Chapter 128 - Name and Reality 51 {79 Alone} (182–184 A New Approach to Evicting Oshima)
"As expected, neither of you has lost sight of that. Well, that's how it is."
When Takeshita said that, he even seemed to have a faint smile on his face.
"Enough with the preamble, just spit it out."
Nishida hurried him, his voice roughening as he sloppily poured himself some whiskey.
"Yes, yes, I understand. Then... In this situation, don't you think we have to take measures to actively move the hospital side?"
"Hmm? What do you mean by move?"
Nishida sought his true meaning.
"Hmm..."
Unusually for Takeshita, he didn't answer immediately despite having brought up the topic himself.
"What is it, just a bunch of nonsense?"
The alcohol helped, but his tone became slightly provocative.
"It's not that... It's just that as a method the police themselves can take, it's a bit reckless... And there's no guarantee that doing this will definitely move the hospital side."
"It's rare for you to be so hesitant after bringing it up yourself, Takeshita-san."
Yoshimura, on the contrary, watched him with concern.
"If we can grab the hospital's Achilles' heel, since the political side has in a sense thrown away their responsibility, I don't think they can maintain the system of protecting Oshima any longer..."
"What's with that consistently vague talk? Be clear, be clear! The story about Kanagawa Women's Medical or whatever from earlier is involved, isn't it!?"
Since even what he finally said was quite abstract, Nishida couldn't hide his dissatisfaction and prodded him further. Hearing that, Takeshita gave a wry smile as if to say 'you got me,' took a light sip of whiskey, and began to speak.
"Well, that's it... Understood! As for the method, it would be to grab the Keiyo Hospital side's weakness and have them either retract the likely fake medical certificate or issue a new, proper one; in the end, that's the only way."
"Well, that would be the quickest way to remove the barrier to arrest, we understand that all too well! But, you know, that's ultimately the doctor's exclusive prerogative... If the doctor says it's impossible, there's nothing the police can do! Just as you said, Takeshita... So, tell us how to achieve that 'grabbing the weakness'! I don't quite get the connection with the medical error either."
Nishida was well aware that he was becoming a bit of a belligerent drunk, but since it was a conversation with his former subordinate after a long time, he was letting it slide on the premise that it would be forgiven.
"To be specific, I think it's about using two approaches. First, to expose through another medium what Tojitsu couldn't report—from the surgical error to the information cover-up. If it's revealed that pressure was applied from the hospital side using politicians, on top of the situation of sheltering Oshima, new material for criticism will be added, making it difficult for the hospital. Eventually, they won't be able to shelter Oshima. For that purpose, specifically, I think there's the option of using a weekly magazine. We could have 'Weekly Sensational Scoop,' which has been landing scoops one after another lately and prides itself on reporting without taboos, do it."
"Aha, 'Sensuku'!"
Yoshimura uttered the magazine's nickname with a grin.
"Weekly Sensational Scoop" had been known until the early 90s as "Weekly Bungaku Ronko," or "Bunron," founded by a major author, but it had changed its name to Sensational Scoop in '96 because the name was too stiff. Since the "Bunron" era, relatively conservative content had been prominent, but perhaps because the editor-in-chief had changed recently, it had started biting in all directions and was landing big scoops involving the political, business, entertainment, and sports worlds.
"Do you have a connection there?"
Nishida turned his gaze, his eyes somewhat fixed.
"No, none at all."
Since he was flatly denied with such refreshing honesty, both Nishida and Yoshimura, partly due to the alcohol, leaned back exaggeratedly.
"Then there's no point!" they said, banging on the table.
"I never said for a moment that I'd do it myself!"
Perhaps irritated by the exaggerated reaction, Takeshita banged back on the table and retorted.
"The point is to ask Takagaki-san!" he snapped.
"Aha. I see, Takagaki-san! But even if Takagaki-san is a freelance journalist, whether or not he has a connection with Sensuku is a separate issue, right?"
