Chapter 209 - Name and Reality 132 {160 Alone} (380-381 Grave Visit)
The evening of Wednesday, November 20th, the final day of the second extension of Takigawa's detention. Yoshimura and the investigators from the Prefectural Police Headquarters had returned to Sapporo from Osaka Itami Airport via New Chitose Airport. Other investigators from Kitami and Engaru went to Tokyo and took the Haneda-Memanbetsu route the following day. Then, after staying overnight in Sapporo, Yoshimura visited the Boss in Engaru on the 21st via the Okhotsk No. 3 train and showed his face at the Kitami Headquarters in the evening.
"It's been a long time, you worked hard!"
Yoshimura was welcomed by Mitani and Nishida. Although he looked tired, his expression was relatively bright, perhaps because he had seen that the Boss had recovered. However, he made a show of lamenting that he couldn't get a confession out of Takigawa, saying, "In the end, we couldn't break him."
Needless to say, they hadn't even expected Takigawa to spill his guts, and the dispatch to Osaka was merely a formality. Therefore, neither the Kitami Headquarters leadership, nor Nishida, nor Yoshimura could have been truly regretting that point. Nevertheless, it was also impossible that they felt no frustration at all. Their conclusion, which balanced both sides, was likely to lament for the time being.
And three days before this, on November 18th, there was a sudden phone call from Takeshita. It seemed Takagaki was coming to Hokkaido on the 20th, partly for an interview to write an article for a weekly magazine about this case. He wanted to meet Nishida and the others for the interview if it suited them, so the call was to confirm when they could meet. While it was true they were busy with interrogations and indictments related to the hospital shooting and the Sada murder, the situation wasn't as soul-crushing as it had been from morning till night, and Nishida had told him they could meet on the night of the 22nd. They likely wanted to hear the story from Nishida and the others, but on the other hand, there must have also been a genuine desire to meet.
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The night of November 22nd. In a private room at the yakiniku restaurant Notsukeushi Tonkei, which they had also used when meeting Takeshita this spring, Nishida, Yoshimura, Takeshita, and Takagaki gathered, and everyone saw each other for the first time in a long while.
Takeshita had already entered Kitami in the afternoon under the guise of "reporting," and Takagaki had arrived in Kitami that afternoon to interview Nishida and the others after interviewing acquaintances at the Prefectural Police Headquarters since the 20th. However, once the interviews with Nishida and Yoshimura were finished, he intended to stop by Monbetsu where Takeshita lived before returning to Tokyo by air.
Nishida, who wanted Takeshita to write the article, had already conveyed a certain amount of investigation information to him by phone and email, but this was the first time they were talking face-to-face. In that sense, like Takagaki, the dinner was also a reporting session for Takeshita. And it had been decided that from around December, Takeshita would start writing a series of articles for the Doho, digging into the background and past issues from the murder of Sada Minoru to the hospital shooting incident.
Normally, not much information could be given before the trial, but both Takeshita and Takagaki were people Nishida felt were sufficiently trustworthy. Since everyone except Takigawa had almost finished confessing, he intended to speak in relative detail, albeit on the premise of it being off the record.
This time, Takagaki was treating them for a "victory celebration," and it started with a toast led by Takagaki and became quite lively. However, when it came to talking about the case, the atmosphere naturally became somber. And Takagaki seemed to pay particular attention to Oshima's complaints as a politician. He seemed surprised that his opinions coincided with Oshima's regarding the danger of the future of the so-called "reforms" being trumpeted by Takamatsu.
"I also interviewed people about bid-rigging and even wrote a book about it in the past, but to be honest, I didn't foresee at the time that seemingly fair bidding wouldn't necessarily produce truly fair results... In that sense, I also made a mistake."
After mentioning that, Takagaki let out a sigh. Then, he continued.
"I now have considerable doubts about how correct the dogma is that fair competition alone is what pushes the world forward correctly. It's the same with political ideologies; it's probably impossible for any one of them to be unilaterally correct... The reason capitalism survived over communism is that, compared to communism which remained frozen in dogmatism, capitalism was able to flexibly transform itself, linking everything from welfare to democracy from its initial structure of naked exploitation by capitalists... Conversely, now that capitalism has won a solitary victory and is instead regressing, there's even a fear that it's heading toward destruction."
He spat out those words and downed his shochu. Then, he lightly tapped his glass on the table.
"The politics of a nation that has once matured isn't something that can be changed so easily, for better or worse. Because all sorts of things are tied in knots... Even if you change the surface all at once and it goes well at first, there's a high probability that large distortions will be revealed later, like what happened with what Thatcher did in Britain. If you're serious about changing everything at once so that it goes well, sadly, there may be no choice but to have the very foundations of society's existence destroyed by external forces. In Japan's case, the defeat in the war is close to that... Well, even then, it's hard to say it was the entire foundation; various things remained... Anyway, if we want to avoid that and change spontaneously, it seems to me there's no choice but a repetition of small changes that never end. And as Oshima says, the current thoughtless large-scale transformation, which seeks it while leaving the bad foundations—which are not clearly visible from the surface—intact, may instead be a dangerous omen of an internal collapse."
