Chapter 87 - Name and Reality 10 {Combined 19/20} (42–43, 44–45: Igarashi; Confirmation Interview at Sanyu Metal Mining HQ)
However, being told such things was something he was actually quite used to; Takeshita lightly brushed it off and proceeded to skim the main text. Apparently, a complaint had come from someone who worked at the Konomai Gold Mine at the time, stating, "The missing person dispatched from the Konomai Gold Mine was confirmed safe after the explosion, so it shouldn't be 'missing' in the sense of being dead."
"Oh, it's about the article on the 25th..."
To be honest, since it was a complaint, Takeshita had thought he might have published direct incorrect information regarding personal details, but since it was just a request for correction of a "hypothetical" view, he was a little relieved.
In the first place, for anyone other than "public figures," he had not published any personal information, including names, for which he hadn't obtained permission from the bereaved or the person themselves. At the same time, he had criticized the Engaru Station Chief at the time of the accident quite harshly, so he had considered a complaint from that side, but it wasn't that either.
"No, it's not a matter of 'Oh, is that all,' Takeshita..."
Kumada snapped back at Takeshita's remark, albeit gently this time. However, Takeshita also reconsidered that his remark was not at all a sincere attitude for a reporter, so he apologized profusely.
"You're right. I'm truly sorry."
Hamada, who was watching, apologized as well, but Takeshita didn't want to make the green rookie take responsibility.
"No, you're fine," he told him quietly.
"By the way, how is it? Do you have any idea about the content?"
"Desk, to be honest, I can't deny that the fact-checking was weak... I wrote it by layering Professor Ouchi's story from Seiyo University onto the established theory of 112 deaths, but since it wasn't Professor Ouchi's own investigation but something he inherited from the previous professor, it's possible that Ouchi-san himself didn't really know. I was careless."
"In other words, the fact-checking was weak."
"Frankly, I have to admit it."
"I see, understood... Well, fortunately, it's not something like libel against an individual, so the correction won't be a major undertaking, but we still have to do the fact-checking properly. After all, it was our Doho's featured series for the entire City Department this week."
Kumada had calmed down a bit and was speaking in a cool tone.
"So, in what form will the correction be?"
"Let's see, Takeshita... It's not a problem I can easily decide here, how much volume to give it. However, at this point, it's also not good to just assume your article was wrong, though I've been complaining until now... Let's make it a story after confirming with the person who made the complaint. Editor Hieda wrote that too, right? Look until the end."
Indeed, toward the end, it was written to conduct a thorough confirmation interview before writing a correction article.
"Yes, you're right."
"We'll decide the extent of the correction article after that interview. If a correction is necessary, we'll decide on the amount and when to run it after consulting with the main office. For now, just check with that person. That's all for now! Call the complainant immediately. I'll report the current situation to the main office."
"Understood."
Following the Desk's instructions, Takeshita decided to call the information source written on the paper from his seat. It seemed to be a person living in Asahikawa named "Kondo Seitarou."
"Hello, is this the Kondo residence? I'm Takeshita, a reporter for the Mombetsu branch of Hokkaido Shinpo. I'm calling as the person in charge of the article regarding Seitarou-san's inquiry about the content."
"Ah, yes. I am Seitarou."
Naturally, since he had worked at the gold mine at the time, his voice sounded quite elderly.
"Ah, it was you yourself. It seems you contacted us regarding an error in the article."
"Yes, yes. That's right! The part about how among the four blasting technicians from the Konomai Gold Mine, besides the three who died, another one was missing and was actually dead, just that his body couldn't be identified—that's wrong."
His voice was that of an old man, but his speech was clear.
"Regarding that, the information we received here was that the missing person's survival was confirmed even after the explosion?"
