Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 215, Kanto Circle Headlines
In the gloomy and cramped interrogation room of the Chiba Prefectural Police Headquarters, an angry and dejected Executive Director Sato sat in a special interrogation chair, surrounded by a large group of police officers.

The police in Kanagawa Prefecture were eager to solve the case and relentlessly pursued Executive Director Sato. They adopted a strategy of attrition, interrogating him for several hours without interruption and using methods such as shining bright lights and inducing confessions, in an attempt to force him to reveal what he had done to his subordinate's son.

Executive Director Sato was both angry and desperate. He kept explaining that the bloodstains at the scene were from a ruptured hemorrhoid.

However, no one believed it.

Furthermore, the issue of DNA left at the scene can indeed be used as circumstantial evidence for arrest, a point that even the entire Nishimura Asahi office team, which arrived at the scene several hours later, found difficult to address.

Even though they managed to obtain the clothes that Executive Director Sato wore that day, proving that there was indeed blood on them, and found Mitsui Sumitomo Group employees who came that day to prove that Executive Director Sato was indeed bleeding that day, the Kanagawa police still refused to grant him bail.

Their stance was unusually tough this time, and they planned to send the suspect for testing 48 hours after the arrest.

As for whether he is guilty or not, let the District Attorney decide!

Inspector Yamanaka is very confident about this.

That's what he did!
Executive Director Sato was speechless, and what worried him even more was that if he were referred to the prosecutor's office, it would involve a criminal case, and the prosecutor's office might freeze the entire international logistics center project in the Yokohama Port revitalization plan.

This will be a devastating blow to Mitsui Properties, which took on the project.

Meanwhile, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters officially held a press conference.

On September 12, the entire venue for the press conference at the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters was packed.

On September 11, news of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police arresting a senior executive of the Sumitomo Mitsui Group spread throughout society. Numerous media outlets and newspapers took photos and videos of the scene, proving that the Kanagawa Prefectural Police did indeed take a senior executive away from the Yokohama branch of Mitsui Properties. According to the reporters' investigation, they quickly confirmed the suspect's identity—Kozo Sato, Executive Director of the Board of Directors of Sumitomo Mitsui Group.

News reports were flying everywhere, and NHK and the five major television stations all reported on the matter. The fatal murder within the Mitsui Sumitomo Group immediately attracted the attention of the entire society.

The kidnapping/murder of subordinates by their superiors is a particularly explosive topic, especially given the strong Japanese tradition of workplace bullying and humiliation of seniors and juniors, which instantly evokes certain images in countless Japanese people.

Young people immediately started talking about it online, saying things like "the boss shoved his subordinate's head into a sukiyaki pot," "the boss and subordinate met in the same room before going on a business trip," "the arrogant president who was treated like a guest on a business trip," and "an unparalleled subordinate."

An elderly man and a middle-aged female subordinate—this inevitably raises certain questions.

Various jokes immediately went viral, especially since this time it involved Mitsui and Sumitomo, two of Japan's seven major zaibatsu!

Meanwhile, the Sumitomo Mitsui Group also held an emergency meeting to discuss the matter. Due to the extremely negative impact, the Sumitomo Mitsui Group urgently sent a letter to Kanagawa Prefecture demanding an explanation. An entire legal team was stationed in Kanagawa, and both sides were desperately searching for evidence in their favor.

In response, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters officially announced that it will hold a press conference on September 12.

At the press conference, General Manager Takakura proudly announced to reporters that they had made a major breakthrough in the case of the disappearance of a female executive at Mitsui Properties at an extremely fast pace. According to the investigation, Aiko Igarashi's superior is a prime suspect.

"According to the on-site investigation, there were no signs of intrusion or damage inside the house. The glass on the second-floor balcony was broken from the inside, so this must have been the work of someone known to the family."

At the press conference, Chief Takakura stated with absolute certainty, "Considering the bloodstains left by the suspect at the scene, there is no doubt that it is him."

