Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 212, Bad News from Kanagawa

September 2, the second year of the Uesugi calendar.

The Lakewood Golf Club is located in Kanagawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo.

Today is a big day for Sumitomo Mitsui Real Estate.

The "Yokohama Large-Scale International Logistics Distribution Center", the most important project of the "Yokohama Port Revitalization Plan" that the Sumitomo Mitsui Foundation has been preparing for a long time, has entered the final preparation stage.

Yokohama is an important city in the Tokyo metropolitan area, one of the three major metropolitan areas in Japan. It is located in the southern part of the Kanto region of Japan, facing Tokyo Bay to the east, adjacent to cities such as Yokosuka to the south, and Kawasaki City to the north. It is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, a designated city in Japan, and the center of the Keihin Industrial Zone. It is the third largest industrial center in Japan after Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture.

Japan's largest international trading port is the symbol of Yokohama City, with trade relations with more than 100 countries in the world. Yokohama Port is also one of the world's leading trading ports and plays an important role in Japan's economy.

The Sumitomo Mitsui Group is deeply involved in the revitalization plan of Yokohama City. The large-scale international logistics distribution center in Yokohama that they are planning has reached the final stage of planning and will start construction soon.

So today, Sato, the executive director of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group's board of directors who is in charge of the project, held a team-building activity at a golf course in Aoba-ku, Yokohama. Hundreds of employees gathered together to play golf, forming groups of three or four in the sunshine and practicing their swings on the green lawn. Everyone had a smile on their face.

Japanese people love to play golf, especially older Japanese who have experienced the bubble era. Since golf was introduced to Japan in the early 20th century, it has gradually become an important tool for business and social interaction. During the bubble economy period, almost all Japanese people played golf. Company clerks all applied for membership cards. They found driving too tiring, so golf driving and even helicopter services were spawned. One manufacturer launched a three-piece set of diamond-studded golf clubs priced at 1 million yen, and all 3 sets were sold out within three days.

There are a total of 2400 golf courses in Japan, the second highest number in the world.

So whether it is "Doraemon" or "Crayon Shin-chan", there are a lot of plots where Shin-chan and Nobita's father go to play golf on their day off as company employees.

After the bursting of the bubble economy, golf, an aristocratic sport, naturally suffered some setbacks, but clubs across the country decisively cut prices and lowered membership thresholds to maintain a certain level of popularity. Middle-aged and elderly people like Executive Manager Sato, who are under 60 years old, have a morbid obsession with golf.

He is publishing the grouping.

"The members of the first group are..., and the members of the second group are..."

Everyone from the Sumitomo Mitsui Group was listening below.

Managing Director Sato is a good leader. He is capable of winning the support of his subordinates, knows how to take care of his subordinates, and is not as stubborn as the Japanese who came from the golden age. However, he has a troublesome shortcoming, which is his insistence on "golf team building". He must hold golf team building sessions regularly, and everyone must be present, otherwise he will fly into a rage.

You don't have to play golf, you can come and sit in the cool air, you can drive around in your car, but you can't not come.

But today, there was one person who didn't show up, and he didn't even ask for leave.

Aiko Igarashi, the project manager of Yokohama's large international logistics center, never showed up.

"Hey, Aizi hasn't arrived yet?" a colleague asked.

“I didn’t see the minister and I couldn’t get through on the phone!”

"Yabai Yabai, this is Senior Manager Sato's team building!"

"Call again and say you were delayed on the way and will be there soon. Who of you can answer for the minister?"

"Who dares?"

After a round of whispering, Executive Manager Sato called out the name of his favorite general: "Igarashi Aiko? Is Aiko here?"

No one responded.

"Aiko? Didn't you come?" Executive Managing Director Sato's face immediately turned from sunny to cloudy. The elderly director of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group hated the most was someone missing his team-building activities.

"Director, the minister's phone is busy and we can't reach her in person." Someone said from the bottom of the group.

"?" Managing Director Sato's face became even uglier. He thought that Aiko didn't ask him for leave.

Aiko Igarashi, project manager of Mitsui Estate Group, is in charge of the large international logistics center project in Yokohama. She is considered a senior executive of the group and a capable subordinate of Managing Director Sato. And unlike other employees, Aiko Igarashi herself likes to play golf.

Just because one person didn't show up, Executive Director Sato no longer wanted to play golf. He announced with a gloomy face that everyone should study on their own and urged his subordinates to make a phone call.

Still no one answered the phone.

And just like that, a full half hour passed.

Sato, the managing director of Sumitomo Mitsui Group, looked increasingly gloomy, and he simply announced that today's golf team building was cancelled!
All employees under Aiko Igarashi were not allowed to leave. They had to follow him and go to Aiko Igarashi's home in Yokohama City to ask her for an explanation in person!

He even dared to skip the team building organized by the managing director! This is no longer an ordinary director, and he must be dealt with severely!
In this way, a group of more than a dozen people drove three cars and rushed to Minister Aiko Igarashi's home in Yokohama City.

Aiko Igarashi's residence in Kanagawa is a two-story single-family house, which was left by her grandmother. It was originally uninhabited, but she moved in because she was preparing for a new project and wanted to use it again.

After knocking on the door many times with no one answering, Executive Director Sato was so angry that his hemorrhoids burst and a lot of blood came out of his golf pants. He then asked a colleague who was familiar with Director Igarashi to call her parents.

This time the call was connected, but Aiko Igarashi's parents didn't know where their daughter had gone.

"Manager Sato!" Just then, a male subordinate discovered the blind spot of this single-family house: "It seems that we can turn over from here."

The back door of a house was just a low railing. The male subordinate found that he could climb over it, then enter the house from the backyard and open the door.

