Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 503, On-site witnessing of the Supreme Emergency Meeting!
2 PM, Prime Minister's Official Residence, Crisis Management Center!

The bigwigs of Nagata Town gathered here, and when they heard what had happened at the Imperial Palace, they all immediately put down their official duties and rushed over.

Unfortunately, this was a huge scandal that couldn't be brought to light.

Prime Minister Ken Owada sat in the main seat.

Also present was Chief Cabinet Secretary Kimiaki Onoda.

Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Kotaro Higashi.

Police Commissioner Tamaru Jusaburo.

Defense Minister Toshiaki Watari.

And several cabinet intelligence officers.

Imperial Household Agency Commissioner Toshiyuki Maeda and Imperial Palace Police Chief Gondo participated in the meeting via video conference.

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely tense. Upon hearing the news from the Imperial Palace, no one dared to delay and rushed over immediately. Even Prime Minister Ōwada summoned the Minister of Defense.

If the situation becomes irreparable, then the Minister of Defense must notify the Self-Defense Forces to stand by in preparation for an even worse situation.

Of course, a large-scale, full-scale deployment of the Self-Defense Forces would require the tacit approval of the United States. However, in order to prevent terrorist attacks, the United States tacitly approved the deployment of a small number of troops after the Twin Towers were hit.

With the cabinet crisis situation activated, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda personally issued a strict order to classify the incident as "top secret," determined to keep the scope of knowledge to a minimum!
Of course, if the number of people exceeds ten, the confidentiality period will be reduced by about half, and if the number of people exceeds one hundred, the confidentiality period will not exceed seventy-two hours. Everyone should be able to understand this.

Therefore, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda made a backup plan.

The highest level of warning was issued to the media control system, and all channels were used to monitor the movements of major media outlets, especially weekly magazines, with preparations made to use all means, including "administrative guidance," to suppress any possible reports.

This is a major issue concerning national interests!

Japan generally upholds the "freedom of the press" guided by Emperor Macdonald. Even the numerous rape cases involving US military personnel stationed in Japan can be reported if the evidence is conclusive (the US military requires a complete chain of evidence). However, there are a few exceptions, including incidents within the Imperial Palace!

The meeting will quickly classify this matter as no longer a simple murder case, but a "major national security incident" or even an unsuccessful "terrorist attack"!
"Commander Tamaru will personally oversee this immediately! Integrate the full resources of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Imperial Palace Police, and solve this case with the highest priority, sparing no expense. The culprit must be apprehended before the information leaks!"

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kimiaki Onoda issued one order after another: "Have the office prepare multiple contingency plans for the news!"

In the event of the incident being exposed, the cabinet must consider how to respond with the "minimum" amount of information to minimize the impact!
Police Commissioner Tamaru Jusaburo looked extremely grim when he heard that he would be personally in charge of this matter. Since becoming the Commissioner of the Police Department, he had been a puppet of the Prime Minister's Office, with all the power in the hands of Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda Kimiaki. Now, he was being specifically named?
Me? Personally overseeing it? Really?
Think about it carefully, how did Eiji Watanabe get through these past few years as a director?
He instinctively wanted to find Onoda Kimiaki, but neither Watanabe Eiji nor Onoda Kimiaki were qualified to attend such a high-level meeting unless it was absolutely necessary for them to explain or elaborate.

On the other side, Kotaro Higashi, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, also looked serious; he was ready to resign and apologize.

A quiet sense of panic filled the meeting room.

On the surface, the Prime Minister's official residence is operating as usual, but a small number of people at the core are under immense pressure.

They fear that the murderer is still inside the Imperial Palace or that accomplices may strike again, that the media might suddenly break the news, that the opposition party might launch an attack, and that the public would lose faith in the foundation of the country's security once they learned the truth.

If any minor detail is not controlled properly, the explosion will result in the entire cabinet resigning!

Every minute felt like torture. All their hopes were pinned on the Metropolitan Police Department's secret investigation team and forensic pathologist Uesugi Muneyuki, hoping they could quickly and silently resolve this storm.

At that very moment, Uesugi Muneyuki was performing an autopsy.

The Imperial Household Agency is waiting, the Imperial Palace Police are waiting, the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency are waiting, and even those in the know within the National Public Safety Commission and the Cabinet are waiting!
We await the autopsy results of Uesugi Muneyuki, we await his answer, we await his solving of the case!
Around 2:30 p.m., extremely exciting news came from the Imperial Household Agency.

"Commander-in-Chief Owada, and all the cabinet members! We have results! Chief Uesugi has results!" said Maeda Toshiyuki, the Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Agency, excitedly.

"Turn the camera around immediately. I want to hear Uesugi's account for himself. What exactly happened? What are the grounds for concluding it was murder?" Prime Minister Ōwada said immediately.

As Uesugi Muneyuki's face appeared on camera, a strong sense of reassurance washed over me.

Even through the screen, you can smell the strong odor of disinfectant in the autopsy room in the video, but it can't mask the deeper, colder atmosphere of death.

Under the operating lights, Akio Ishimuro's body lay silently on the stainless steel autopsy table. Uesugi Muneyuki, dressed in full surgical scrubs, his eyes focused like an eagle's, his instruments steady and precise. His forensic assistants, Mikoto Ishihara and Minami Watanabe (observing and recording from the sidelines in protective suits), held their breath. The only sounds in the room were the occasional soft clinking of instruments and Muneyuki's chillingly calm commands. The autopsy was meticulous. As previously deduced, the cause of death was indeed drowning. But Uesugi Muneyuki discovered far more than that.