With a stern face and furrowed brows, his tone became quite pessimistic at the end.
"What are those foundations?" Yoshimura asked.
"It's hard to express in a single word, but you could call it the unspoken culture in society or the tendency of the values of the people in that society. Even if you just tinker with the systems, if this part hasn't changed, the changed systems will become hollowed out, or a new system introduced with good intentions will head in a bad direction. Naturally, those foundations can be essentially correct or essentially wrong. I said 'generally' because values can fluctuate to some extent depending on the historical background. And when I said 'bad foundations' just now, it relates to the word 'thoughtless,' but it's a national character that easily makes the act of changing itself the goal, without thinking deeply about the purpose of the change, and even more so, what the result will be. At the same time, I can't say I didn't have that tendency myself. My purpose was the appropriate use of taxes and crushing vested interests, but my consideration of the results was shallow."
He explained while choosing his words carefully.
"It's quite difficult, isn't it?"
Yoshimura's attitude was noncommittal, as if he understood but didn't quite, but since Takeshita also said, "It certainly is difficult. Because there is a necessity for transformation," it couldn't be helped.
"But you don't really understand this until you actually experience the 'conclusion.' Except for people with extraordinary insight..."
By the time he added that at the end, his tone had become quiet, as if he had realized something.
"Even you don't understand, Takagaki-san?" Yoshimura asked, somewhat surprised.
"Not clearly... But as I just said, it's certain that I don't think this flow is correct. Oshima probably senses something from his long experience even more than I do. But if that's the case, all the more reason Oshima should have maintained an environment where he could properly convey his thoughts to the voters as a politician."
He answered. Coincidentally, his final remark was exactly the same as what Nishida and Yoshimura had thought when they heard Oshima's story. Nishida also touched on the topic of the Boss, who was in a sense the starting point of the incident, as well as the series of murders, and Takagaki sighed at the irony of the conclusion.
Yoshimura also couldn't help but grumble.
"Is the Boss really going to be arrested just like this, without ever visiting his father's grave... I wanted to let him visit the grave before the arrest somehow..."
Receiving that, Nishida revealed a clever plan.
"If Engaru Station cooperates, I think it's possible to have him visit the 'Remote Grave Marker' in Ikutahara after he's discharged and returns home once, but before he's arrested at Engaru Station. In the form of an arrest immediately after a voluntary interrogation at Engaru Station."
"I see, there's that way... But I think the big problem is whether Engaru Station will accept that?"
Yoshimura seemed to take it with a "Isn't that going to be tough?" attitude rather than being half-convinced.
"But is it too convenient to say that the favor of having the Engaru team participate in Takigawa's interrogation still remains, even though they've been quite considerate in various ways?" Nishida countered.
"Well, that would depend on how Section Chief Masui of Engaru takes it..." Yoshimura muttered, perhaps thinking there was some merit to it.
"When was the discharge?" Takeshita joined the conversation.
"If things go smoothly, it should be Monday, November 25th," Yoshimura answered.
"It's lucky that snow hasn't piled up until this time of year despite the temperatures being low, but the 25th... That's a delicate time for the weather."
Takeshita made a sour face hearing that. It was true that there had been a miraculous lack of snow accumulation for this time of year. However, considering the temperature, there was no telling when snow would suddenly pile up. Moreover, from experience, in this kind of pattern, when it did pile up, it often piled up dozens of centimeters at once, and if that happened, especially in those mountains, the amount of snow would make a "grave visit" impossible. But if they were to make a plan, that was the only day.
"Anyway, there's no point in worrying about the weather. We just have to contact Section Chief Masui and ask if a grave visit before the arrest is possible, right? Also, the landowner was... Terakawa-san, I think. Seven years ago he said 'you don't need to get permission every time,' but we should probably contact him anyway."
When Nishida proposed it again, Yoshimura added an important point.
"And we have to contact Chief Priest Okada of Ko-on-ji in Engaru, or Chief Priest Matsuno of Koan-ji in Ikutahara."
"I completely forgot! It's meaningless if we don't have them chant sutras... Well, there's a lot to do. Let's call Engaru Station right away."
Nishida said so and took out his cell phone.
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A little after 9:00 AM on Monday, November 25th. The temperature was still below freezing, but fortunately, in the mountains near the Jomon Tunnel in Ikutahara, where there was almost no snowfall or accumulation, the two active detectives, Nishida and Yoshimura, and the two journalists, Takeshita and Takagaki, were present, wearing gloves, scarves, and thick coats.
Normally, Takeshita and Takagaki, who were outsiders, shouldn't have been able to be there even if Nishida allowed it. However, on the grounds that they were acquaintances of Nishida and had contributed to the resolution of the series of incidents, they were permitted by the Engaru Station side to visit the Remote Grave Marker together, under the promise that they would not disclose any information about this "grave visit."
