Ninovo
Tokyo Assembly Elections Approaching Final Candidates Being Selected
Kasumigaseki - Central Joint Government Building Ministry of Internal Affairs
International Intelligence and Communications International Policy Division
There we go.
Ministry of Internal Affairs, International Intelligence and Communications General Affairs Hanamori Shun
Yes?
What are you doing here in the General Affairs section, Sasauchi-san?
Foreign Affairs Bureau Chief of Police Sasauchi Naoki
Looks like preparations for the move are going along well.
Ah, yes.
Well, I was only here for six months or so.
I don't have a lot of stuff.
I would have been happy to have you stay longer, relax, and settle in.
Shindo-san never relaxes when working.
But, it's fine!
Thanks to this transfer, I've got a month off until my next deployment!
Shut it!
A month...
You're free, right?
Hey, Hanamori.
Can I throw this out?
Shindo-san!
Ministry of Internal Affairs, International Intelligence and Communications General Affairs Shindo Kojiro
Land purchase negotiations, huh?
It's an informal request from Undersecretary Igarashi in the Cabinet Office.
Sagamihara Redevelopment Plan Principal Rotation
The plans for a multipurpose hall that had been on hold for a long time are
finally kicking off.
He wants it dealt with quickly, it says.
The plans for this thing have been sitting in a desk drawer for 20 years!
And now he wants us to hurry?
It's just selfish!
Sagamihara City - Osakabe Plating
A multipurpose hall?
This is the amount we're planning to pay for the purchase of the land.
This much?
It includes our restitution for having to close your factory.
You'll need to pay your employees' severance packages.
I took that 30 years ago,
when I moved here.
Osakabe-san...
Yes?
Could I tour your factory?
We originally did chrome plating.
Ever since the development of the first practical
ultra-hard chrome plating 30 years ago,
we've used that to expand our business.
We did work on the contract for the machine that dug the Seikan tunnel.
We used to get a lot of government jobs.
But, lately we haven't been getting many orders, public or private,
and we just don't have the budget to develop new technology.
It may be time to pack it up.
Huh? Shindo-san?
What is this part used for?
Oh, this is—
Shindo-san!
What are you doing?
Look at this, Hanamori.
They say they can plate even complicated materials like this.
Yeah, it's possible, using non-electrolytic plating.
I'm sure not everyone in the industry can do it right, though.
This is really amazing.
Pretty strange for a bureaucrat, isn't he?
Yes.
He is a bit strange.
Looks like the buyout's going to end quickly.
The president there plans to shut down the factory, it seems.
Well, we're giving him plenty of money in compensation.
That's more likely to lead to a secure retirement
than trying to run a business in a down economy.
Can you take us to the Cabinet Office?
Yes, s-sure.
Central Joint Government Office Building 8
Osakabe Plating, huh?
We used to do a lot of work with them,
Cabinet Office Secretary General Igarashi Eiji
but they're behind the times.
They're still clinging to old technology.
They seemed to still be planning work on tech development...
Hard to do that without the money, I'm sure.
I doubt anyone would fund them at this point.
Cabinet Office Secretary General Igarashi Eiji
I asked you this time because I heard you're a pro at negotiations.
Have you taken pity on them?
No.
Well, technology investment is always a gamble.
It's hard to say that it's the right choice.
If you were to try and fail, it would be your responsibility.
Doesn't it seem a lot smarter to you
to just take the compensation money and retire?
Here you are!
Something about this job just bugs me, you know?
How much does it cost to do technology development for a business like that?
It can range anywhere from a million yen to the hundreds of millions.
Hundreds of millions, huh?
That's impossible.
Well, let's get this over with, then, Shindo-san.
The sooner it's over, the longer our vacation.
Shindo-san, are you listening?
You do want a vacation, right?
Yeah.
Thinking about stuff you don't need to think about?
Yeah.
Shindo-san, this job shouldn't take more than three days!
Vacation!
Time! To! Rest!
Yeah.
Get some rest.
Wait, Shindo-san!
You guys are always so energetic.
Asano-san!
If I remember right, you guys had been doing work for General Affairs.
National Police Agency Commissioner's Secretariat National Public Safety Commission Assistant Executive Aide Asano Shuhei
Yeah, that work's done.
So now it's MLIT, Shindo-kun?
Cabinet Secretariat National Security Agency Information Team Natsume Ritsu
Next up is Foreign Affairs.
We're going back home to Foreign Affairs!
So, why are you doing a public building land-buying job for the Cabinet Office?
They really just think of us as an odd jobs shop.
Is it a direct order from Undersecretary Igarashi?
He's the embodiment of the typical do-nothing bureaucrat, so...
So, why's he suddenly interested in a 20 year old public building project, then?
Something's going on?
Hey, Natsume.
Can I meet with your boss?
You make it sound easy,
but my boss is very busy.
Please, Natsume.
You're always so mean, Shindo-kun.
Not this time.
Shindo-san...
You're just so selfish...
Fine, fine.
They're working without a chance to take a break, huh?
