Chapter 127 - Name and Reality 50 {78 Alone} (179–181 Takeshita Talks About the Keiyo Hospital Problem)
"I don't mind. I can trust Takeshita not to leak anything before it's resolved... Besides, as a former colleague and superior, I think I understand well enough the strength of your feelings regarding this series of cases. So, I'll tell you now not just about Isaka, but also details of the investigation I haven't told you yet. Since the police side took the lead in exposing the Oshima matter to society, the situation has changed too."
Saying this, Nishida explained in detail the parts that hadn't been reported: the truth about "Abe" found on Kitamura's recording tape, which Takeshita hadn't been told at all; the resulting arrest of Higashikan and the fact that he was a scapegoat for a yakuza named Ohara; and the connection to the Shiun Association office bombing. He also emphasized the reason Onodera had impersonated his cousin Kuwano—a point Takeshita had flagged—and the fact that the perpetrator had been hiding in Oshima's office.
Takeshita listened with great admiration, especially regarding the fact that the word "Abe" was not a person's surname but a dialect from the Tohoku region like Iwate; the possibility that the office bombing was meant to silence an executive whom the Aoi-ikka mistakenly believed was the perpetrator; the possibility that diplomatic issues with North Korea envisioned by the Takamatsu administration had an influence; and the strong possibility that Oshima Kaiji, or rather Onodera Michitoshi's impersonation of Kuwano Kinya to flee, was shadowed by the war.
Among those, regarding the discovery of the sequence from Abe and Kuwano's evasion of conscription, he praised the two to the level of absolute acclaim, making Nishida and Yoshimura feel almost embarrassed, given that mere coincidence had also played a part.
Also, from Isaka Masamitsu's testimony, he learned with surprise that the root of Isaka Daikichi's blackmail of Oshima was actually a strong jealousy over Oshima Kaiji's draft evasion, and that Masamitsu had testified that he had properly kept the shares belonging to Hojo Masato and Mende's son, which they were supposed to have usurped along with Oshima—something he hadn't even considered during the investigation.
And regarding the fact that the current Kitami Regional Headquarters Chief was the maternal grandson of that Kaito Takumi, while feeling a strange sense of fate, he was greatly convinced by the connection to today's press conference and the raid on Oshima's office.
"Kaito-ism... I heard about it directly from Koshiba-san during the investigation in Tokyo, but you remembered it too, Nishida-san..."
"Yeah. Somehow, I remembered hearing it from you. However, he's not just strong in his sense of justice; he's quite cunning in a good way. Even looking at today's conference."
"Well, if you don't have that much of a brain... you can't possibly get promoted in a large organization with just sound arguments. Unfortunately, clean talk alone won't do..."
Though he didn't say it, Takeshita spoke words filled with conviction, likely reflecting on his own past.
"Speaking of which, regarding Koshiba-san, I heard he passed away two years ago. I happened to get curious and looked it up... Well, given his age, it's perfectly fine to say he lived a full life."
"I see, he passed away... Oshima himself is 87 as Kuwano Kinya, and his actual age as Onodera Michitoshi is 84... It seems he's not at a point where he can't actually be arrested, but it's a fact that he's had a stroke, and it wouldn't be surprising whenever he passes away... I have to resolve this as soon as possible..."
Nishida made a grimace and lightly struck his forehead with his fist.
"But the Sada murder reaches its statute of limitations at the end of September, right? That's extremely tight."
"No, no, it's the end of the year, Takeshita-san!"
Yoshimura triumphantly corrected him for the uncharacteristic slip. In fact, it was a rudimentary mistake for Takeshita.
"That's right! I have to add the period of the public trial from indictment to the final judgment... What about the time spent overseas?"
He didn't hide his 'you got me' expression but asked for further confirmation.
"He hated overseas travel, and partly because he had retired from important posts, it wasn't even two weeks in total, unfortunately," Yoshimura informed him regretfully.
"That guy has some persistent devil's luck." Takeshita also clicked his tongue and twisted his face.
