Saburo Arasaka

*"Life, death... And in between... Glass. That is what we are doing. Making the dividing line thinner and thinner."*

**- Saburo Arasaka**

## Dossier

Saburo Arasaka was born to Sasai and Yui Arasaka in Tokyo, Japan in 1919 - a family that could trace their lineage back to the noble samurai of old. His parents were rich and his father was a shrewd businessman and was the founder of the Arasaka company in 1915. He grew up in the Arasaka family estate located just outside of Tokyo and from a young age was involved in the family business. In the 1930s, as a young adult he displayed a good work ethic and natural talent needed to be an exceptional manager. This was before his career was interrupted by World War II.

During this, Saburo enlisted as a pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy, or *Nihon Kaigun* (日本海軍). 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 was said to have a fierce pride towards his country and undying loyalty to his Emperor.

During a routine bombing run over Guadalcanal in 1942, American Grumman F4F fighters engaged a flight of Japanese G4M "Betty" bombers out of Rabaul Island. While Saburo was weaving in pursuit of one of the F4F Wildcat fighters, he passed though another American plane's line of fire. Several bullets smashed through the canopy, shattering his left arm and driving splinters of perspex and metal into his left eye and skull. Despite the punishing pain and the loss of the use of one arm he pulled back on his stick, leveled his plane and regained control with only a scant 2000 feet to spare. Then, patching himself up as best he could, he began the long haul back to Rabaul, fully believing that he would die somewhere over the 560 miles of ocean he had to cross.

Despite his injuries, Saburo managed to land his plane and reported to his commander. After delivering his report he passed out and was transported back to Tokyo before he regained consciousness, 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 was permanently blind in his left eye and that his left arm, although not amputated, was damaged beyond use. Saburo lamented over his injuries and wished he had died a dignified death over the skies of Guadalcanal. He returned to the Arasaka family compound, where he spent his days brooding over his loss. Saburo saw how the Empire he defended suffered more and more defeats over the next few years.

The event of World War 2, especially on the day of Japan's surrender, effected him greatly. Saburo devoted his complete attention to his work. He began intense studies into the fields of politics, economics and history to become a worthy successor to his father and to ensure that Arasaka would one day dominate the political and economic climate.

In 1960, Sasai Arasaka passed away and Saburo took his father's place as the new CEO of Arasaka at the age of 41. He branched out from the simple manufacturing company that it started as and started the Arasaka Bank division. In 1970, he then created the Arasaka Security division of the the family business. He was not content with the power that came from purely financial and commercial strength. If his vision of Japan as the world economic superpower was to be realized he would have to exert unseen political control across the world. Banking and Security along with Manufacturing were now the three pillars of the Arasaka Corporation.

Being such a dedicated worker, Saburo was late in actually marrying or having children that could continue his legacy after he passed. In 1980, Saburo and his then wife had their first child Kei, a boy he groomed to eventually take over the corporation. Saburo's first wife had passed away at some point and he later remarried.

In 1990, because of his direction the Arasaka Corporation emerged on the global 500 list. During the 1990s, Saburo kept busy as he was able to foresee the world market Crash of '94 and the subsequent US collapse of 1996, using these events to his advantage. This made the Arasaka Corporation one of the few that benefited from the crash, gaining the number two spot on the global 500. He also became more involved in politics, backing politicians in the Japanese Government to further benefit his interests. However, many other Japanese corporations did not agree with Saburo and his ideals, and soon after a group was formed to oppose Arasaka.

Saburo even elevated the Defense Agency of Japan into the Ministry of defense under his influence, which in turn benefited his corporation. During this he also attempted to reduce the power of the civilian police, which were controlled by other competitors of Arasaka. This reduction of police power became a very lucrative opportunity for Arasaka Police to grow, which became one of the services offered by Arasaka Security. Major cities in Japan became under the protection of the Arasaka policing services, except for Tokyo.

Saburo became a man of the people, known for being a huge contributor to the development of country. He was also well-known overseas providing thousands of Americans with reliable work, often visiting the people in factories or the streets. He manage to secure much wealth with the Arasaka European Group, when the headquarters was constructed in Paris, France.

