Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 328, Emergency Public Relations After Gaining Fame at Home and Abroad

PS: After two days of fierce fighting, Super Earth still stands strong! Damn! Honorable rulers of Haikou are here, we are seahigh! And they're even driving a Shanghai C license plate!
PS2: The battle to defend Super Earth has come to an end. I will resume two updates tomorrow. This update is a 4600-word double update!

That night, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department spent a sleepless night.

Uesugi Muneyuki was rushed to the emergency center of the University of Tokyo Hospital by the Metropolitan Police Department. The entire Metropolitan Police Department was on tenterhooks, thinking that Uesugi absolutely could not be hurt.

Fortunately, good news soon came from the Emergency Center of the University of Tokyo Hospital: Uesugi Muneyuki only suffered a ruptured capillary in his nasal cavity, a torn thigh muscle, and a minor groin strain. He was confirmed to be fine and could go home to rest after a short observation.

This news brought a huge sigh of relief to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The reason is simple: even with a hundred police officers working together, they almost couldn't capture the major criminal in the act, and more than a dozen people were injured and hostages were taken. This was a major blow to the image of the Metropolitan Police Department. If it weren't for Uesugi Muneyuki's brilliant move in rescuing the hostages, this major incident could be said to have been a devastating blow to the honor of the Metropolitan Police Department, and the entire senior management of the Metropolitan Police Department would have been at risk of resigning.

Matsuko Mano's every slash was enough to cut off the hat of a police superintendent-level officer!

As long as Uesugi Muneyuki is alright, this matter can be turned into a major victory for the Metropolitan Police Department against the "Invincible Man". Although the losses are huge, although there are countless casualties, and although a hundred people are outnumbered by one and more than a dozen are injured, wouldn't you say that they won in the end?

As long as you win in the end, there is room for maneuver and negotiation. The Japanese have always been good at reporting from their headquarters. Although times have changed and nationalism and the philosophy of winning have been swept into the dustbin of history in Japan, the Japanese are still good at public relations and results-oriented thinking.

Late at night, the Sakurada Gate was brightly lit. All the ministers and high-ranking officials had arrived. Superintendent General Eiji Watanabe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kimiaki Onoda sat together, while more than a dozen high-ranking police officers of the rank of superintendent general and above listened to their subordinates' reports.

The only person present whose rank was lower than that of a police superintendent was Watanabe Minami, the Special Missions Division Commander. Due to the extreme tension and excitement, Minami fainted twice, but she managed to regain her composure after learning that Uesugi Muneyuki was safe.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena can rest, but she must personally handle the aftermath. They can handle the on-site matters, but she must deal with the cleanup.

Erena committed murder!

This matter could cause serious problems if not handled properly! As the Special Missions Officer, she naturally has to protect her subordinates!

Not to mention that Erena is her best friend, and the "little maid" she personally designated!
Thinking of this, Miss Minami found it somewhat amusing, thinking to herself, "I said that day that I would grant you the privilege of 'absolute exemption,' and you actually used it?"

Kirisha Gomen was a privilege granted to the samurai class by Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shogun of the Edo period. It referred to the samurai class's right to "kill without mercy" any townspeople or farmers who provoked them if their "honor was damaged."

There's a classic joke from Edo period about a farmer who pointed out a louse on a samurai's clothes. Because the louse was stuck to his robe, the samurai, citing "damage to his honor," legally cut the farmer in two on the spot.

However, such a thing almost never happens in reality because the "sparring pardon" is very strict in practice. First, there must be multiple unrelated persons willing to come forward to testify that "the samurai was indeed offended by rudeness." Then, after the pardon, the local government office must be notified immediately for record-keeping and suspension investigation.

It is important to understand that the Edo Shogunate had been cracking down hard on the daimyo and samurai class (as is well known, the samurai class hardly engaged in any productive work). If someone was not a direct descendant of Tokugawa and committed an act of seppuku, the Edo Shogunate would never let go of the opportunity to legally strip them of their samurai status. Seppuku, reassignment, and deprivation of their stipend were all common occurrences.

Even for a hatamoto, proving that the other party was truly disrespectful and provocative first is extremely difficult. Moreover, if you kill the shogun's peasants, that's slapping the shogun in the face. If you kill the lord's peasants, that's slapping the lord in the face. If you kill your own peasants... well, those are your own property and people. Do you even want to eat oil cakes?

Once, when a feudal lord was giving his leave of absence, a three-year-old child bumped into his ranks. In his youthful arrogance, the lord used his privilege of "killing the child" to execute him.

Although the investigation was passed afterward, the local domain to which the child who was dismissed by Kirishita was furious and declared that the domain would never be allowed to pass through its territory for sankin-kyo (attendance and recital). The two domains almost went to war. Moreover, it is said that the domain lord was later shot with a musket by the child's family and died of a serious illness. Other domain lords did not react at all and even said in private that he did a good job. The shogunate's attitude was even more ambiguous. After arresting the man and interrogating him, they found out that he was the child's father and actually released him, only prohibiting him from leaving his domain again.

The Edo Shogunate had a very interesting practice of being extremely tolerant of "retaliation in kind".