"It's been seven years since you left the police, Takeshita. I guess enough time has passed that you'd finally make such a basic mistake," Nishida pointed out.
"Maybe so... If you think of 'ten years as an era,' in a sense, 70% of it is already in the past... But even as a journalist who's handled criminal cases, isn't this an inexcusable mistake?" he said, pressing his lips together in frustration. But as if pulling himself together, he emphasized to the two, "At any rate, we have to indict for the Sada case by the end of the year."
"Of course. So, to put it the other way, in the worst case, I'd like to arrest him by mid-November, starting with the hospital shooting case..."
As Nishida trailed off, Yoshimura spoke up.
"But if the powers that be have 'abandoned' Oshima, it seems like it wouldn't be that far off."
"That's true, but whether the Takamatsu administration mostly abandoning Oshima immediately makes an arrest by the police possible is quite delicate," Takeshita raised a doubt.
"For what reason?"
"Yoshimura, think about it carefully. Keiyo Hospital is, so to speak, a 'purveyor hospital' and a 'refuge' for the big shots of the political and business worlds. To begin with, Keiyo University itself has many alumni in politics and business, and Prime Minister Takamatsu himself is a graduate of the parent Keiyo University. And right now, although the Umeda Faction, to which Oshima Kaiji belongs, has left the mainstream of the Minyu Party, he remains an influential member of parliament. The Minyu Party itself hasn't gone as far as recommending his resignation. At most, they're washing their hands of it, saying 'the decision to stay or leave is the exclusive prerogative of the individual member.' Or rather, you could say they're abandoning their responsibility. After all, even if the Umeda Faction's power isn't what it used to be, the fact that they aren't completely powerless as a faction within the party is likely having an influence. If that's the case, I don't think Keiyo Hospital can immediately do a 180 on their response up to now. I don't know how long they'll shelter him, but it's safe to assume they aren't in a position to kick him out immediately."
"If that's the case, I hope it's not a situation where we can't arrest him until the Sada case reaches its statute of limitations?" Yoshimura asked anxiously.
"I wouldn't go that far... but I don't know until when..." Takeshita trailed off, but Nishida also felt that Takeshita's explanation hit the mark.
"Assuming the stroke story is true, and this might contradict what I said earlier, I don't think it's at a point where things will happen immediately. After all, he was attending the Diet and should have been relatively healthy... until Nakagawa was arrested, anyway... Either way, there's the statute of limitations, and I'm dying to catch him as soon as possible... But as Takeshita says, the administration's intent is just 'we don't know anything anymore,' and they won't go as far as actually kicking him out of the hospital, nor do they intend to. Once they've kicked him out of their 'territory,' the rest doesn't matter to them; isn't that the position of the Takamatsu administration and the police higher-ups? Though the Regional Headquarters Chief gave them a bit of a pursuit..."
Nishida said this, but the conversation didn't expand further.
As the air in the room cooled slightly and the conversation stopped, Yoko brought in whiskey, ice, and glasses. She had apparently been waiting for the right timing after confirming they had finished all the beer. After Nishida and Takeshita thanked her, Yoshimura opened the bottle, put ice in each glass, and poured the whiskey. The three of them silently clinked their glasses and savored the whiskey.
"Actually, the reason I called saying I wanted to meet today is exactly that matter. The conversation got lively in a different direction and we took a detour to get here."
Takeshita spoke up suddenly while swirling his glass.
"Oh? Is this the topic you wanted to talk about?"
Nishida was caught off guard by the unexpected turn, but come to think of it, he had been preoccupied with the press conference talk without properly hearing what Takeshita wanted to discuss.
"The flow of the conversation was toward the press conference itself from the start, so I'm sorry for the detour."
Takeshita appeared thoroughly apologetic, so Nishida dismissed it.
"I'm the one who set that flow, so my bad."
"No, no, it's not like there was any ill intent."
He laughed off Nishida's frank apology, but his face quickly turned serious.
