Chapter 180 - Name and Reality 103 {131 Alone} (313-314 Toward Crime 1)
However, he continued his story bluntly in response.
"As expected, I was indignant and clearly remember complaining over the phone as if pressing him, 'What on earth have you done?!' but that man coolly declared, 'In order to get your cooperation, it was necessary to involve you by force.' Thus, I was inevitably made complicit in the murder of Sada. It could be said that at the time, I had more to lose than Isaka. If it were discovered that I had assumed another's identity and that it was for the purpose of evading conscription during the war, I would lose considerable trust as a human being, let alone as a politician, and my political life would be terminated. The sense of terror that everything I had built up until then would vanish in an instant was something beyond words. Naturally, Sada would have surely chosen to extort money rather than go public, but if that happened, there was no doubt I would be plagued by considerably troublesome matters for a long period. Of course, Isaka probably read that if Sada went public about me, I would be finished as a politician and unable to provide pork-barrel benefits, so Sada would likely do nothing more than threaten and demand money. And naturally, Sada's true target was the relationship between the Hakozaki Faction, to which I belonged, and the Aoi-ikka. That's why he wanted me to kill him, Sada... The fact that I had previously told Isaka I had strong connections came back to haunt me."
"But was there actually an act of extortion from Sada toward you?"
When Nishida confirmed that point,
"After that talk came up... I believe that talk was probably in early September, but since he wanted to dispose of Sada by around the end of September, I asked Hakozaki-sensei to put me in touch with Takigawa, and I directly requested Takigawa to dispatch personnel to Kitami who could be involved in the murder in exchange for money. Takigawa replied, 'I will send a reliable man named Motohashi to Kitami. We plan to kill him with a handgun for now, but since we don't know the situation on the ground there, we'd basically like to leave the detailed planning to your side.' However, until the actual murder took place, there was no extortion of any kind toward me, and looking back now, it would be accurate to say it's unclear if Isaka had really leaked it to Sada. Actually, several years later, I checked that story with Isaka, and even then he said, 'I did leak it.'"
he answered.
"If there was no extortion, shouldn't you have confirmed it properly then? Or perhaps waited until an actual threat arrived?"
Yoshimura also asked, glaring at Oshima with understandable suspicion.
"You say it so easily, but it is a considerably difficult matter to probe how much the opponent knows and how they are searching. Furthermore, around that time, talk had emerged that the Nakane Cabinet would resign en masse in November of that year to hand over to a successor, and I had already been informally notified that if Takeoka-sensei, the leading candidate for successor, formed a cabinet, there was a possibility I would enter the cabinet as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In the end, I had to wait until the next reshuffled cabinet, but in such a situation, it was of the utmost importance to prevent trouble as early as possible before it happened."
Oshima explained as if admonishing Yoshimura.
On the other hand, looking at the political situation at the time, just as Oshima testified, on November 6, 1987, utilizing the stable relationship with the United States, the long-running Nakane Cabinet had resigned en masse. And after that, on October 31, Takeoka, who had already assumed the presidency of the Minyu Party, was elected Prime Minister on the same day as the cabinet's mass resignation and formed the Takeoka Cabinet. It indeed overlapped with a politically significant period.
※※※※※※※ [Author's Note]
Regarding the actual political trends around here, please refer to:
Third Nakasone Cabinet
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC3%E6%AC%A1%E4%B8%AD%E6%9B%BD%E6%A0%B9%E5%86%85%E9%96%A3
Nakasone Arbitration
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E6%9B%BD%E6%A0%B9%E8%A3%81%E5%AE%9A
Takeshita Cabinet
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%B9%E4%B8%8B%E5%86%85%E9%96%A3
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According to Nishida's previous view, it was impossible for Sada to have learned Oshima Kaiji's true identity on his own, but if there was a possibility that Isaka Daikichi had taken the lead in leaking it, that premise would collapse. However, if the fact was that Sada Minoru never actually extorted Oshima, then since Masamitsu, who was in Tokyo, did not have a detailed grasp of the circumstances, the reality was that the truth remained in the shadows. Nishida was beginning to give up on the truth of this point ever coming to light, given that both Daikichi and Sada Minoru were dead.