Nishida was convinced, but he immediately voiced his concern.
"In '95, before I first contacted Takagaki-san as you instructed, I 'studied up' by looking at Takagaki-san's books with Kurosu. And I remember the book I read then was a collection of articles he had serialized in 'Bunron,' the predecessor of the current Sensuku... I checked online earlier, and it was indeed so. Of course, it was quite an old book, and since the relationship with the current Sensuku editorial department isn't clear, I looked into it further. It turns out that a book he wrote in '99 was also a Sensuku serialization, so I think it's probably doable. Well, I saw some talk online about whether or not there were staff changes in the editorial department after that, so that part is delicate."
"If you've looked into it that much, it might indeed be doable... provided Takagaki-san cooperates."
Yoshimura also said with satisfaction, "massaging" the beef jerky in his mouth.
"Well, assuming Sensuku does the article, the problem is what comes after that, right? The goal is to have them kick Oshima out of the hospital; whether or not that can be achieved is the question."
Nishida leaned in with his elbows on the table and brought his face close to Takeshita's.
"According to Masaki, even at Keiyo Hospital, like the doctor who blew the whistle, there seem to be a fair number of doctors from external medical schools inside. Therefore, while the top might be one way, the inside isn't necessarily a monolith. The doctor who blew the whistle on the medical error was apparently from Kanto Medical University. Now, they've already left both Kanagawa Women's Medical, where they were dispatched, and Keiyo Hospital, their original affiliation—or rather, it feels like they could no longer stay. As a result, inside the hospital, there seem to be various frustrations swirling, centered around doctors who came from the outside. If an article comes out, it wouldn't be strange for it to affect them too. There's a good chance it will become a major help in returning the hospital to proper management. That's the second approach. Well, to be precise, it's closely linked with the use of the weekly magazine."
"I see. A scheme to use external pressure from a weekly magazine and internal frustration to change the dynamics."
Yoshimura used a plausible expression. Since he was using his jaw muscles for the beef jerky, the blood flow to his brain might be improving.
"Well, something like that."
"No, no, 'something like that' is fine, but if you try to do that much, won't it take time? In the worst case, it could be years, right?"
Nishida was maintaining a quite skeptical stance toward Takeshita's opinion today, but rather than being intentional, he just wanted to say that from an objective point of view, Takeshita's plan wouldn't be that easy.
"There's no way we shouldn't use the timing of Director Sakuma of Keiyo Hospital retiring at the end of September, right? As I said earlier, the candidate is already a professor under Sakuma's influence and has been unofficially decided. It seems they're also a graduate of Keiyo Medicine. However, there was apparently a young professor from Kobe Medical University as an opposing candidate, and they seemed to be actively advocating for hospital reform."
"In other words, you'll drop the scoop article there?"
"Yeah. Even if he retires at the end of September, in reality, before that. Since the system under the new director will be established, we want to create an irregular state there and either force internal reform or create a state close to it, so we can kick Oshima out. I can't say anything for sure yet, but we'll have to do it by mid-September."
Hearing this, Nishida pondered for a while.
"It's an interesting story. However, the problem is that we don't know if it will go that well. It's not the kind of thing we can be optimistic about," he said as if squeezing the words out.
"Just as you say, Nishida-san, it might be in a state of a pie in the sky. But I've secured cooperation for information provision from Masaki. I've also obtained the contact information for the reporter who quit. That said, he didn't seem to quite understand why a reporter for a local newspaper in Hokkaido, and a local branch at that, would want to know that much."
Saying that, Takeshita grinned.
"Well, regarding that, since it's a matter we can't get involved in at all, we have no choice but to leave it entirely to you."
Nishida returned to his original posture and nodded to himself.
"As I said earlier, it's simply impossible for the police to do anything. It's just a story on the level of me making up a scenario on my own and trying to manage somehow."
Takeshita himself also lowered his tone.
"By the way, do you have time for that? The journalist business must be busy too, right?"
Yoshimura gave a searching look.