"So, it's about Oshima's hospitalization? Specifically, what kind of talk is it?"
When Nishida asked for Takeshita's opinion again, Takeshita said something that seemed completely unrelated at first.
"Do you two remember the story from the beginning of this year about a living donor liver transplant from a parent to a girl failing at Kanagawa Women's Medical University Hospital?"
"No, I have no memory of that at all, but is it okay that it's a story about Kanagawa Women's Medical, not Keiyo Hospital?"
Not only Nishida, but Yoshimura next to him seemed to have no memory of it either. It would be more accurate to say they didn't have the information to begin with, rather than having forgotten it.
"Then let's assume you don't remember. To explain briefly, at Kanagawa Women's Medical University Hospital, a living donor liver transplant from a biological father to his daughter failed due to a surgical error, and the donor father died. As for the daughter who received the transplant, it seems it was successful and she has been discharged. I remember this much myself. Several national newspapers, starting with the Higashi Nippon Shinbun, reported it."
"No, even after being explained this much, I don't get it at all."
Nishida felt completely stumped after hearing the story, putting both hands behind his head.
"Either way, since it's a story about Kanagawa Women's Medical..." he muttered.
"No, the problem is what comes after that. Please bear with me and listen for a while."
Takeshita gave a gentle but firm warning.
"However, suddenly, the Higashi Nippon Shinbun, which was trying to put out a follow-up article, decided not to publish anything beyond the initial report."
"Which means pressure was applied from somewhere, right?"
Yoshimura pointed his right index finger at Takeshita and rattled it off quickly as if he were in a quiz show.
"Well done for you, Yoshimura. After today's press conference, when I thanked Tojitsu's reporter Masaki for 'asking on my behalf,' he said, 'It helped me too, getting some interesting information.' And naturally, the flow turned to the talk of Oshima Kaiji, who is hospitalized at Keiyo Hospital. At that time, Masaki said, 'Keiyo Hospital's skills are certain, but they're ethically rotten, so unfortunately, I think he'll be holed up there for a while. I heard from a senior (reporter) in Tokyo that they even used politicians to put pressure on our articles.'"
"Wait a minute! The story just now was about Kanagawa Women's Medical University Hospital, right?" Nishida interjected, tilting his head.
"There's more to the story, so could you stay quiet for a while?"
This time with a stronger tone, Takeshita restrained Nishida's interruption.
"The medical team that was performing the living donor liver transplant at Kanagawa Women's Medical University Hospital was apparently led by a transplant surgeon named Uozumi, who is somewhat famous in that 'circle.' Incidentally, it seems that Keiyo University is considered the highest authority for living donor liver transplants in Japan, alongside Kyoto University (Author's Note: The model for Keiyo University is different), but Uozumi is also from the transplant surgery department of Keiyo University School of Medicine, and the team was also composed mainly of doctors from Keiyo Hospital and graduates of Keiyo University School of Medicine. And his mentor and professor emeritus is Sakuma, the current Director of Keiyo Hospital, who is said to be the highest authority on transplant surgery in Japan. Of course, Sakuma and his prized disciples like Uozumi have performed many living donor liver transplant surgeries in Japan."
"From the flow of the story, it seems that Director Sakuma of Keiyo Hospital is fundamentally involved..."
Nishida also began to see the direction of the conversation, so he became more attentive.