"Afterwards, Executive Director Sato was also suspected of deliberately forging an alibi and destroying the crime scene."

"Isn't it a bit far-fetched for the police to be so certain?" A reporter immediately raised his hand: "According to the statement issued by the Mitsui Sumitomo Group, the bloodstains left at the scene were caused by a ruptured hemorrhoid. And according to the subsequent sampling, it was confirmed that the bloodstains left at the scene did indeed come from the hemorrhoid problem of Executive Director Sato."

“This does not prove the suspect’s innocence.” Inspector Yamanaka took over the conversation: “Please trust our judgment; our judgment has always been reasonable.”

"Then what was the murder weapon? Where is Ms. Igarashi Aiko now? What was the motive for the crime?" a reporter immediately asked from below.

"...It is still impossible to determine whether Ms. Igarashi Aiko is dead or alive. We are still interrogating her. As for the motive, it is very likely related to an illicit relationship between the two. According to our investigation, when Ms. Igarashi Aiko was the deputy director of the planning department, she had an illicit relationship with the director. Therefore, we have reason to believe that a similar situation has occurred in this case."

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police maintained a firm stance: "We believe that we will find new evidence soon."

"The evidence is not sufficient at present. We have applied to the prosecution to extend the detention period to 10 days to conduct further searches in this case."

On the screen, the press conference held by the Kanagawa Prefectural Police was being watched by numerous detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division.

Uesugi Muneyuki was also there.

The head of the First Investigation Division, Sugishita Ukyo, stared wide-eyed, his hand trembling as he gripped the teacup. "This is utterly... outrageous! Completely baseless! How can they presume guilt like this?! And... we don't even know if the missing person is alive or dead, is it appropriate to expose their personal privacy like this? It's... unacceptable!"

"To focus solely on suspects with insufficient evidence and try to build an airtight case instead of searching for missing persons... is unacceptable!"

The First Investigation Division believes that there is no problem in arresting Executive Director Sato, because the indirect evidence of bloodstains left at the scene is sufficient to apply for an arrest warrant. However, they are eager to hold a press conference to claim credit before they have even obtained conclusive evidence... which is a bit too much.

Not to mention openly exposing the personal privacy of missing persons at press conferences.

The professionalism of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police is extremely worrying; you can tell they're in a real hurry.

"There's nothing we can do about it, this is just a local branch, just like monkeys in the countryside," Shiratori Sho from the Second Department complained. "They can't wait to jump on a banana when they see one."

As mentioned earlier, the worst examples of Japanese police incompetence are found in Kanagawa Prefecture, a legendary prefecture known for having four reported cases of service weapon theft per year. "Hahahaha." A burst of cheerful laughter echoed from the First Investigation Division.

“Besides, that’s the Mitsui Sumitomo Group, how dare they!” said Inspector Shimano of the Fourth Division.

“Why wouldn’t we dare?” Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly interjected, half-smiling as he said, “Ms. Igarashi’s father is the former head of the Second Investigation Division. After the new year, he is currently a director of Mitsui Real Estate. The District Public Prosecutors Office has been investigating these matters recently. If we can take advantage of this opportunity to give the Metropolitan Police Department and Mitsui Sumitomo a good beating, I wonder how many people in the Special Investigation Unit will be promoted.”

"The District Public Prosecutor's Office?" Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment silenced the members of the First Investigation Division.

This group of people is truly persistent.

But it seems like we can't do without them.

"Uesugi-kun, what are your thoughts on this case?" Sugishita Ukyo asked.

“I know almost nothing about this case right now.” Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head. “Based on the details of the case that have been revealed so far, I can’t make any effective judgments. However, there is one thing that I find very strange.”

“According to the investigation in Kanagawa Prefecture, they firmly believe that it was an inside job. However, according to the statement from the Mitsui Sumitomo Group, when there was no response when they knocked on the door at first, a colleague who was very familiar with the missing person climbed over the back door fence and entered the house directly through the backyard. It shouldn’t be someone they knew, right?” Uesugi Muneyuki pinched his chin.

