See? l told you l sucked at interrogation.
The girl borrowed 5 million from her father.
For what, we don't know yet.
Why are you helping Muroi?
He defended me at the inquiry of the Bayside lncident.
And now?
He's being made the fall guy for some cover up.
What're you thinking?
l'm wondering how vital men like Muroi are to the force.
lnspector Muroi's on the line.
l thought maybe you'd fired me.
What happened to your head?
Accompany me.
Yes, Sir.
Why are you doing this?
For justice, and the public good.
Justice...
The police like to abuse their power.
We at Haijima Law want to redress that problem.
Why defend Ms. Sakurai?
Because she asked. She was being tailed by police.
She's a suspect.
Truth is, you needed any excuse...
to keep me from investigating the murder.
So you had Kamimura's mother file suit.
You're cute!
l'm not defending murder. But the real crime here...
is police abuse of power.
You're reaching.
Am l now?
Coercive interrogations, neglect of due process...
forced confessions, fabrication of evidence...
Would you like me to continue?
Crushing civil liberties may bring peace and order...
but what use is the law, then?
lf you're so right, maybe you'd like me to defend you?
The law can be bent many ways.
She can't prove you innocent... but l can.
Even your bosses commanded you to stop investigating.
Look, we're not a bunch of cold-blooded reptiles.
Are we?
Our boss often acts with his heart.
We took the liberty of looking into your past.
ln school, you killed your girlfriend, didn't you?
Wait!
lnspector!
Excuse me, Sir, but you don't believe this, do you?
Whoever sent it is stooping low.
l have an idea.
lf you'll excuse me.
They're playing with him.
You knew this would happen.
Not raising old ghosts from the past.
No one said it'd be pretty.
Do me a favor. Leave Muroi to me.
Can you send him to slaughter?
lf it's going to happen, l should be the one to do it.
l hear the Safety Commission's now investigating.
Who stands to win from all of this?
Everyone may lose.
Then we'll share the pain equally.
Sounds good.
Our bosses sure make us work.
You're telling me.
So you're lnspector Muroi.
l thought the two of us should have a little talk.
Before this gets too big.
l received an anonymous letter the other day.
l'm sure you're familiar with the name Eriko Noguchi?
The letter says that in 1985...
she was your college girlfriend who committed suicide...
allegedly after being toyed with and abandoned by you.
lf this is true...
l cannot hide my grave disappointment.
You've become something of a liability to the force.
So they've come to me.
l could tell them to ignore it, and they would.
But if l admit that it is a problem...
then this is about more than just one individual's past mistakes.
Do you understand me?
The Deputy Commissioner and Metro Chief aren't great men.
But their positions require credibility.
What's more...
they fear you.
The qualities you possess.
The truth is, most people are terrified of justice.
Well, enough said.
l love this season.
Nature is colorless and quiet.
lt forces one to be frank.
Submit your resignation.
Do l submit it to you?
Yes, you do.
Forgive me for interrupting your studies.
Haijima-san has asked me to recruit you.
He'd like you to come work for us.
What?
lt's a clear choice.
Work for us... or quit your career in law.
Say what?
Last summer, a man was brutally beaten by a teenager.
lt was your first case.
l'll talk to the victim.
You met with the teenager's father.
On August 9th, you let him pay for coffee.
ln short, you received a gift for a settlement.
That is illegal, and cause for disbarment.
You've got to be kidding.
Do you feel that?
A chill?
Trust that feeling.
Sir?
l'm afraid...
l've messed up.
l can't continue.
l just can't.
l'm sorry.
They applied pressure.
You're free to quit.
You hate the police, anyway.
They chided you when that stalker hurt you.
You must've led him on.
With eye contact.
And that low-cut blouse.
lt's a shame.
Really.
You had guts.
You took the bar so you could learn to protect yourself.
God gives us only an ounce of courage.
Discard it and it's gone for good.
l should know.
l took on the system once.
Now l just hide.
lnspector Muroi still has his courage, though.
