OCHANOMIZU
JAPAN SUPIRI PHARMACEUTICALS HEADQUARTERS
Begin.
Don't move!
This is a raid in response to a violation of the pharmaceutics law!
Get their cell phones too.
Yes, sir.
Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office, Special Investigations.
KASUMIGASEKI TOKYO PUBLIC PROSECUTORS OFFICE
Here we go.
ASSISTANT OFFICER ATSUHIKO FUMIO
Good morning, Mr. Seizaki.
You're early.
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ZEN SEIZAKI
How many boxes?
-This makes 20. -We're going to do this in two days.
You read too fast, Mr. Seizaki.
We have to or else we won't be able to finish.
Do you have any idea how many boxes we seized?
Seven hundred.
Don't say anything!
That just makes it worse.
Reading is such tedious work.
I can hear you.
Fumio. What's the crime they're being accused of in the Agras case?
Violating the pharmaceutics law.
-Be specific. -What?
A ban on false advertising of Agras, their new drug.
Japan Supiri requested several universities to provide fake data that made
the drug seem more effective than it really was.
That's right.
In other words, we have to find proof that they paid off these four universities.
Listen, Fumio.
Reading takes you closer to the truth, one step at a time.
-It's like a "ruler for justice." -"Ruler for justice."
Right?
So, this is correct...
The headquarters of Japan Supiri,
a pharmaceutical company, was raided yesterday.
-It's on TV! -The Tokyo District Public
Prosecutors Office Special Investigations Team reported they're investigating the company
for false advertising of their new drug, Agras.
Next up is...
There are now only 20 days left until the Shiniki mayoral election.
They didn't give it much coverage.
It's an illegal kickback from a pharmaceutical company to some universities.
Most people wouldn't be interested in the story.
Secretary General Ryuichiro Nomaru's announcement of his candidacy excited the Liberal Justice Party.
-Everyone's focused on the election. -They've almost finished choosing the candidates.
I wish I could handle a political case.
"I'm going to defeat evil!" In my dreams!
Wow. You're enthusiastic.
Mr. Morinaga!
DIRECTOR YASUTAKA MORINAGA
I apologize!
Fumio. The work we perform here is fundamentally the same,
no matter what the case is.
I won't forget!
So? Are you making progress on the Agras case?
Yes. Japan Supiri isn't sophisticated enough
to hide the evidence in anticipation of the investigation.
It's only a matter of time.
I see. Well, since the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare is the one making the accusation,
it's safe to assume there's been illegal activity.
Well, then. Please continue working on it.
-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
I'm going to be late today too.
Yeah. Okay.
Say hi to Asuma for me.
HITOMI SEIZAKI
How old is Asuma now?
He's already 7.
Thanks.
Can you tell I used different coffee beans?
I liked the old ones better.
You're so picky, Mr. Seizaki.
Huh? Did you spill some?
There's a stain.
This isn't a new stain...
Is something wrong?
This is...
a blood stain.
What? No way.
Holy Rafaela Medical School.
It's not one of the four.
Clinical tests of Seiren, a sleeping pill.
The doctor in charge...
was Shin Inaba.
-It's a piece of hair. -What?
There's also fingernails.
Is this skin?
That dark area at the bottom.
You can see letters if you look closely.
Is that the letter F?
How did this happen?
In any case,
the person who wrote this
wasn't mentally stable.
KAWASAKI HOLY RAFAELA MEDICAL SCHOOL
I'm from the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office.
You want Dr. Inaba, right?
Please wait a moment.
It seems unrelated to the Agras case.
We don't know for sure yet.
Excuse me...
Associate Professor Inaba from Anesthesiology
has been off since yesterday.
TAMA CENTER SHIN INABA'S HOME
This is it.
No one's home.
Fumio.
Classical music?
We're going in.
We don't have a warrant.
I asked for one.
Okay.
It's so loud!
Mr. Inaba! Are you there?
I'm opening it!
Mr. Inaba!
TAMA EAST CENTRAL POLICE STATION
-Hi, Mr. Kujiin. -Sorry to bother you.
No problem.
It's a request from Mr. Seizaki and Mr. Fumio.
ASSISTANT POLICE INSPECTOR SHINOBU KUJIIN
It looks like you
stumbled into another strange crime scene.
So? How much information can you give me this time?
Everything.
There's something weird about this case.
I want to cooperate with the district police for the investigation.
Then let's begin.
First, I'll explain the results of our inspection.
-It was an anesthesia overdose? -Yes.
Inaba was connected to a general anesthesia machine used for surgery.
The machine was set to increase the amount of anesthetic gradually.
But there was something peculiar about it.
It was set to reach the lethal dose in...
30 hours?
That means it was a suicide, right?
If it was murder, the murderer wouldn't have given him so much time to escape.
But why would he choose an uncertain way of killing himself? He could stop any time.
-You're right. -Would it hold up as circumstantial evidence?
Well, I can't say for sure.
But I think they'll probably handle it as a suicide.
There were no traces of physical violence on his body or in the room.
They even found a will.
There was nothing unusual written in it though.
Well, that's where we are right now.
Also...
there was a couple that visited Inaba often starting two months ago.
As of now, we know the name of the male.
Tomokazu Ano.
Let's start the investigation from there.
Is that everything?
No. There's something else.
I see.
This case looks like it could get pretty dark.
Did you discover anything?
Yes. A few things.
I got the results for the piece of hair.
The blood and skin stuck to it belonged to Inaba.
I see.
And the couple that always visited Inaba.
We still don't know who the woman is.
All we have on her is the security camera footage.
And... I'm about to get to the main topic.
It's big.
Is it about the man's identity?
Yes. Tomokazu Ano, 66 years old.
He's a diet member secretary.