"Fortunately, though I hate to say it, as long as I'm in a marginal post, I intend to thoroughly use the time I can take. I won't go down without a fight!"
Takeshita narrowed his eyes as he said that, but Nishida felt he could see the strong will in the depths of those eyes.
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August 20th. In consultation with the prosecutor in charge, the Investigation Headquarters confirmed the indictment of Nakagawa, Isaka, Sakamoto, and Itagaki on their respective arrest and detention charges. Furthermore, with August 21st being the final day of the detention extension, it was decided that Nakagawa would be arrested on new charges of solicitation for complicity in murder regarding the hospital shooting case involving Sakamoto, Itagaki, and Isaka. For Sakamoto and Itagaki, charges of violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law (discharging a handgun, etc.) in the first shooting at the construction company (Kutani Construction) before the hospital shooting. For Isaka, a new arrest policy for fraud against the Kitami branch of Hokuo Bank was also decided, and a request for an arrest warrant was made to the Kitami branch of the Kushiro District Court in the afternoon. Nakagawa had also safely returned from the hospital to the detention cell at the Kitami Station and was placed under direct, one-on-one, 24-hour surveillance by guards.
For Isaka, in addition to complicity in murder and solicitation for violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law, economic illegal acts at the Isaka Group were considered; for Nakagawa, arrest for solicitation for violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law in the construction company shooting cases was also considered. However, especially for Isaka, since they had requested cooperation from Hokuo Bank and had them actually file a complaint, it was decided to prioritize indictment for the fraud charge first and arrest him on those requirements. For Nakagawa, since there were several construction company shooting cases, the decision was made to deal with them later.
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Wednesday, August 21st. Having spent the day busy with indictments, new arrests, and investigative meetings, Nishida, who was catching his breath while prepared to stay overnight, received an email from Takeshita after 9:00 PM. No specific reason was given for choosing email, but it was likely because he anticipated Nishida being overwhelmed with work.
The content was that he had contacted Takagaki on the 20th and requested negotiations with the weekly magazine side. While there were editors and reporters in the new editorial department with whom Takagaki had previous associations, he had no acquaintance at all with the editor-in-chief, so no guarantee of article publication could be made at this point.
Furthermore, Masaki had introduced him by phone to Mitsuoka, the reporter who had protested the article matter and quit the Higashi Nippon Shinbun; from Mitsuoka, he was further introduced by phone to the doctor who was the source for the suppressed article; and after obtaining the consent of both the reporter and the doctor, he had contacted Takagaki and introduced them by phone. Needless to say, both had already given their consent that there would be no problem even if the weekly magazine took it up, provided it was anonymous. Regarding this, Takeshita had likely already obtained the conviction that it would probably be fine at the stage when he met Nishida and Yoshimura on the 19th, after hearing the story from Masaki at the press conference venue. Nishida thought that if it weren't for that, he wouldn't have presented this plan to Nishida and Yoshimura immediately that day.
However, unfortunately, Takagaki himself had work on his hands at the moment, and he had apparently stated clearly that even if the Sensuku side were to publish the article, he would not be acting directly as the writer for this article.
On the other hand, at the stage where Takagaki had a light consultation with an acquaintance in the editorial department, he had gained the impression that if they were to publish it, and if the article was completed quickly after reporting, they would publish it around early September, even if it meant replacing a scheduled article. Since influencing the hospital's personnel before the formal appointment of the new hospital director in early October would lead to giving the Keiyo Hospital side a motivation to deal with it early, the earliest possible publication of the article was desired, and it was written that things could be said to be off to a good start in that regard.
And it turned out that Sensuku had actually been moving to write an article about the suspicion of Oshima's involvement in the case since Nakagawa's arrest, but had given up at this point. It was judged that there were limits to the fact-checking of the reporting and they were not yet at a stage where they could make it an article. Likely—no, certainly—they hadn't been able to properly interview the detectives on the scene. To put it the other way, it could also be concluded that there had been almost no information leaks from the Investigation Headquarters up to this point. It also meant that Takagaki had naturally kept quiet to the Sensuku side about what he knew.