Saburo also remarried in the early 1990s, to his third wife Michiko Arasaka, while together they had two children, Yorinobu and Hanako. Michiko passed away shortly after having Hanako due to complications during birth, leaving Saburo to raise them. Hanako became the "apple of eye" and he wished to protect her from the dangers of the outside world. Yorinobu was put through to the best schools in Tokyo, while Hanako was home-schooled by people Saburo trusted.

During the time after he sustained injuries, 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, at 101 years of age, he handed the reins of the company to his eldest son Kei. He remained an influential figure in the corporation and would still attend board meetings.

During Yorinobu's graduation from Todai, Saburo brought his son to his office during the ceremony and told him everything about the family corporation, explaining it's success and their long term goals. Yorinobu, however, did not share his father's ideals and left that same night. Months later he discovered Yorinobu had started a bosozoku gang to rebel and fight against his corporation. This deeply saddened Saburo - as a result, Hanako was never told this truth and instead was kept inside the family compound. Kei was upset at his brother's betrayal and told his father that he needed to be destroyed as he was a risk to their operations. Saburo reluctantly agreed knowing that Kei was right.

Saburo still participated in Japanese politics and would soon found a foothold, allowing him to achieve some political influence. Despite Kei becoming the CEO, Saburo still ran the company from behind the scenes, having the final say over project they needed done.

In 2013, as the Arasaka Corporation was building their new headquarters in Night City. Saburo discovered a netrunner named Alt Cunningham who had been working for ITS. He found out about a program called Soulkiller that she had designed for ITS, believing this was a valuable resource for Arasaka he ordered Toshiro, the American division CEO, to find Alt and have her recreate the Soulkiller for them. As a result the Arasaka American branch suffered from an assault by Johnny Silverhand, Rogue Amendiares, Santiago Aldecaldo, and Lyle Thompson which resulted in the death of Toshiro. Saburo had Kei fill in his position as the new CEO of the Arasaka American branch as Saburo ran things from Tokyo. Now in procession of the Soulkiller program, Saburo began funding projects for new versions of it.

During the Fourth Corporate War, the Arasaka Corporation faced off against Militech, a corporation Saburo grew to hate due to its CEO Donald Lundee reminding him of the American pilot who shot his plane down in the war. Lundee had put himself and Militech up against Arasaka for years, as Saburo grew tired of him. However, Saburo gave full control over to his son Kei, as he ran the war effort from Night City. Yorinobu, unbeknownst to his father worked with the Japanese Government to nationalize Arasaka, which soon cut off Saburo from Kei, costing them the war.

In the immediate aftermath of the nuclear bomb detonation in Arasaka Night City Tower, Saburo met with the terrorist behind the bombing: Johnny Silverhand. Silverhand had been captured by Adam Smasher during his escape from the Tower, and was evacuated before the nuke went off. In an attempt for interrogation Saburo had Silverhand's mind copied with Soulkiller, killing him. A system Saburo used to speak with the dead of which he believed were more honest. The copy was later kept in Mikoshi and the true identities of the perpetrators of the bombing were covered up.

Saburo later attended a funeral for his son Kei, while mourning his loss he was reunited with Yorinobu. With the aid of Hanako, Saburo and Yorinobu reconciled and the family was brought together again.

After the death of his son, Kei, the Arasaka Corporation became under the nominal control of Saburo once again, although he kept the face of corporation under his eldest daughter Hanako Arasaka. As of the 2040s, there were three major factions struggling to achieve control of the company, hoping that the aging Saburo, at 126, would eventually hand the crown over to them. The factions at hand were: The Kiji 雉 faction led by Hanako (though controlled by Saburo), The Taka 鷹 faction led by Yorinobu, and finally the Hato 鳩 faction centered on Michiko (Kei's daughter and Saburo's granddaughter). Despite speculation over who would reign as the next leader of Arasaka, Saburo was hellbent on remaining in control.

NOTE: Saburo Arasaka is a canon character. For more information, click here.

## Appearances and Mentions

* 013: Born to Run
* 014: All Along the Watchtower