"Flip it over." Sato said without hesitation. After receiving the clear order from his superior, the male subordinate climbed over the railing, entered the house through the sliding door in the backyard, and opened the front door.

"Aiko? Aiko, are you there?" The group entered a house. More than a dozen people quickly filled the house. They searched everywhere in the house but found no trace of Minister Igarashi.

He wasn’t at home, nor had he returned to Tokyo, and he couldn’t be contacted by phone.

Executive Manager Sato slowly squatted at the door and found that the golf bag was placed at the door with a piece of golf club sticking out of the bag.

“?” Executive Managing Director Sato was different from all the subordinate employees present.

Senior Manager Sato, who is less than 60 years old this year, was born in the late 1950s. He has experienced the past era when public security was not so good. After seeing the golf bag at the door and the abnormality in the house, Senior Manager Sato calmly went to the toilet and then signaled to his subordinates.

"Kawana."

"Director, we have searched every corner of the house, but we couldn't find the director..."

"Call the police." Executive Manager Sato said calmly, grimacing in pain from his ruptured hemorrhoids.

"Director? Call the police? You mean... call the police now?" The subordinates were obviously shocked by what Director Sato said.

"Call the police!" Executive Manager Sato said coldly, "Has anyone found Aiko's briefcase?"

"It contains the key agreements and construction details of the Yokohama Logistics Center!" Executive Director Sato's eyes widened. "She's gone now. She was in charge of the construction plan, budget adjustment, supplier selection, and financing!"

"Call the police now!"

"Yes!"

Employees of Mitsui Estate and Mitsui Construction immediately called the police.

After receiving the report, the Kanagawa Police Headquarters finally arrived at the scene with police officers after more than an hour of delay.

However, due to the suddenness of the incident and the fact that the Kanagawa police did not act low-key, the outside world somehow learned that a female executive of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group had inexplicably disappeared from her home!
And this female executive is none other than Aiko Igarashi, the project manager in charge of an entire multinational super project, Yokohama International Logistics Distribution Center!
For a time, this disappearance case cast a shadow on the entire Yokohama Port Revitalization Plan and even the entire Tokyo metropolitan area.

........................

The next day, in the VIP room of Oi Racecourse in Tokyo.

The crystal chandelier reflects the green track outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. The dark brown leather sofa and ebony coffee table are matte. The champagne glasses are overflowing with light golden bubbles. The silver tray is filled with wagyu sushi and caviar. Superintendent Watanabe Eiji takes the newspaper from the waiter, leans back in the comfortable sofa chair, watches the jockeys' colorful clothes turn into galloping blocks of color, and calculates the odds of his 500 yen horse racing ticket.

“I had a lot of fun watching horse racing all day~”

Opposite him, Criminal Division Minister Uchimura Kanji and Chiba Prefectural Police Chief Mori Takayoshi were also watching the odds numbers jumping on the big screen.

Uesugi Sosetsu and Watanabe Minami sat on the other side. The face of the Metropolitan Police Department was wearing a rainy, misty, and rainbow dress today. She looked youthful and gorgeous.

"We have dinner parties at the racecourse, team building activities at the racecourse, and meetings at the racecourse. My godfather, why don't you move the Metropolitan Police Department to the racecourse as well?" Uesugi Munenyuki couldn't help but complain, "It would save us from running around."

"Hahaha~" Watanabe Eiji laughed quite happily and shook his head repeatedly: "You have been in the Metropolitan Police Department for such a long time, Zong Xue, don't you understand this place? Small matters are handled by big meetings, big matters are handled by small meetings, and important matters are handled by no meetings. This is the Metropolitan Police Department."

"Are you okay?"

"Hold a general meeting whenever you have nothing to do to prove that you are doing something, Uesugi-kun, you have to understand that the Metropolitan Police Department is very busy even if it is not handling any cases. The General Affairs Department is responsible for coordinating and responding to various emergencies, the Police Department is responsible for formulating annual plans and personnel transfer plans and supervising other departments of the department, the Finance Department is responsible for allocating funds and salaries, balancing accounts and cash flow, the Security Department purchases materials, police equipment, and plans security operations, as well as technology, construction, management and coordination of local branches, maintenance and cleaning, and your favorite, Uesugi-kun, cafeteria management."

Minister Maorimoto smiled and said, “Everyone is busy serving the people!”

"You're busy adding administrative staff to manage administrative staff, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head repeatedly: "I understand why only 8% of the 40 police officers in Tokyo are killed on the spot, and the rest are administratively killed."

"Yes, this is when there is no case being handled. If there is a case being handled, it will be even busier."

At this moment, a text message suddenly came on TV.

"A few days ago, Kanagawa Prefecture received bad news. Ms. Aiko Igarashi, the project manager and senior executive of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group who is in charge of the Yokohama Port Revitalization Plan, is currently missing... This incident has cast a shadow on the Yokohama super-large multinational logistics center, which has been roughly completed and is about to start construction..."

Uesugi Sosetsu just glanced at him casually, but when they heard the name, the faces of three senior police officers, Watanabe Eiji, Mori Takayoshi and Uchimura Kanji, changed instantly.

"What? Aiko is missing?" Watanabe Eiji was the first to blurt out: "This is trouble!"

"???" Before Uesugi Muneyuki could react, Miss Minami immediately explained, "She is the daughter of the former head of the Second Investigation Section, Igarashi Masataka!"

"These teeth are so white, so white!" Mao Li Longyi also looked unhappy.

"Shimata!" Minister Uchimura has lost his composure.

"Wait, what's going on?" Uesugi Sosetsu was still in the dark.

"To put it simply, this is tragic news."

Bad news from Kanagawa Prefecture?
(End of this chapter)