( Wanted poster of a Goto Suguru )
Can I help you?
What does this mean?
It sort of means to erase everything.
- It stands for "delete"? - That's it, yes...
Are you perhaps here to make a request?
Here, some water.
My apologies for not having anything better.
It's dreary in here, right?
Our president is a bit of an eccentric.
But there is no one better for the job.
So, about that... You're here for consultation?
I do have a request.
Sure, what's the request?
Copying the data before its deletion and...
Right, making a copy...
I want you to deliver it to a certain person together with a bouquet of roses.
A bouquet of roses?
Does this mean the receiver is a woman?
In other words, you'd like to convey her your memories?
- Is this asking too much? - Not at all.
It would be our pleasure.
Translation: HPriest @ d-addicts Twitter: @hpriestsubs
Oh no, out of storage space again...
( No free storage space left. )
Just buy a new one already.
I like this model, though.
I definitely won't delete this.
Maybe I can delete this...
Mai-san is sleeping.
But her face is just too good.
What the heck?
A copy and roses after deletion?
That's a client who came by yesterday when you were out.
- What? He came here? - Yes.
Don't just do as you please. Didn't I tell you no direct contact with our clients?
He wanted a consultation, though.
He already transferred the contract money.
I told him we'd also need the other party's information...
See, Sachiko-san from the same city.
He even added the furigana so that we won't confuse it with Yukiko.
Such a sincere person!
His memories and roses! Isn't that romantic?
He's a 67 year-old bachelor.
Depending on the data it could be anything but romantic.
Like some ugly pictures of an illicit affair
or his last form of harassment as her stalker.
- He's not that kind of a person. - How can you be so sure?
Because he was a good natured old man.
Like he was giving off a serious and gentle appearance?
People's outward appearances can't be trusted.
You can look like you wouldn't hurt a fly and still be an indiscriminate killer.
Why not have a little more faith in me?
Never do things on your own again.
Understood, I'm sorry.
( Minato Shopping Street / Welcome! )
( Minato Photo Studio )
Contract completed. dele.LIFE
( business closed )
Mr. Photographer...
Not anymore, as of tomorrow.
I just closed my studio.
And so I'm returning all the decorative photos to everyone.
You did?
Why not get a haircut at our shop for once?
It's the old man with the roses.
Really?
Meaning...?
Nobody's picking up...
Confirm his death.
Excuse me?
( business closed )
( Minato Shopping Street Trade Association )
Excuse me.
I'd like to ask you about Urata-san.
Excuse me, I'd like to ask you about Urata-san...
It's about Urata-san! I'd like to ask you about him!
- Urata? - Yes.
- The photographer. - Photographer?
Everyone's calling him that instead of his name.
There won't be a funeral.
He's got a nephew, so you should ask him.
Was he sick?
You don't know?
On the morning the day before yesterday, he jumped into the ocean at the port.
- He killed himself? - Yes.
Really?
The police came here
and asked to confirm it with the security cameras, just to be sure.
He looks kinda lonely...
The photographer had always been like that.
Even though it was his job to save other people's happy moments.
His parents died several decades ago
and he'd been living in solitary ever since.
Say, any word about a fling he had?
You mean this?
If there was such a thing, he wouldn't be floating in the ocean now.
It's because the loneliness sunk deeply into his mind.
Urata-san killed himself.
It's only been three days.
He must have already set his mind when he came here.
You didn't notice anything at the time?
I'll identify the woman and come back.
It was that close?
- Welcome. - May I?
Please.
Ah, right.
( Barber License - Esumi Sachiko )
How much should I cut?
Well, I guess... J-Just a tiny bit.
Sure.
You aren't from around here, right?
That's right.
I just went to the association's president...
I'm looking for a nice property to maybe open a flower shop.
You won't get any customers if you open shop around here.
It's like time has come to a stop in this town.
I just heard about it... Urata-san seems to have died.
So it seems.
He wasn't one of your customers?
The photographer was different.
( news article about the suicide )
You're alone?
Well, I mean... I figured you might be running it
together with your husband or something.
It's been 28 years since I took over from my late parents.
I've been running it by myself all this time.
28 years...
You're using things like your computer a lot?
You were using it before...
I'm just browsing the web.
There's a lot of downtime, you see.
What kind of sites do you browse?
Like sites where people submit their travel pictures...
So you like to travel a lot?
Looking at the pictures of various landscapes makes me feel like I've been there,
so that's more than enough for me.
But doesn't that sound a bit lonely?
It sure does...
Forgive me. I didn't mean to...
( Photo Equipment Room; old kanji )
( No free storage space left. )
( Delete Video / Cancel )
I'm sorry!
( Delete Video )
I can't make out the man's face from the image.
You didn't get anything from the license plate number?
It's not that simple.
Huh? What's that sound?
The device is booting up. Somebody turned on his computer.
What!? Then what about the data?
Kei, you hear me? Is the data safe?
I'm copying the data and deleting the original.
How's it going?
Kei!? What's happening!?
Be quiet!
Let's see who we got here and where.
I infiltrated the DLTB's (DMV) database and checked the number.