"Yes, yes. Exactly that! At the time, I was working in the personnel department at Sanyu Metal Mining... or more accurately, Sanyu Imperial Metal Mining's Konomai Gold Mine. When the accident happened, I received the report and went to the site immediately with several others. And man, the beach was in a terrible state... Many of the recovered bodies were such that you couldn't tell who was who... From our side, we had heard from a policeman who was at the scene of the accident—he was caught in it but happened to be safe because he was further away—that our technicians were right next to the mine at the time of the explosion, so we prepared ourselves for the fact that probably none of them had survived. In fact, we were ultimately unable to recover any of our technicians' bodies at all."
"I see," Takeshita nodded.
"However, when I listened closely, he said he heard that our technicians were next to the mine from that missing technician. And apparently, he wasn't in a near-death state or anything; he seemed perfectly fine and healthy."
"In that case, it certainly doesn't seem like he died after that testimony or anything like that."
"Well, that's how it is. So, being missing probably means he disappeared while still alive for some reason; that's the idea."
"Do you happen to know the name of that missing technician?"
"No, I'm sorry, but I don't remember that far back."
Kondo gave a wry laugh, but this wasn't something he could demand of the man.
"I see... Regardless, the information you've given me now is sufficient. Understood. We'll look into the rest on our end. Anyway, thank you very much for contacting us with the correct information."
"No, no, it's nothing! I'm sorry for being so nitpicky."
The old man sounded apologetic, but for Takeshita, these were now his sincere feelings as well.
After hanging up, he reported the content to the Desk.
"It seems the reader's point is indeed correct. However, I haven't gotten the final confirmation yet. I believe there should still be an office for Sanyu Metal Mining at the mine site in Konomai for wastewater treatment, so I'll call and see if any records from that time remain."
Hearing this, Kumada didn't say a word while looking through his documents, but simply raised one hand in a sign of "approval."
Takeshita checked the office's phone number in the directory and called immediately. However, things didn't go quite so smoothly. It seemed the current office existed solely for "post-processing" after the mine's closure, and no old records remained at all. They suggested that if there were any, they might be at the Hokkaido branch of Sanyu Metal Mining in Sapporo.
Following that, Takeshita called the branch in Sapporo. This time, he was told, "We'll check with the person in charge, but it will take a few hours, so we'll call you back," and Takeshita ended up waiting for a while. Having nothing to do, he waited while helping other reporters, but time kept passing, and it was already approaching 6:00 PM.
Just as he was thinking of going out for dinner since waiting wasn't getting him anywhere, the phone rang. Hamada was the one who picked it up, but he immediately handed it over.
"It's from Sanyu Metal Mining regarding that matter."
"Takeshita speaking."
"Hello, sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Asayama from General Affairs. Regarding your inquiry... as you know, the Konomai Gold Mine is already abandoned, and it seems most of the records from that time have been sent to the head office in Tokyo. To be honest, it's unclear at this point how many records remain... I'm sorry, despite your inquiry..."
"Oh, Tokyo?"
Takeshita was very disappointed to hear that answer. Tokyo was not a distance he could easily travel.
"Yes, that's right. I'm truly sorry."
"Then, do you know the department in charge at the head office in Tokyo?"
"As far as I've checked, if it's personnel matters, it might be the Personnel Department, and if it's related to the accident, there's a possibility it's the Archives. Unfortunately, I'm not at a stage where I can say anything definitive right now."
Asayama's remarks went in a negative direction every time, and Takeshita felt like hanging his head each time he heard them, but one can't be a journalist if they let that get them down.
"For now, could you at least tell me a place at Sanyu Metal's head office that might serve as a contact point for such inquiries?"
When Takeshita asked, Asayama replied,
"In that case, I will give you the contact information for the person in charge of public relations at the head office."
"Ah, yes, please do that!"
Takeshita was honestly happy that he had managed to "connect" somehow.
However, that joy turned into a premature celebration as expected.
"I can't afford to let you go to Tokyo. Especially budget-wise!"