It's amazing, it doesn't look like it's getting to them at all.
There's probably not enough.
Enough work to do?
Not the amount. The quality.
It seems to me like everything Shindo-kun's done is a big job.
Yeah. It's all big jobs,
but that's still not enough.
He's probably better suited for something even bigger.
Something bigger...
Hey, don't sleep in your clothes.
Sheesh...
Takoyaki Cat
Metal Plating Processing Technology
I'm going to the usual place for a drink
Natsume: Looks like I can get an afternoon appointment two days from now
Today's Lunch Menu A. Omurice B. Hamburg Steak Combo C. Miso Mackerel Combo D. Chicken Nanban Combo
Hey there, Shindo-kun.
Is this place a zoo?
Ubuka-san.
Make it quick, Shindo.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Ubuka Kiyotaka
A plan for a multipurpose hall, huh?
If it's the Cabinet Office,
it's probably a joint project between them, MLIT, and the local government.
Nothing's come to me.
It's not going through you?
Igarashi-kun's probably keeping it at his desk until it's more concrete.
So, Shindo, what did you want to talk about?
Introduce me to Mifune Tetsuhito-sensei at the Science Council of Japan, please.
I hear you've known him for a long time.
Why are we suddenly talking about a scientist?
I'd like to be able to get his help.
I don't understand.
Oh, right.
Shindo.
Yes?
Inuzuka-san was talking about this.
Want to be a consultant for the Cabinet?
I don't know what title we'd give you...
My next job is with Foreign Affairs.
Once that's over...
All right,
I'll pass that on.
Thanks, Ubuka-san.
I'm in a hurry, so I'll be going.
Yeah.
Natsume-kun.
He's pretty tough to deal with.
National Institute for Integrated Sciences
Professor of Physics Mifune Tetsuto
I think it would be amazing if it's possible, but...
Is it?
It's 50-50.
The Science Council's Mifune-sensei
Osakabe Plating
can help with theoretical calculations.
How about it?
To be honest, I'm not sure it's possible.
About how long are we talking?
A month.
A month, huh?
Sir!
Nomura-kun.
Shindo-san just showed us what he was referring to.
A low-friction plating technology that greatly reduces the metallic friction.
I'm sure we could do it here!
In a month?
I know we can.
Osakabe-san, I want to show Undersecretary Igarashi.
Igarashi?
All right.
Let's do it!
Now that we've taken the job, we'll make it happen, no matter what, Shindo-san.
You said it would be a month, and it's been a month.
Cabinet Office Secretary General Igarashi Eiji
Where's Shindo-kun?
He's still negotiating at the site.
Enough. I'll go myself.
Hanamori-kun, bring the car around.
There's no need for you to go yourself.
That president is an old acquaintance, you see.
Osakabe Plating
Igarashi.
It's been a long time.
I don't know how far the negotiations have gotten, but...
We're building a multipurpose hall here.
The payment is more than sufficient.
Don't you think it's time to call it a day?
Close the factory, huh?
Igarashi.
First, there's something I want you to see.
It's done...
The new plating...
It's supermetal!
Yes!
Shindo-kun,
what is going on here?
The metal plating technology in Osakabe Plating's possession
matched with the Cabinet's Strategic Innovation program.
Supermetallization
will revolutionize the auto parts design and manufacturing industry.
The estimated market size is 100 billion yen.
100 billion yen?
But, it's not complete yet.
Please develop the rest as a joint project between
the Cabinet Office and Osakabe Plating.
Igarashi.
Does this mean I can work with you again?
I didn't really care about the hall.
I just hoped it would give you some extra retirement money.
I didn't need your help.
I only asked him to buy some land.
That's the ace negotiator of the Foreign Affairs Ministry,
the toughest negotiator in the country,
Shindo Kojiro, for you.
Haneda International Airport
Osakabe Plating
But that's Shindo-san for you, isn't it?
I never thought a land-buying job would end up like that.
Don't get the wrong idea.
I wasn't asked to buy anything.
What was it, then?
A negotiation.
Negotiation?
Getting what's in your interest is the goal of negotiations.
But defeating your opponent and temporarily gaining what you want
will always come back to bite you in the long term.
What's best for you is giving both parties something in their interest.
It's easy to say,
but it's really hard to do, isn't it?
There isn't just one answer, for one thing.
We aren't God.
We'll never know what was right—and what was the right answer—for our whole lives.
But, even if we don't know, we just have to keep looking.
Shindo-san?
What is that?
It's getting bigger!
What is this, Shindo-san?
Get back, Hanamori!
What? What?
Shindo-san!
I can't get it off! I can't get it off!
Calm down, Hanamori!
Help me! Help me, Shindo-san!
Hanamori!
This is control.
Can you hear me? Come in!
Flight 256, this is control.
Can you hear me? Come in!
Mankind...
If we can't break that wall...
The JSDF's Intelligence and Security divisions have been sent messages.
But, the plane doesn't seem to feel any impact and doesn't slow down.
What's going on inside?
Shindo-kun!
Yaha-kui zaShunina