"That's right, but there's still more... So, according to Masaki, 'If my dear prized disciple is about to be severely criticized in the newspapers... or rather, if my entire school of thought might be criticized,' then he couldn't just stand by, or perhaps he was pleaded with by his disciple Uozumi; I don't know which, but he apparently put pressure on the Higashi Nippon Shinbun. The one who directly applied the pressure was the current Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ogasawara, but it seems he only did it under the instructions of the Minyu Party heavyweight, MP Mieno. Mieno is a member of the mid-sized Ohno Group faction, but on top of being from Keiyo, he's been a member of the health and welfare tribe since his father's generation and has experience as the Minister of Health and Welfare, so he has very strong connections with the medical association and the nurses' association. It seems Ogasawara couldn't defy him either. And what's important is that the one who was whistleblowing on Uozumi was a doctor who was on Uozumi's team at Kanagawa Women's Medical. However, it seems they were a doctor who had originally come to work at Keiyo Hospital from the outside, not a graduate of Keiyo Medicine, and they had been dispatched to Kanagawa Women's Medical as part of the medical team along with Uozumi. And having encountered this error, and seeing that it didn't come to light, they apparently recognized that it was due to Sakuma's power. Despite Sakuma retiring as hospital director this September, it seems the successor is also likely to be someone under the strong influence of Sakuma and the Keiyo faction; thinking that the medical world as a whole and their former Keiyo Hospital must change, they resolved to blow the whistle, mainly to the Higashi Nippon Shinbun. And it became an article for the first time, but after that... it ended up with that kind of conclusion..."
Nishida had been listening intently to Takeshita's story, but he had a major question.
"But the Higashi Nippon Shinbun is relatively left-wing and strong on criticizing power, so does that kind of thing work?"
"Nishida-san! In the essence of the Japanese media, there is no right or left! The 'front sign' is indeed pro-power like the Tozai Shinbun, or liberal to left-wing like the Mainichi or Higashi Nippon, but in the end, it's a world where beat reporters are prowling around the press clubs like monsters... If it comes to a level where they can't get interviews or they anger a sponsor, unfortunately, they easily cave and won't report it. I don't want to say this while being in the industry... I vaguely knew it before I entered, but after I entered, unfortunately, the reality is that I often strongly reaffirm that point. Anyway, it seems the Higashi Nippon eventually gave up on further articles. The reporter in charge apparently resigned in protest—a truly irredeemable conclusion..."
Takeshita said this and crunched on the ice in his glass. As someone involved in reporting, he must have felt a sense of shame.
"At any rate, it's the Takamatsu Cabinet, which is very popular with the public, so writing even a slightly critical article causes various hindrances, and if the beat reporters don't function, information doesn't come in. Since 'pressure' was applied by a sitting minister of that cabinet, it seems they were quite hesitant to publish an accusatory article over a mere medical error with no ill intent. To put it the other way, the reason Regional Headquarters Chief Yasumura's 'request' went through, even though they were university classmates, might have been a coordinated play that succeeded because both sides recognized the implicit understanding from the Takamatsu Cabinet to cut Oshima loose... This is just a hypothesis based on what I just heard from you, Nishida-san, and there's a possibility it's not the case."
Takeshita said this and looked at Nishida.
"But if that's the case, doesn't it mean Oshima will be released from the hospital soon after all? After all, Director Yasumura, the Section Chief Assistant, and you, Takeshita-san, all take the view that the reason this press conference was permitted was because he was abandoned by the Takamatsu Cabinet."
Yoshimura placed his glass down carelessly and twisted his mouth as if he couldn't accept it.
"No, no, didn't I just say it? Even if Takamatsu abandoned him, that's just a kind of abandonment of responsibility, saying 'the administration is unrelated,' and he hasn't been completely abandoned by the Minyu Party. Takamatsu's method is just to appeal to public opinion with the approach that 'the old Minyu Party and my cabinet are parting ways'; if the public is satisfied with that, to put it extremely, it's already complete there."
Nishida didn't hide his loathsome feelings.
"To begin with, Keiyo Hospital's character as a refuge up to now should have been maintained by the relationship between the old university and affiliated hospital upper management, including the Keiyo faction, and those people in the old power structure of the Minyu Party; that's not going to be overturned suddenly... That said, even I, who am saying such grand things, only heard most of today's story today, and I can't possibly say I understand it all myself..."
Takeshita added to that, but he looked a little awkward.
"But Takeshita-san, you didn't stop by just to give that whole explanation, did you?"
To Yoshimura's talk, Nishida also agreed.
"Yeah. You came all this way because you have something that might be useful for arresting Oshima, right?"