Upon receiving the report from Takeshita, Kumada immediately blurted this out. However, normally speaking, this could be said to be a natural statement, not an act of tyranny by a boss. In fact, considering the current situation, even if it was a correction, a weak local branch couldn't afford to allocate too many personnel or budget to something that wouldn't become much of a social issue.
"Then, what happens?"
"We have to confirm it anyway, so wouldn't we have someone from the Tokyo branch go? Ultimately, it will be the main office's decision."
"If we're asking someone from the Tokyo branch, I'd like to ask someone I know. Is that possible?"
"Someone you know?"
Kumada looked at his subordinate suspiciously, but then asked as if he had a sudden realization.
"Ah, do you mean Igarashi?"
Takeshita had heard before that Kumada had worked with Igarashi at the Asahikawa branch when they were young. Kumada was two years older than Igarashi.
"Yes, Senior Igarashi is currently in the City Department in Tokyo, so I'd rather ask him if possible. I can convey our requests in detail."
"I see... Understood. When I report the situation to the main office, I'll mention it as a request from this side."
"Thank you."
Since Kumada had readily listened to his request, he felt a bit saved despite the bad turn of events.
On the afternoon of the next day, May 28th, by decision of the main office, the Mombetsu branch's request was accepted, and Igarashi was to go to Sanyu Metal Mining for the confirmation interview. Takeshita had contacted Igarashi by phone regarding what he wanted him to ask.
"Man, it's been a while since I was forced to be your errand boy."
He was greeted with an immediate opening punch, but he didn't seem to be seriously complaining.
"You helped me out a lot seven years ago."
"Well, that's fine. But in the end, Oshima escaped, and it's a shame the big scoop promised to you guys didn't happen."
"That... might be true, but there might still be a great comeback drama."
"No, I'm done with that! I'm not expecting anything!"
He interrupted his junior's words with a laugh.
"Well, that's fine, if you say so, Senior. So, my request from this side is, besides the name of the missing person, if you can find out the situation of the accident at the time, please ask. If possible, a copy of the documents too."
"Yes, yes... So that will serve as the backing for the fact that the missing person was alive after the accident. But I checked the preliminary information materials sent from the main office, and if that's the case, wouldn't the Engaru Station where you were before actually have more materials about the explosion? They were the ones involved, after all."
Igarashi's question was actually quite on point. If possible, he should check that too, but since Takeshita was now an "outsider" to the police, it couldn't be helped that it wouldn't be so easy.
"It's as you say, Senior, but I'm not a police officer anymore, and even if I had stayed in the police, it wouldn't be easy to request materials from outside the jurisdiction unless I was a member of the Engaru staff."
"I guess. Understood. Anyway, I'll do what needs to be done."
Saying that, Igarashi informed him that he had already made an appointment with the Sanyu Metal Mining head office for the 30th, and ended the conversation.
On May 29th, Nishida at the Kitami Regional HQ received a progress report from Sudo. Although the investigation wasn't complete yet, they had managed to pick out two or three people from the major Aoi-ikka organizations in Kanto using the keyword of being from around Iwate. If they picked out people from the entire Aoi-ikka organization just by being from Iwate, the number would naturally be much higher, but he said the "selection" was made considering that if the key point was complicity with Kagami, there was a high possibility it was an organization close to the Shiun Association that Kagami belonged to. He said he would report the names once the investigation had progressed a bit more.
Incidentally, as far as he had confirmed with experts, Nishida was told that the dialect "Abe" was indeed used in almost all of Iwate and parts of Miyagi.
He hadn't even told Yoshimura a word, but Nishida had a certain kind of resolve, similar to a last stand, that if the investigation in this direction didn't go well, it would probably be impossible to catch the "living" culprit of the shooting incident. Although it was a clue that had turned up by chance, it was also true that it had become his last hope.
"Please, let him be found."
With a prayer, no, a desperate hope, he put down the receiver.
On the afternoon of May 30th, Igarashi was visiting the Sanyu Metal Mining head office located in a high-rise building in Shiodome near Shinbashi Station in Tokyo.