He knows it can't be replaced.
So he won't run.
l need cigarettes.
By the way...
a smear campaign is underway.
Muroi's courage may be waning.
Dear God, give me strength.
Thank you for coming.
lt pained me to think about your future.
lsn't that right?
How about a deal?
Drop what you're doing, and we'll drop the suit.
Just sign this...
saying you won't discuss the case again.
lnspector?
You can't win. You're powerless against the law.
Everybody thinks the law protects them.
They're wrong.
lt enslaves them.
Why didn't you tell me?
Let's go, lnspector.
Come on!
Stop acting alone!
l met with your former girlfriend's parents.
They let me read her diary.
There's no mention of betrayal or abandonment.
Why didn't you say something?
Aren't l your lawyer?
Say something.
Please.
This is my case, too.
lt was early autumn.
The time of year when you're not sure if you should wear long sleeves.
She used to...
eat lunch out on the school's track and field grounds.
So did l.
She asked me if l was cold in short sleeves.
l said l hadn't expected it to get this chilly.
We started meeting at a local coffee shop.
l would study my textbook. She'd read novels.
The following year... she was hospitalized.
She spent the next six months there.
l studied at her bedside.
She read books.
ln spring my junior year...
her father asked to see me.
He told me her disease was incurable.
That she'd die by winter.
l was devastated.
l couldn't imagine life without her.
So l told her father...
l would quit school to care for her.
l didn't mind.
Why study if it means losing a loved one?
Several days later...
she went missing.
After learning how l felt about her.
l searched everywhere.
l didn't see her body until a month later.
She had...
gone to the beach...
a novel in her pocket...
and drowned herself.
The water was so cold.
ln her diary...
she quoted you.
Something you said to her.
''l'm a stubborn man.''
''When l make a choice...''
''all other choices disappear.''
And so...
here you are today.
At her funeral...
her father...
asked you to keep her diary.
l had no right to it.
l drove her to suicide.
The diary's here.
Her father still wants you to have it.
Excuse me.
Muroi's agreed to resign.
Then l'll offer up one of our officers, too.
Fair enough.
And the lawyer?
We don't need him anymore.
Leave his disposal to us then.
Then it'll be over.
At your discretion.
Shinjo, cooperate with the Public Safety Commission.
Dear Sirs...
I, Shinji Muroi, as of February 22nd, 2005, do hereby resign my post...
as civil servant for 19 years to take responsibility for recent events...
damaging to the integrity of our nation's police force.
Under the civil service code of confidentiaIity to which l am sworn...
I promise my full silence regarding any and alI police matters.
The girl's father paid Haijima 5 million yen...
after the murder!
Here, lnspector.
Sir, our deputy chief was suddenly transferred.
What's wrong?
After today, l will no longer be with the force.
l made a promise to a friend once.
A beat cop like yourselves.
l would climb the ladder to make sure he could do his job right.
But l leave without fulfilling that promise...
barred from seeking the truth.
l want to know the truth of this case.
lt mustn't be buried.
A man's been murdered. Others have been hurt.
lt's not over.
Not yet.
Go pick up our material witness. That is my final command.
Where's Ms. Obara?
Your name, please?
Your name.
Wait!
We request a presence.
So do we.
Your name, please.
Article 38, ltem 1.
No person shall be compelled to testify against himself.
Any record so wrought must be stricken.
lt's just her name.
Ah, but the law protects her name and address.
Need your daddy?
Recognize these?
Objection! lntimidation.
Both men had one.
Objection! You're leading the witness.
Gifts from you.
Purchased at a souvenir shop.
Last August 1 9, remember?
Forced confessions are illegal!
We will not tolerate bullying!
No court of law would!
Come on, people!
You're wasting your time.
We're leaving.
Wait right there!
On what legal grounds?
After your trip to Okinawa, you began dating both men in Tokyo, right?
- You can't...! - Shut up!
But you eventually chose Kamimura over Kuroki.
Kuroki wouldn't let go.
So you had him killed!
That's it!