( District Land Transport Bureau )
"Yamato Chousa-Kai Keihin Shisha"
( Public Security Intelligence Agency )
A private investigation company on the local Public Security's payroll.
Public Security!?
They look like a detective agency, but they're actually one of their subcontractors.
Huh? What's their job?
Surveillance of people of interest.
So Urata-san was monitored by those guys?
No idea.
- That's the guy you saw? - Yeah.
Huh? How!?
I remotely recorded it with the camera in Urata's PC.
I haven't been able to boot it up since then.
They must have destroyed the hard-disk to preserve classified information.
What about the data?
We got it before them.
Urata-san didn't even leave a will.
Nobody knows why he killed himself.
The only one who knows the reason is the person himself.
I'm angry at myself, you know.
I got excited when he came here...
If I paid more attention back then,
I might have been able to do something...
I'm angry that we have to clean up after his suicide.
We're not some errand boys.
Huh? What's this?
Recordings?
My wife's in a bad mood.
Of course she is.
She wanted to see her grandchild
and already prepared the New Year's food.
You still working it out with the bride?
This is Esumi-san's voice.
I guess a fishing village is no place to raise a daughter...
Report?
New Customer. Unidentified.
Regular holiday, out shopping.
Customer is Nakayama Nomi from the neighborhood.
The last one is from the day he made the contract.
Does this mean that Urata-san monitored Esumi-san?
So what we just heard was a wiretap?
Esumi moved once when she was 18.
15 years later, in 1990, she returned to her parents' home.
She said she took over when they died.
If we assume that's when the surveillance began, he's been doing it for 28 years.
She's just some barbershop lady, though...
Why?
People aren't what they seem.
Urata continued to monitor her under Public Security's orders,
but he had begun to feel a sense of guilt for quite some time now.
And by handing over that data to her upon his death,
it was his way of confessing his sin?
We hand over the copy as agreed and we're done.
After her husband died
she sure tried her best by herself.
Another shop gone, huh?
It's getting lonely here.
I hope you'll never tell me that you want to close up shop, too.
You're the youngest person in this shopping street.
Please don't forget that I'm also already in my sixties.
Even I don't know how long I'll be able to continue.
Also, there's those 1000 Yen salons, right?
( travel photo upload site )
- Thank you very much. - Thank you.
Did you know? There are different meanings depending on the number of roses.
I don't care.
Hey.
What? Why?
Esumi-san.
Esumi-san!
( business closed notice, thank-you message )
Esumi-san!
Seems like there's nobody inside.
Banks sure are fussy these days.
Not even a respectable law firm like us
is a allowed a little gray area anymore.
He received 30,000 Yen every month from Yamato Chousa-Kai Keihin Shiten.
This is proof that Urata Fumio was an S for Public Security.
S?
It's what they call a spy or cooperative worker.
Look, he used to get paid on the 5th of every month,
but he didn't get paid last month.
- Public Security stopped the surveillance. - My thoughts exactly.
It's the age of AI dealing with counter terrorism.
Nobody is going to waste any money
on such old-fashioned methods anymore.
A 28 year-long surveillance...
I wonder what it must have been like for our client.
So, still no sign of Esumi Sachiko anywhere?
Closing her business and disappearing the moment our client died.
Can't be a coincidence.
Let's pay Urata's photo studio a visit.
That so?
Yes, I kinda want to open a flower shop...
Yes, I'm thinking about it. Yeah.
So I return the key to the trade association when I'm done?
Alright, I'll only trim up at the sides as usual.
Tonight's very cold, huh?
- See you next month, Shirane-san. - Yes.
- Thank you. - Sorry for coming so late.
If you say something like that
it's only natural for your wife to become mad.
No matter how old, a woman is still a woman.
You have to pay a little more attention.
It's 35°C again today!
It sure does get hot as soon as the typhoon passes through.
It seems it's gonna stay like this for a while, so that's gonna be a pain.
Ah, the newspaper, yes. I'm in the middle of working right now.
I prepared the money over there.
Yes, over there.
Welcome.
Ah, Sakaguchi-san, I'm sorry.
I hope you don't mind waiting a little?
What!? Taeko-chan gave birth to a little baby boy?
Congratulations!
You're a grandpa now.
It's been your dream to play catch with your grandchild, right?
I'm glad you'll get that chance now.
My sight's been getting worse lately.
I'm already 50 after all.
I would have never imagined I'd become like this when I was young,
but the days and months just keep on going by so fast.
That's no good! You can't just keep on eating that stuff!
You have to watch your nutrition.
You're not some young guy anymore.
Why don't you find yourself a wife?
Do you remember?
The campfire after the athletic festival?
Even after the teachers put out the fire nobody went home.
Ever since then,
Shinji-kun and Micchan have been going steady.
And now they already have seven grandchildren.
Miraculous, isn't it?
Cold...
Maybe he wasn't as lonely as we think.
Maybe he found salvation in watching over her every single day.
But if that's the case, it must have been quite a shock when he got pulled off.
It's not that unlikely that he felt like he lost the reason for his own existence.
I wonder where Esumi-san went?
We won't be able to keep our promise if we don't find her.