A Senior Staff named Kusumi from the Public Relations Department handled Igarashi's request. Kusumi had brought more materials than Igarashi had expected.
"Regarding the matter you inquired about, we managed to find the report from that time in the Archives... This is it. Since our employee who was dispatched died in an accident, even though it wasn't inside the mine, it seems they went out of their way to create it. However, because it was during the war, the paper quality might be poor or oxidation has progressed, so you need to be quite careful when reading it..."
He said this apologetically, but Igarashi confirmed bluntly,
"Is it okay to make copies?"
"Well, if you're careful..."
"I see. Then there's no problem. In that case, it might be better to look at it after you've taken the copies for me."
"Understood. Then, regarding this..."
Saying that, Kusumi ordered a female clerk nearby to take copies.
*
"Now, separately from the report, here is this. Regarding the person who went missing."
Saying that, he placed a piece of paper in front of Igarashi.
"What is this?" Igarashi asked as he peered at it.
"This is material held by the Personnel Department of Konomai at the time. This is already a copy."
"I see. Then I'll take a look, and if there's anything, I'll ask questions."
Since there wasn't much written on it, Igarashi finished reading it quickly.
"Understood. So it's correct to assume this person is the missing person who appears in the report I'll see later?"
"Yes, that's correct."
While waiting for the female clerk to bring the copies, Kusumi and Igarashi were making small talk, and the conversation naturally turned to the Japan-Korea World Cup opening the next day, the 31st. As it was the first soccer World Cup held in Japan, the country was showing considerable excitement.
"How about the Best 16?"
"Surely, there's no way the host country won't make it through the group stage."
While killing time with such conversation, the female clerk finally appeared with the original and two copies. The number of pages wasn't much, but since the work had to be done carefully so as not to damage them, it seemed to have taken some time.
"Well then, let me take a look at the report right away."
Igarashi began to read carefully. However, the crucial content was basically the same as what Takeshita had heard from Kondo. Based on that, he confirmed with Kusumi.
"After he went missing, you didn't file a report with the police, did you?"
"Looking at this, I think it's safe to say there wasn't one. After all, he disappeared after giving testimony to the police about his dead colleagues. In other words, they must have seen it as him disappearing voluntarily at the time. Besides, as written in here, if the 'belongings' of the person who vanished were hardly left in his room at the dormitory, wouldn't it be a most reasonable inference that he intended to leave regardless of the accident?"
Kusumi's explanation was logical.
"Yes... you're right. But then, why did he leave...? I often hear that the treatment of miners and such at the time was various things, which is the reality... Although the report says there were no problems with his treatment or work attitude. Especially his work attitude seems to have been diligent."
"Regarding his work attitude, it's written that way, so it must have been true. It's recorded that it was only a matter of time before he went from an apprentice to a technician. Well, he seems to have been a smart person, so that point is likely true as well. And even as an apprentice, there's no way the treatment of dynamite technician types would have been bad. Besides, Konomai was a cash-cow gold mine until it was temporarily closed during the war, so I'm convinced that the treatment was good for this kind of industry at the time, including general miners."
In that part of the statement, a glimpse of pride as an employee of a large corporation like Sanyu Metal Mining could be seen.
"In other words, regarding the reason he vanished afterward, I can take it as the conclusion of this report being 'we don't really know'?"
"That will suffice. In the first place, this interview was supposed to be an inquiry into whether there was a missing person, so the reason for it shouldn't be important, should it?"
Kusumi's statement was indeed correct. For Igarashi, it was enough if the missing person actually existed and could be identified. Since there was a basis for correction, and Takeshita and the others would write the "correction text" itself, there was no need for further pursuit. However, out of a bad habit of a newspaper reporter, he had been trying to extract more information than necessary.
It was a gentle protest, but since it was a counterargument that hit the mark, the atmosphere, which had been amicable, changed completely, though quietly, and Igarashi was forced to give up further questioning.