That idiot Ikeda has no idea about "Kirisha Gomen" (a Buddhist term for absolution or persecution), yet she actually did something like that.

"The deceased, who was also a major criminal caught in the act, was 35 years old..." Minami Watanabe recounted the intelligence gathered by the police from the Special Operations Unit to all the high-ranking police officers present at the meeting, as mentioned earlier.

"A host club enthusiast, huh?" Onoda Kimiaki nodded. "I have indeed heard of it. There are many host clubs in Kabukicho with annual incomes in the tens of figures. Many women spend money here for a long time, accumulating huge debts. Moreover, these clubs are connected to yakuza groups. If a woman can't repay her debts, they resort to violent debt collection, organize these women to work in the sex industry, and even after they have completely died socially, they send them to Southeast Asia and the United States to be sold again."

Miss Minami paused subtly, thinking to herself, "You know all this?"
So you know and you're not going to do anything?

But there's no way around it; that's just how the Japanese are. Unless a few lives are lost and significant bloodshed generates major social attention (preferably from foreign media), they have no motivation to truly change things.

This is Japan, according to Fujiwara no Takeyuki.

“Alas, without a doubt this is a major antisocial indiscriminate attack.” Watanabe Eiji added, “After committing the crime at the host club, the perpetrator had already successfully taken revenge. He probably considered that even so, he was already burdened with huge debts, social death, and serious illness, so he changed from revenge killing to indiscriminate killing.”

"The biggest problem now is that this matter has attracted worldwide attention," Criminal Investigation Department Chief Uchimura said to the crowd with a bitter face. "Please look at the PPT."

The officers in the Metropolitan Police Department looked up, and their expressions immediately changed.

BBC report: "Shinjuku's Bloody Night: A Carnage Under a Debt Vortex"

(Image caption: Broken neon signs reflected off the bodies of the victims and a male escort in a suit and feathers lying in a pool of blood, with a ghostly filter.)

The New York Times reports: "Kabukicho's sex industry backfires: The shady dealings behind Japan's night economy."

(The article emphasizes the debt mechanism that forces victims into prostitution, citing data from the UN Trafficking in Persons Report.)

Reuters France: "Sakikawa's Most Fierce Police-Criminal Battle Shatters Tokyo's Safety Myth"

(Video Highlights: The brutal chase and the image of injured police officers collapsed on the ground)

Asahi Shimbun Overseas Edition: "Metropolitan Police Department in dire straits, Superintendent personally patrols the streets only to encounter a massive serial indiscriminate killing spree."

(Front-page feature: The spectacular scene of Eiji Watanabe patrolling the streets is juxtaposed with the bloody carnage of the Anon Tokyo club in the background)

A former Xinhua News Agency outlet in a country across the sea published an article titled "A Massive, Inaccurate Serial Murder Case Erupts in Japan: Why Do Island Nation Always Produce 'Invincible Individuals'?"

(The main content can be summarized as: What's wrong with this country? I'm pondering this deeply... It's a fundamental question! Its inherent weaknesses need to be reflected upon.)
"Fuck! Why are these foreign media outlets always like this, only reporting on this kind of thing? Why don't they report on the good things?" The General Affairs Minister slammed his fist on the table in anger and cursed, "So many police officers chased after the enemy with selfless dedication, their excellent marksmanship, their indomitable spirit, their service to the people, and Uesugi-kun's great performance, and they don't report on any of that. Why do they only pick on this to report?"

"There are also some other reports in China."

The crowd then turned their attention to the domestic news reports.

The Sankei Shimbun reported, "The Metropolitan Police Department's decisive action in killing a major criminal caught in the act deserves recognition!"

This report primarily focuses on the Japanese police's on-site killing of the perpetrator, and generally takes a positive stance. The Yomiuri Shimbun, on the other hand, reports with the headline, "The Darkness of This Country Has Never Disappeared."

The news focused on the host club industry in Kabukicho and raised the question for the first time: "Host services are not currently classified as the sex industry. Strictly speaking, they are not considered a special industry and are not subject to special regulations, which led to this tragedy." It called on society to work together to increase supervision and prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

NHK's news report was titled "Focus on the Scene—A Breathtaking 13 Minutes of Desperate Counterattack, the Special Missions Unit's Continued Activity!"

NHK was the first media outlet to arrive and broadcast live nationwide. They obtained extremely valuable firsthand information, which they repeatedly broadcast, raking in huge ratings while also continuously promoting Uesugi Muneyuki, telling everyone how dangerous it was at the time and how miraculous and great Uesugi Muneyuki appeared on the surface.

From Date firing his gun and Igarashi's flying kick to Uesugi saving people and then Ikeda's critical hit, NHK recorded it all.

While NHK still has some semblance of decency, Fuji TV is utterly shameless.

The Last Samurai! He'll single-handedly turn the tide! Uesugi, once again, saves the nation from peril!

Seeing this, the expressions on the faces of the Japanese police chiefs finally softened considerably.

Fortunately, they won in the end. If anything else had happened... they didn't dare to think about it anymore.

