually a prisoner of the Compound, Kei was able to travel and often did go all over the world and near orbit ceaselessly, arranging meetings, consolidating business, and making contacts worldwide. Heavy escorts always traveled with him when he left Japan. At some point in the 2000s Kei married his wife who then gave birth to his only child, Michiko, who would then take control of different factions of the Arasaka Corporation.

2023
At the time of the Fourth Corporate War in 2023, Kei was responsible for a great deal of the daily operations during the IHAG fracas. He viewed the fight like any other business operation and would never take it personally (unlike his father). However, in the Arasaka tradition, Kei would stop at nothing to make sure his side is victorious, and he would never step down from a direct offense to Arasaka.

Towards the end of the war Kei had full control over his father's corporation. During this time Saburo was in seclusion for security reasons for the duration of the conflict. Kei was in charge of important decisions as well as day to day operations.

He was now fully behind his father's war. However he knew the war wasn't going to end well. Kei Arasaka saw the war as just another part of the game for power, and considers everyone in it to be chess pieces of different levels rather than people. It was also now that he was working directly with General Ubo Tanaka. He was ready to sacrifice major assets in order to win. The only thing left was his contingency plans that he hoped would save the zaibatsu if the worst occurs and Arasaka loses.

After his compound was rushed and all his guards killed, Kei had then lost everything. Kei was visited by Spider Murphy wearing a kimono with Rogue, and Shaitan on his ship the Sea Viper. They shared sake together, as she explained his failure to the corporation, his family, and himself. His own nation had turned on him and Murphy took advantage of it. She appealed to Kei's samurai roots and convinced him "seppuku" was the only way to restore honor to his family and everything they built. Kei reluctantly agreed by uploading his consciousness into a digital prison, using the Soulkiller device she had mentioned. Kei died, ending the war and restoring his honor.

Trivia

 * His name in the native Kanji appears to be 荒坂 敬, according to a post by a Japanese CDPR forum moderator.