You're two minutes late.
Ah, sorry.
I figured out where she moved when she was 18.
A barber school's dorm in Yoyogi.
I looked for social media accounts under her real name that were created around the same time.
This is the address.
A son looking for his long-lost mother.
Ah, you're talking about me?
Time for some filial piety.
You're asking the impossible!
No information on Goto.
Goto? Information on Goto?
Social media sure is amazing.
I never thought I'd meet Sacchan's son.
We've been separated since primary school...
You can't hate your mother!
I'm sure she must have had her reasons.
Ah, right. Speaking of my mother,
I'd like to find out more about her...
All I know about her
are the two years after school.
When she finished school,
she became an intern at our barbershop in the hotel.
But still...
So many things had happened during that time.
Like what?
She's been in a relationship with a man
and we often got visited by detectives.
Detectives?
Well, hairdressers like us always have bad luck with men.
- Right? - It's the other way.
Our owner here was my senior when I was an intern.
- I got seduced and... - Why did the detectives come?
He was involved in a student movement kind of group
and they were being harassed by the police, Sacchan told me.
That guy was an extremist, wasn't he?
An extremist?
I've seen this face before!
It's been posted all over Japan for 43 years after all.
Goto Suguru is part of an extremist group who were strifing
for a revolution by tactical bombing and one of the suspects in the 1975 bombing
of an extra-governmental organization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He's still at large
and considering he was 21 at the time... He must be 64 years old today.
Esumi Sachiko was in a relationship with this man.
Since there's a possiblity he might turn up, she became a target for surveillance.
For 43 years?
Wait a second, isn't there a statute of limitations?
In this special case
he fled the country during the trial of an accomplice,
causing the period of statute of limitations to be suspended.
Simply put, since the trial of the accomplice already began
there's no statue of limitations
about how many years it will take to complete the trial.
But Public Security still aborted the surveillance.
It was weird for them to monitor his former girlfriend for 43 years in the first place.
Taking over from where your predecessor left off and continuing in the same fashion
is a commonly bad bureaucratic routine.
Extremists or Public Security spies are nothing but ghosts today.
Don't joke about Urata-san being a ghost.
The last entry in the document is an URL.
I scanned it through, but it's really just this site.
This...
This could be the site she's been browsing...
She said she had to kill a lot of time between customers.
There must be something to this site or he wouldn't have written it down...
But it's just full of pictures of sight-seeing areas.
I tried various keywords to find some sort of clue, but nothing so far.
I want you to deliver it to a certain person together with a bouquet of roses.
Roses...
Maybe roses?
They say there are different meanings depending on the number of roses.
So, how many?
If it's roses, probably a hundred?
User "100 Roses".
A new submission once a year for 10 years.
All of them train stations.
What does it mean?
Let's compare them with Urata's records.
2008/09/09
2008/09/09...
"Out shopping. Customers: Aoki and Yoshikawa Nomi from the neighborhood."
"One incoming call to check if it's open." "Florist comes by."
2009/07/10
"Visiting a barber tool's trader." "Going to the bank."
"Florist comes by."
2010/04/03
"Customers keep on coming. Very busy."
"Florist comes by."
2011/01/12
Florist comes by.
Goes out.
What's wrong?
The next one?
2012/03/15
March 15th...
Florist comes by.
Goes out.
Next one?
2013/06/05
On each of those dates the florist came by.
And one week later she would always leave her shop.
If we assume that the florist is a reference to the user "100 Roses,"
then "florist comes by" must mean that a new picture was submitted.
So the "100 Roses" guy is the fugitive Goto?
He's telling her where and when to meet?
2018/05/09
The day Urata killed himself.
It's been one week tomorrow!
But this one isn't a train station.
This is Kojimachi West Park.
The place of the bombing 43 years ago.
- It's unlikely that Goto would pick this place. - Then who submitted the picture?
( Esumi Sachiko, 1975/03/13 )
Why not get
a haircut at our shop for once?
I'm done now.
Sacchan!
- It's terrible! - What happened?
The photographer, he jumped into the ocean and died...
I'm done now as well...
Esumi-san has been meeting him once a year, huh?
They're inseparable.
She must be supporting him financially.
And Urata-san pretended not to know?
Is Goto going to show up?
We're only here to take care of the request.
Hand this over and come back immediately.
Why only five roses? Isn't this too shabby?
It's fine. Now hurry up.
It's her who tipped them off?
Go! Go!
Excuse me...
I was asked to give this to you from the photographer.
On there
are his records about you from the past 28 years.
My apologies for checking.
The photographer, he had been...
I already realized it a long time ago.
What a fool he was. For decades he just...
When time stopped for me,
he'd always been close by my side.
But eventually time started to move again...
And then he...
I must have made time stop for him as well...
I can't really explain it well,
but I think he felt grateful.
I think that because of you...
...he didn't feel lonely even though he was alone.
That's why he asked me to...!
Thank you.
( five roses )
I had no idea five roses have such a meaning!
Kei, you're surprisingly romantic.
Shut up.
Translation: HPriest @ d-addicts Twitter: @hpriestsubs