"Based on the current evidence, that's indeed the case; it seems one can enter the room without needing an acquaintance." Inspector Kashiwagi Jin of the Third Division thought for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly: "But, it's not the same."

"Different?" Uesugi Muneyuki tilted his head.

He and Kashiwagi Jin had always been somewhat at odds, but considering that Kashiwagi Jin had overheard his private conversation with Kosaka during the University of Tokyo case, and instead of reporting it or causing trouble, he had taken the initiative to seek their help and provided crucial information, the previous grudges could be considered to have been barely put aside.

“Yes, it’s different.” Bai Muren indicated: “If it’s not someone you know well, or someone who is very familiar with the surrounding terrain and building structure, it’s impossible for them to skillfully climb over the back door into the backyard and then into the house. First, they would have to make sure no one is home. Then, they would have at least enough time to observe whether they could enter smoothly. Secondly, this is a residential area with a huge flow of people. It’s unlikely that they could climb over directly in broad daylight. They would need to find a suitable opportunity.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with what Bai Muren said.

"So you also think it was someone you knew who committed the crime?" Uesugi Muneyuki agreed with Kashiwagi Jin's opinion.

“Without a doubt, it was someone we know who committed the crime,” Kashiwagi said with absolute certainty.

The First Investigation Division was discussing this biggest news in the Kanto metropolitan area recently, and everyone tended to think it was someone they knew, but was it really Executive Director Sato?
The investigation in Kanagawa Prefecture seems to be working, but... Uesugi Muneyuki keeps thinking about the previous case of the missing Tokyo Women's University student.

Aiko Igarashi has been missing for a week now, and it seems highly likely that she has met with bad luck.

After some thought, Uesugi Muneyuki decided to wait and see.

He's been busy with other things lately—initiating adoption procedures so that Mikoto can adopt Asuka and become her guardian.

Suddenly having a teenage daughter is unacceptable to Mikoto. She angrily declares, "I really misjudged you! I never imagined you, Uesugi, would be such a scumbag who preys on high school students!"
Uesugi Muneyuki retorted, "How dare you criticize me?"

The forensic beauty had nothing to say.

Then she learned about Asuka's situation and felt sorry for the girl, so she decided to find some time to meet her and sit down to talk about adoption.

This meant that although Uesugi Muneyuki showed concern for Igarashi Aiko's disappearance, he did not intend to actively seek intervention as he had done before.

This has been the headline news in the entire Kanto metropolitan area recently, with media outlets reporting on it for two or three days in a row. However, the Kanagawa police have consistently stated that the case is still under investigation.

…………

September 15, Ota Ward, Tokyo Bay, 3:30 PM.

A barge belonging to Tokyo Marine Holdings suddenly appeared to have struck something.

The old crew member in charge of the transfer grumbled and looked down to check, finding a large black plastic bag gently tapping the stern of the boat, as if there was something inside.

Who threw this trash?

Tokyo Bay is getting dirtier and dirtier!

Japan has very strict garbage sorting. Not only do you have to buy special garbage bags for different types of garbage, but garbage collection is also scheduled at fixed times. If you miss it, the garbage truck will leave. Some garbage also needs to be burned by yourself. If it is a particularly large item such as an appliance or furniture, you have to buy special garbage labels or stickers (which cost several hundred or thousands of yen) before someone will collect it.

Naturally, while most Japanese people adhere to garbage sorting, many others find ways to dispose of large items of garbage, one of which is dumping them into Tokyo Bay.

He then decided to retrieve the object.

The black plastic bag was soaking in water, emitting an extremely fishy and rotten smell. When the plastic bag was opened, there was a piece of meat that had turned white from being soaked in water.

The veteran sailor couldn't immediately tell whether it was human or animal, but he recognized how the plastic bag was tied.

This special method of binding is somewhat like...

(End of this chapter)