"This matter... has had a very bad impact both domestically and internationally." Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda remained calm. "For this reason, President Owada and the Chief Cabinet Secretary have expressed special concern, so we need to quickly launch a public relations campaign."

"Based on the results of our discussion... please take notes."

A chorus of notes being taken immediately filled the air.

"First of all, the unified message we've given to the public is that it's not that we police officers are unwilling to fire, but there were just too many people at the time, and firing could have easily resulted in accidental injuries. We're doing this for the safety of the people, not because we're not trying."

"Then, the focus shifted to the issues of host clubs and the sex industry, emphasizing that this was an anti-social case, that everything was the host club's fault, that the host club had driven Mano Matsuko to the brink of despair, especially exposing the various shady dealings of the host club and its collusion with organized crime groups, while downplaying the tendency to retaliate against society..."

"Third, highlight the achievements of the Special Missions Unit in this case, especially the key performance of Uesugi Muneyuki, so that the public will realize the great efforts we have made to protect the people... The chase of more than 100 people over two kilometers can be shortened appropriately, focusing on describing the murderer's viciousness and ruthlessness."

"Understood!" Everyone present responded in unison.

"The task force will focus on investigating and cracking down on all hostess clubs and yakuza groups in Kabukicho in the near future. We have already obtained permission from the Cabinet." Eiji Watanabe began assigning tasks: "Kabukicho will be completely closed until the end of the New Year holidays."

"Yes!" The head of the team stood up.

"Public security police will focus their investigations on far-left organizations, terrorism-related and foreign-related activities, and the profit chains involving human trafficking and the prostitution industry."

"Understood!" The Minister of Public Security stood up.

"The Criminal Investigation Department suffered huge losses in this case... but we must pull ourselves together and assist in the investigation, especially since similar cases must never happen again in Tokyo!"

"Yes, sir!" Chief Criminal Investigation Officer Uchimura stood up. "I will instruct Section Chief Sugishita Ukyo to handle this!"

“Hmm, very good.” Watanabe Eiji paused slightly. “Now there’s one more problem.”

Everyone fell silent; they all knew what was going on.

"Regarding the issue of the police openly committing murder at the scene in this case," Watanabe Eiji nodded seriously. "Regarding the issue of Date firing his gun, that's easy to handle. Just say that he didn't give the person the necessary warning."

According to Article 7 of Japan's Police Officer Duty Performance Law, police officers may use weapons in the following two situations:

Arresting serious offenders caught in the act: Weapons may be used to the extent necessary when arresting an offender caught in the act (or when there is reasonable suspicion that he or she has committed a crime) who is sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or three years or more of criminal punishment/imprisonment, and who resists, flees, or is assisted by others in resisting/fleeing.

Preventing serious harm: Weapons may be used to prevent serious harm to the life or body of others, or to stop acts that seriously endanger public safety, when there are no other means available in an emergency.

Similar to the practice of firing warning shots, Japanese police usually fire a warning shot first. If that fails, they may aim at non-lethal areas. Only if the other party still refuses to obey and violently resists will they consider shooting the person directly.

"Regarding the issue of Inspector Erina Ikeda... we may need to communicate with the Ministry of Justice." At this point, Watanabe Eiji frowned further: "Given the current situation, committing extreme violence and murder is an unavoidable measure. Are we just going to let her watch Uesugi be hacked to death?"

“Yes! In this matter, we must protect Inspector General Ikeda no matter what.” Onoda nodded. “Let’s do this: first, have Chief Inspector Okochi suspend him from his duties for investigation and protection through an ‘internal review,’ and then this agency will communicate with the Ministry of Justice to try to resolve this issue as soon as possible.”

"Speaking of which, this is the third time this female inspector has made a meritorious contribution!" Minister Uchimura also expressed his agreement: "In any case, this agency must give her our full support."

“Then let’s do it this way.” Watanabe Eiji suddenly smiled and held up his phone: “Besides, this time we have the support of the people!”

In the early hours of the morning, 13 people had voted on Yahoo! Japan, with 94% of the Japanese public supporting Ikeda.

With broad public support, this matter will be much easier to handle!
For members of parliament and the prime minister, votes are their lifeline!
“We still need to undergo a routine emergency review,” Minami Watanabe said very “selflessly”, “to ensure that the entire process is flawless.”

Kai has already called his father, the Vice-Minister of Justice. Everything is under my control, Kora!

The Metropolitan Police Department's special emergency meeting adjourned at this point; it was already past 2 a.m.

Before leaving, Onoda Kimiaki privately met with Watanabe Minami.

Minami's heart was already with Uesugi Muneyuki at this moment. She was a little annoyed to be stopped, but she still had to keep smiling.

“Chief Administrator Watanabe, on behalf of my brother, I express my sincere gratitude for your special mission's contributions to the Agency, Tokyo, and the entire nation.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda said earnestly in a low voice, “Have you considered… taking it a step further?”

"Huh?!" Miss Minami was stunned.

Seeing that Minami was a little slow to react, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda decided to be more explicit.

"Have you considered giving your Special Missions Unit subordinates... especially Uesugi-kun, some more responsibility?"

(End of this chapter)