In any case, it remained unclear to what extent Takeshita's diversionary tactic using the weekly magazine was feasible and, even if actually executed, to what extent it would be effective. However, since no other way to quickly evict Oshima Kaiji from the hospital came to mind, there was no doubt that Nishida had no choice but to have expectations.
Also, one thing of concern was written at the end of the email. On this day, a former inspector of the Hokkaido Police's Community Safety Department named Iwata, who had been arrested in July for possession and use of stimulants and had been disciplinarily dismissed, was reportedly re-arrested for violation of the Stimulants Control Law (possession for the purpose of profit). Nishida had not yet grasped that information.
Regarding this matter, when he was arrested on the possession charge, it had become news that an active-duty Hokkaido Police officer had been caught with stimulants, and Nishida had known a bit about it, including rumors within the police, even while busy with the investigation. However, this time he was arrested as the one who was "selling," and the weight was considerably different. Furthermore, it seemed that Iwata's problems were not limited to stimulants; information had reached the Doho that he had been involved in illegal investigations in the past. The specifics were unknown, but it was apparently related to handgun investigations in the Firearms Division he had belonged to in the past.
Related to Iwata, Iwata's former superior from his time in the Firearms Division had already committed suicide by hanging in a park near his home in Minami-ku, Sapporo, in July; including that, Nishida felt the situation was progressing in a quite serious direction, and Takeshita seemed to have a similar impression. Since he had gone out of his way to add it to an unrelated email, it was natural to infer so. That said, at this point, neither Nishida nor Takeshita anticipated that a tremendous scandal involving Iwata would hit the Hokkaido Police starting the following year.
※※※※※※※ Author's Note
This story will not deal with anything other than the "touch" of this matter in this work, but the "Inaba Incident," which was also depicted in the movie "The Bad Guys of Japan," became a full-blown problem starting the following year, 2003. The Hokkaido Shinbun, which blew the whistle early on, also ended up giving in to the police in the end—a conclusion that leaves much to be desired—but there is no doubt that the corruption of the Hokkaido Police was exposed to the world. Incidentally, Mr. Inaba, who confessed everything, has returned to society after serving his sentence and is currently running a detective agency in Sapporo. Since he himself is operating with that out in the open, I have dared to mention it here. Furthermore, regarding the Inaba Incident, details can be found by reading "Police Whistleblower" by former Kushiro Regional Headquarters Chief Hiroshi Harada, or "Disgrace: Confessions of a Corrupt Hokkaido Police Detective" by Inaba himself; however, searching for "Inaba Incident" alone will reveal quite a bit on the internet.
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Thursday, August 22nd. The four individuals sent to the prosecutor were requested for detention by the prosecutor in charge. Originally, Friday the 23rd would have been fine, but because the 24th was a Saturday, they wanted to have a day's leeway rather than waiting for the court's judgment on the day, so they had requested detention one day earlier than usual. Since they thought the court would undoubtedly approve the detention of everyone by tomorrow, the investigators relaxed slightly.
It was a moment of mental rest, so to speak, but Nishida and Yoshimura were pondering the road ahead to Oshima's arrest. Assuming the plot to shake the hospital side went well, whether or not to request an arrest warrant once Oshima was in a position where he could be arrested would be a police problem. In other words, the baton would then be entrusted to the police side. In reality, the hurdles to arrest were lowering, and if the plan succeeded to that point, they would lower even more dramatically; however, whether or not Oshima could be certainly found guilty was a separate issue, and at the same time, the current situation was delicate. But looking at Regional Headquarters Chief Yasumura's words and actions lately, even if it wasn't 100%, he would likely take the gamble. He strongly thought that while borrowing the strength of Takeshita and Takagaki from the outside, he had to capture Nakagawa through his own interrogation and support Yasumura.