We're going to court!
l gave you a chance to avoid this, Muroi!
You mean you offered him a deal to drop the case?
Sounds like extortion to me.
And a violation of your legal profession!
l'll have you disbarred.
But you hate the police!
Maybe so.
But lnspector Muroi is my client.
Please continue.
lnspector?
That's okay.
l'm finished.
You needn't speak.
No more questions.
Perhaps you could listen to me.
You see, l owe you an apology.
Officer Kamimura...
committed murder for you, and then was killed...
because of me.
You drove him to murder.
l drove him to his death.
l thought only of the victim.
Because l believed...
that was our job.
We never thought to save him.
So l stand before you...
to apologize.
You're free to go.
Let's go.
He's no longer defending her.
lmbeciles, all of you.
Your father won't answer. He's in the hospital.
You went to the Safety Commission.
He has confessed.
You had a man named lshimoto kill your boyfriend, Kuroki.
He's in custody now.
What's he mean?
He talked.
Kamimura knew what had happened.
Kuroki! Kuroki!
He kept quiet to protect you.
Your father then hired expensive lawyers...
who told you to stay quiet, too.
lsn't that right?
Well, both boys kept asking me to break up with the other.
l got tired of it.
Kamimura would do anything for me.
Cancel my fines, pay off my night club debts...
give me free drugs.
So l chose him.
This pathetic little spoiled child...
has caused all this fuss?
The killer's been found!
Now wait just a minute!
You will drop the suit.
Or be under constant supervision.
Protecting your own, huh?
The police are only interested in the truth... ''Junior.''
Haijima-san?
Why'd you conceal the truth?
l'll tell you why.
There's no money in it.
Wait!
Are you really going to let that worthless bitch...
end Muroi's career?
lsn't there anything you can do?
l'm begging you.
Please!
Lawyers are no different from police.
A little too much power often leads to its abuse.
But the real power...
rests in those who keep their courage.
Shinjo...
thank you.
lnspector Muroi...
l relieve you of your duties as MPD Chief lnspector.
l am assigning you to a new post with the Hiroshima Prefectural Police.
lt's a tough job. Should be right up your alley.
Will you accept it?
We can't afford to lose him.
The suspect, a sex trade worker, was arrested for murder...
and the girl charged with conspiracy.
The case finally came to a close.
Launch an investigation.
The law suit's been dropped.
Here... l made you a box lunch.
l'm taking an airplane.
Oh, yeah. l guess that would look bad, huh?
Sorry.
No, l'll take it.
Take care.
You too.
Your attention please.
Due to the blizzard, all departures are temporarily delayed.
Please stand by for further notice.
This feels funny after having said goodbye, doesn't it?
What if your flight's canceled?
You vacated your home, right?
You can't stay with me.
You know why l got choked up in the coffee shop the other day?
Not because of your story...
but because you shared it with me.
You can talk, can't you?
l bet Hiroshima's cold.
Or maybe not. What do you think?
l reckon it is.
Don't you have work?
Yes, l do but...
l owe you an apology, too.
The police hurt you badly, didn't they?
l'm sorry.
Now get to work.
Yes, Sir.
Attention alI ANA departing passengers...
fIights are now ready for boarding.
Please make your way to the boarding gates.
Toshiro Yanagiba
Rena Tanaka
Show Aikawa
Norito Yashima
Mitsuru Fukikoshi
Akira Emoto
Miki Maya
Toshio Kakei
Executive Producer: Chihiro Kameyama
Producers: Takuya Kanai, Hirotsugu Usui Toru Horibe, Chikahiro Ando
Music: Akihiko Matsumoto
Director of Photography: Junichiro Hayashi, Tetsuro Sano
Lighting: Masahiro lsono
Recording: Tsutomu Honda
Art Director: Tomoyuki Maruo
Art Designer: Chihiro Masumoto
Editor: Junichi Kikuchi
Produced by Fuji Television ROBOT, Toho and SPWT
Written & Directed by Ryoichi Kimizuka