And for an important one. An ex-member of the House of Representatives.
The Secretary General of the Liberal Justice Party.
Ryuichiro Nomaru's private secretary.
Thank you for all of your support today!
Please give your support to Ryuichiro Nomaru!
Nomaru, huh?
And at such a time like this?
MAYORAL ELECTION BEGINS!
The citizens are focused on
the Shiniki mayoral election right now.
If the leading candidate gets arrested,
it would be a huge scandal that would go down in history.
Are you ready to bear that responsibility?
Yes.
I guess I didn't have to ask you.
I feel like there's more to this suicide than meets the eye too.
However, we're not at the point yet where we can officially act on it.
Luckily, we have enough people on the Agras case.
Start working on the suicide with just you and Fumio first.
Yes, sir.
I'm sure you already know this. Don't slack off about reporting what you find.
Use the utmost care.
Evil is what we're fighting against,
in any situation.
Shiniki.
An independent city that is being developed in the western part of Tokyo.
Shiniki was established to mitigate the effects of over-centralization in Tokyo.
It was granted a greater level of authority than that of other core cities and designated cities.
It can be classified as the second Tokyo for all practical purposes.
This is bad!
It's much worse than the Agras case!
That's right.
If Nomaru really was involved with Inaba's suicide...
That means it's related to the election, right?
We don't know for sure yet. We're going to keep doing the groundwork, just like before.
Yes. By the way,
we received the security camera footage from the university.
I can't see her facial features from this angle.
You're right.
I'm going to tell Kujiin to continue investigating Inaba.
-I'm going to investigate Ano. -I'm going to investigate the campaign office.
Thanks.
GINZA IZAKAYA "KOTETSU"
JOURNALIST ARIYOSHI HANTA
Hey! Zen!
You know,
I'm so happy to be able to hang out with the person who's been my best friend since college!
Right, Zen?
I have a favor to ask.
Are you ignoring what I just said?
And I don't do favors.
You know that public prosecutors and journalists aren't supposed to be in contact, right?
We're not a public prosecutor and a journalist.
We're...?
Best friends.
Then there's no problem, right?
The private secretary for Nomaru, who's running in the Shiniki mayoral election,
contacted a doctor from a university hospital.
The doctor later died a suspicious death before the election in an apparent suicide.
This smells like bad news already.
What do you think?
These are the latest stats for the election.
The frontrunner is Ryuichiro Nomaru, of course.
However, it's possible that Aosaka, the celebrity,
or Itsuki, the youngest candidate, could pull out ahead.
I'm sure Nomaru's campaign team is doing everything they can, just to be safe.
Yeah.
With all that's going on,
his secretary still paid frequent visits to that associate professor from the university hospital.
It's weird, right?
It is weird.
In other words, you're saying you want me to investigate Nomaru?
Yeah.
-And you're saying I can't write a story about it. -That's right.
You know...
Do you have any idea how crazy you sound?
We're...?
Best friends. I'll do it!
Thanks.
There's less than two weeks left until the Shiniki mayoral election.
-Early afternoon today at the Hashimoto Station... -Ano is leaving!
He's in his car.
She's young.
That's not the same woman.
Not only that, she's just a girl.
ROPPONGI RESTAURANT "SUMII"
Mr. Seizaki!
That's...
the president of the Tokyo Construction Contractors Federation, Shinzo Chijima!
He's...
the head of a huge voting bloc in Tokyo!
What are we going to do?
-You go follow Chijima! -Yes!
Fumio!
All right.
How's the situation?
Chijima and the girl entered a hotel.
I see.
If we tell the hotel who we are, we can catch them in the act.
No.
You're going to let them get away with it?
This is obviously prostitution, right?
They're using that girl to get votes from the Tokyo Construction Contractors Federation.
Just like how you can't separate politics from money,
-you can't separate politics from sex-- -Of course I know that.
But it's happening right in front of us.
Doesn't it frustrate you, Mr. Seizaki?
Fumio.
You're right. It's a violation of election law.
But they've done this hundreds of times behind the scenes.
They've learned this way of doing things.
Even if one of them ended up dying, they'd just make a lower ranked guy the scapegoat.
We won't let...
people like them get away with it.
Nomaru is surrounded by professionals.
It won't be easy to take them down.
However, I think I've found a way.
You found a way?
That girl is an amateur.
She's not doing it for a living.
If we can get her to testify,
then we can charge Nomaru!
Yes. However, it won't be easy.
If she refuses to cooperate with the investigation and tells Nomaru, then it's all over.
Hold it in for now, Fumio.
So that we can stop them for sure.
Mr. Seizaki. You're actually a passionate person.
Don't underestimate me.
I remember now.
What?
I remember that public prosecutors are allies of justice.
THE GIRL LEFT FIRST!
I'LL FOLLOW HER AND FIND OUT WHO SHE IS.
ALL RIGHT. DON'T GET TOO CLOSE. BE CAREFUL OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
ROGER.
I GOT HER APARTMENT NUMBER. IT'S 701. SHALL I JOIN YOU OVER THERE?
GOOD JOB. I'M FINE ALONE.
WE'LL TELL MORINAGA TOMORROW MORNING. GET READY.
How'd it go?
I asked the guys covering politics,
but they didn't find any recent stories related to the Construction Contractors Federation.
I see.
I bet Nomaru offered the Federation something tempting enough to make them bite.
But I'm not sure what it was.
I see. Sorry to bother you so late.
No problem. See you.
ARIYOSHI HANTA
ATSUHIKO FUMIO
FUMIO
Hey! Fumio!
Fumio!
GOODBYE, MR. SEIZAKI. I KNOW IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO YEARS, BUT THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
The story, characters, locations, and laws in this work are fictitious.
No identification with actual ideas or beliefs is intended.