Also, while it was one thing for Takeshita, the Boss shouldn't have known of Takagaki's existence, let alone met him. So Nishida had asked the Engaru Station side to confirm with the Boss at the time of leaving the hospital whether it was okay for him to "be present," and if the Boss was dissatisfied, Takagaki was to leave the site. However, the fact that there had been no contact at all by this point likely meant the Boss had agreed.
It wasn't that Takeshita and Takagaki particularly wanted to participate in this grave visit, but Nishida wanted to press his hands together before the Remote Grave Marker as a milestone, not only with the Boss but also with the two who had cooperated in the investigation.
Naturally, Takeshita and Takagaki had no reason to refuse. Takagaki, who had stayed at Takeshita's house in Monbetsu, came in Takeshita's car with Takeshita, who had taken the day off, and Nishida and Yoshimura came from Kitami and met at this location.
Nishida and Yoshimura were permitted to start work in the afternoon today, but since they had a meeting with the Kitami prosecutor about Isaka's public trial from early afternoon until about 4:00, they were scheduled to go directly to the Kitami Branch of the Kushiro District Public Prosecutors Office instead of the Kitami Headquarters. However, since it was currently outside of working hours, they had come here in Yoshimura's private car.
On the other hand, the Boss and Chief Priest Matsuno of Koan-ji in Ikutahara were supposed to be sent in a car by Tadano and Kaga, the young detectives from Engaru Station who had also been dispatched to Osaka, but there was a call to Nishida's cell phone saying they would be about thirty minutes late due to a problem with Chief Priest Matsuno. Incidentally, Chief Priest Okada of Ko-on-ji in Engaru had a prior engagement and unfortunately could not participate.
The Remote Grave Marker was surrounded by a large amount of fallen leaves, and to put it exaggeratedly, it was in a "buried" state. So the four of them put on work gloves over their gloves and were lightly sweeping them away by hand. Cleaning tools and water buckets were to be prepared by the priest.
Since they couldn't do a full cleaning at this point, they spent the time wandering around or making small talk to distract themselves from the cold. Takagaki had also visited Kitami seven years ago at this time of year on Takeshita's idea, and had visited this Remote Grave Marker and the Jomon Tunnel. He seemed quite moved as those memories returned.
"I've been thinking about it since then, and seven years have already passed, but even if it's a rewrite, I have to write a book about the tako-beya labor in this Jomon Tunnel. Especially now (ima)."
Takagaki spoke up.
"A rewrite?" Nishida asked.
"Yeah. In the early Showa 50s, a person named Koike Yoshitaka wrote a work called 'Jomon Tunnel: Monument to the Tako Laborers Who Perished in the North' (Author's Note: As mentioned before, both the book title and the author are historical facts. This novel also uses it extensively as reference material), and the matter of this Jomon Tunnel and tako-beya labor became known to the world all at once. In other words, even if I write it now, it'll just be a rehash, but I think there's a meaning in rewriting it precisely because of this era. Precisely because it's an era where workers are likely to be treated as mere cogs... Dispatch labor has expanded since the collapse of the bubble, and it seems poised to be deregulated and worsened more and more from now on, so I think it's necessary to touch upon it. Furthermore, there's the problem of foreign workers. Especially the abuse of the training system, where low-wage, long-hour labor under the name of training is rampant in agriculture and garment manufacturing."
He spoke with a serious expression. Takeshita remained silent, but he likely had his own thoughts.
"I don't know the details, but I suppose it connects with Oshima's story," Nishida added.
"I guess so. We're becoming a society that sees workers only as costs. But they don't have the idea that those costs eventually turn back into corporate profits. Furthermore, the discarding of workers leads to social unrest, and as a result, social costs increase significantly. People who don't understand that are rapidly increasing at the 'top'."
Takagaki emphasized the "top" and looked at the Remote Grave Marker.
"Even so, the people who were sacrificed in the tako-beya labor were awakened from their long sleep by being caught up in this modern, unrelated incident, so they must have been terribly inconvenienced."
Immediately after, Yoshimura made that statement as he walked toward Nishida and the others from a short distance away.
"Isn't 'inconvenienced' a bit of an exaggeration?" Takeshita gently denied it, but Yoshimura countered.
"Is it? I mean, to hide Sada's body, all the remains were mixed up, including the gold panners like the Boss's father and Senzaki who were laid to rest separately. That's a nuisance, isn't it?"
"Hmm, certainly you could say that, but..."
Nishida prefaced his words that way, but after thinking for a while, he spoke up.
"I'm not speaking for the victims, but depending on how you think about it, maybe they don't think so?"
"What do you mean by that, Nishida-san?" Takagaki also joined the conversation, sounding interested.
"It's hard to say when you ask so seriously..."
Nishida gave a wry smile, but then said:
"The victims of the tako-beya labor buried here, the gold panners, and Sada Minoru—at first glance, they all seem unrelated, but I think they have something in common. If that's right, then I don't think they'd have the idea of 'being caught up and inconvenienced'."
At that statement, Yoshimura demanded, throwing a somewhat testing look.
"Please say it in a way that's a bit easier to understand."
"I guess I will."
Nishida straightened his back slightly, as if declaring his determination to take on the challenge.