Even so, in a previous interrogation, he had told Oshima that they already knew his true identity was Onodera Michitoshi, and based on Isaka Masamitsu's confession, he had confronted him with the idea that Isaka Daikichi might have lied to Oshima at the time, saying "Sada Minoru knows Oshima's true identity is Onodera." At that time, Nishida had received the impression that Oshima was silently suppressing his anger.
But if it came to this, the factual relationship itself was different to begin with, so the source of that emotion was certainly not because he learned that he had been deceived by Isaka Daikichi (of course, the very fact that Isaka told Sada that Oshima was Onodera might have been a lie in reality).
Since there was no investigative meaning in asking about that reason, Nishida did not bother to confirm it, but he speculated that in addition to the fact that his identity as Onodera Michitoshi had been exposed to the investigators, the anger he felt when he was told back then that Daikichi had gone out of his way to reveal the truth to Sada had probably been recalled.
In the midst of this,
"Regarding former Prime Minister Hakozaki, was he aware that you intended to have him act as an intermediary with Takigawa for the request of the murder?"
Yoshimura asked, and though Nishida had been careless, it was a good helping hand. Indeed, even though Hakozaki was already deceased and could not be held criminally liable, it was an important issue in the development of the story.
"I did not say it directly. However, considering the relationship between Takigawa and Hakozaki-sensei, it wouldn't be strange if he knew afterward. In fact, I was once whispered to in my ear after the incident, 'You are quite bold as well.' However, as long as I cannot arbitrarily tarnish Sensei's honor, the limit is that the truth remains unknown."
Oshima looked somewhat pained when he said that.
If this testimony was true, although it was close to guilty in terms of circumstantial evidence, clarifying the facts would be extremely difficult since Hakozaki was dead. That said, although it was merely Nishida's hunch, he felt that Oshima knew more specifically than a mere "hint" that Hakozaki had a firm grasp of the facts. However, the fact that he could not say it clearly was a part that couldn't be helped since others were involved, even if he should have if he were reflecting. And there was also the reality that since he was dead, there was no way to hold him criminally liable. Since nothing could be done, there was no choice but to set this matter aside.
"I see... Since that's a part we honestly can't comment on either, let's stop there... Regarding the specific murder plan for Sada itself, is it correct to say that Isaka was basically the central figure?"
Nishida asked, pulling himself together.
"I was basically in Tokyo the whole time, so I had no choice but to leave the details to Isaka. Please don't misunderstand; this isn't meant as an evasion of responsibility, it's just a simple fact. You guys should know well that at the point one actively hires a killer with the intent to kill, there's no way to escape the reproach of murder. Naturally, information regarding the entire scope of the plan came in from both Isaka and Nakagawa, whom I had ordered to support Isaka."
The old politician emphasized that their side was also involved.
In response, Nishida said,
"Regarding that, I think what you, Onodera-san, are saying is probably the truth. However, for the final report of the results from Motohashi and the payment of the success fee to Motohashi, you left that to Secretary Nakagawa, right? To what extent was he involved in the planning stage of the murder?"
He followed Oshima's story and asked further about Nakagawa's role. Then,
"With Kitagawa and..."
Since Oshima got stuck after that, Nishida offered a helping hand.
"Shinoda, right?"
"That's right, it was Shinoda... So, Shinoda and Kitagawa supported Motohashi, and Isaka first made a plan to kill him in the mountains of Ikutahara and bury him right there. On the other hand, as for Nakagawa, in the initial stages he acted as an intermediary for communication between Takigawa of the Aoi and Isaka, and after the relationship between those two was properly established, he reported the plan Isaka made to me, and after I gave my approval, he gave me new information point by point while coordinating communication with Isaka and Motohashi, and finally, he was given the role of receiving the report from Motohashi on whether the matter was successful and handing over the reward."
According to this story, it seemed Nakagawa had been ordered by Oshima to play a quite important role.
"After Nakagawa received that report, was there a contact to you, Onodera-san, immediately?"
This time Yoshimura confirmed.
"Of course. The success or failure was immediately brought to me in Tokyo. Afterward, I also checked with Isaka just in case, and he seemed to have received a report from Kitagawa and Shinoda as well, so I was able to get confirmation from that side too. That was merely a final reassurance, though."
The old politician spoke matter-of-factly.