In Today's Cyberpunk 2077 Arasaka Explained Video we are talking about one of the most ruthless Mega corporations in Night City, Arasaka Corporation. We will be looking at it’s history, what it actually does, the family history of the Arasakas, why they are so insidious and some gameplay moments where we see Arasaka and what that means for the world of Cyberpunk 2077.
Arasaka seems to be prevelant in Cyberpunk 2077 so far with many towering megabuildings with their name on it, as well as scenes of Araska meetings featuring all black employees and a potential cyber-assassination attempt. Whilst Militech pops up fairly frequently, we don’t actually get too much insight into Arasaka from the 2077 content we have so far.
Araska corporation is a world-wide mega corporation with headquarters in Tokyo dealing in corporate security, banking and manufacturing. They had 1 million employees as of 2020, and their value at that time was 475 Billion Eurodollars.
Arasaka weilds more financial power than any other single corporation and use ruthless methods to retain their power including blackmail, extortion, and bribery. They also cover their tracks and dark rep with cyberassassins and netrunners, the best lawyers and connections with powerful gangs like the Yakuza.
Arasaka itself specializes in protective services and the distribution of their Japanese made products throughout North America.
Founded in the late 1800s, early 1900s by Sasai Arasaka in Tokyo Japan, the company got it’s big break leveraging the World War to increase their reach in the world, forecasting that Japan would lose, and that they would have to inevitably spread out across the globe. This was spearheaded by Sasai who was smart enough to diversify his holdings around the world.
Sasai died in 1960 and his son Saburo took control of the company, who was a former lieutenant in the Japanese Navy. We see Saburo Arasaka as a backstory option in the 2077 WIP demo, so presumably he is still alive in 2077.
He is referenced to as a Corporate God for his role in creating a powerful divison of Arasaka in the Arasaka security division. By the mid 1990s this security division had skyrocketed to one of the best in the world and had personnel involved in some of the most powerful corporations.
Kei Arasaka, Son of Saburo became the CEO of Arasaka sometime before 2020 although he was just a medium for Saburo to project his decisions through.
Next let’s check out each division in Arasaka a little bit more in-depth.
First we have their security division. Due to low budget protection being null and void in the world of Cyberpunk, people started to require higher level security due to the increasingly dangerous world of cybernetics, autonomous weapons, AI and corporate warfare and espionage.
Arasaka’s countermeasure is developing and training their security divison at the Arasaka school in Hokkaido, Northern Japan, and can contract out anywhere from 1 to 1000 guards depending on clients needs.
Clients purchasing security from Arasaka can hand select their personnel based on gender, language and a variety of other factors. All personnel do however need a basic level of proficiency in English.
Next we have Arasaka and their Private Hire policies. Private bodyguards and home security are popular for higher up celebrities and media personnel who see this as not only protection but a status symbol and fashion accessory.
Another option is for individuals who need a specific job done, but won’t need security at their beck and call at all times. For this a single operational contract may be needed where highly trained and prepared teams carry out certain jobs and high risk tasks whilst masking the identity of the client.
Arasaka also leases out weapons and equipment like cameras, alarms, weapons, and deterrent systems. It will also sell most of these things outright to clients.
Arasaka’s police force is also a pivotal service. Nations and governments who can no longer support their own police force can many times hire out Arasaka’s own police service. Their training and efficiency is much like their security division but with more of an emphasis on public rules and interpersonal skills.
In 2020 Araska owns high profile police stations around the world and in many cases chooses to not charge a fee for their services and instead leverage their political power. This is used to establish Arasaka as a dominant worldwide corporation.
Arasakas headquarters are located in Tokto, Japan in two parallel skyscrapers. They dominate the Tokyo skyline and security is very tight knit. Prominent Arasaka members stay near the top and the landing pad at the top is stacked with Helicopters and AVs for quick entry and exit.
Some examples of Arasaka weapons from the manufacturing division are the Bullpup assault weapon, the Autopistol, The Half bow and the computer aimed weapon.
Arasaka also makes assault vehicles as well as light personnel vehicles