Facing the camera, Uesugi Muneyuki said coldly, "Gentlemen of the Cabinet, let's talk after we've finished. Now, let me tell you what I know and what my evidence is that led me to believe it was murder."

"First of all, there were no obvious signs of beatings, scratches or binding marks on Shi Shi's body, but minor subcutaneous bleeding or abrasions could be found on his wrists, ankles and other areas."

Uesugi Muneyuki displays the scars, revealed through careful dissection and under the aid of a specific ultraviolet light.

"Microscopic bleeding was found in the neck muscles of the stone chamber, tiny bleeding points appeared in the deep muscle tissue, and trace amounts of fibers were found in the fingernail crevices."

"Then, there is Shi Shi's lungs. People who accidentally fall into the water usually inhale a large amount of drowning fluid, and their lungs and trachea will be filled with foam containing aquatic plankton (such as diatoms) (mushroom foam). However, Shi Shi inhaled a relatively small amount of drowning fluid. Based on pulmonary edema, alveolar expansion, and blood dilution between the left and right hearts, it can be determined that Shi Shi did not drown accidentally."

"Finally, Shi Shi's stomach was empty, which would lead to low blood sugar and physical weakness. The risk of a tired and hungry person going for a 'walk' by the lake alone at night and accidentally slipping is far lower than that of a person who has eaten and drunk a lot. While this does not directly prove homicide, the possibility of an accident is very low."

“We tested for adrenaline and found circumstantial evidence that he had experienced extreme stress before his death, which is different from a calm accidental slip into the water. In addition, accidental slips usually cause abrasions or bruises on one side of the body (such as the buttocks or the outside of the arm), and the direction is relatively consistent. Injuries from struggling or restraint caused when being subdued may be more consistent with the characteristics of being under human control in terms of location (such as the inside of the wrist or the elbow) and shape.”

"Therefore, in conclusion, I believe that Akio Ishimuro was undoubtedly murdered!" Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly to the camera.

Microscopic restraint injury + foreign body under fingernail + atypical physiological manifestations of drowning + fasting state + contradiction between injury and environment.

Uesugi Muneyuki easily pointed to the same conclusion through a perfect chain of evidence: Ishimuro Akio had physical contact with others and was controlled before entering the water, and was in a non-voluntary state when he entered the water. Therefore, it was by no means an accidental fall into the water, but rather he was deliberately thrown into the water and drowned.

His autopsy report will use calm, objective, and irrefutable scientific language to completely overturn the possibility of an "accident," point the Metropolitan Police Department's special investigation team in the direction of "homicide," and expose the existence of the murderer from the shadows.

At the emergency cabinet meeting, no one could utter a single question in the face of Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment.

It was murder! It really was murder?!
Great, but what's next?
Prime Minister Ōwada glanced subconsciously at Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda, who immediately understood: "Uesugi-kun, very good, we fully understand and affirm your reasoning, but... what should we do next?"

Facing the camera, Uesugi Muneyuki pondered for a moment before saying, "First, we must analyze the water inside the stone chamber's lungs, compare water samples from different areas around the Imperial Palace Lake, and figure out the exact location where the stone chamber fell into the water."

"Secondly, I extracted trace amounts of moss, which did not originate from the shores of Lake Imperial Palace, and a special synthetic fiber from the knees and elbows of the deceased's suit trousers. This fiber is hard and commonly used in outdoor sports or work gloves, and needs to be investigated."

"Finally, deep under the nail of the deceased's right ring finger, we found several extremely tiny, bright blue plastic fragments, as well as a trace of almost invisible black chemical fiber (different from the one on the clothing). My initial judgment is that the bright blue fragments resemble the surface coating of some kind of nylon rope or plastic strapping."

"We need the cabinet's support to send samples for testing immediately and conduct thorough investigations!"

Upon hearing that Uesugi Muneyuki had reached a preliminary assessment, everyone at the emergency cabinet meeting breathed a sigh of relief.

God!

This kid! He's got a new lead so quickly?

Is there anything he can't do?
Even Prime Minister Ōwada glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki, thinking to himself, "This guy didn't even greet me!"

Fine, I'll forgive you since you're so strong!
"Alright! You will receive all the support we can! Please make sure to investigate the case as quickly as possible and confirm whether the murderer is still inside the Imperial Palace!" Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda immediately ordered, "We will do our utmost to meet your requests! Uesugi-kun, is there anything else you need? Tell us now, and we will prepare immediately... However, considering the impact and confidentiality, we may not be able to mobilize the SAT or the military into the Imperial Palace for the time being, otherwise it would cause a stir in the government and the public, and attract widespread attention."

"Anything else? Well... I'm hungry." Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly said after listening to Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda's rapid-fire questions.

"Huh???" Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda was stunned: "What?!"

“I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten since this morning until 2:30 pm, and there are no shops near the Imperial Palace,” Uesugi Muneyuki said helplessly, pointing to the stone chamber on the dissection table. “I’m just as hungry as he is.”

The cabinet members couldn't help but chuckle as they looked at Uesugi Muneyuki's displeased expression and heard his stomach growl.

But no one dared to laugh, because a major issue concerning the national system had not yet been resolved!

Prime Minister Ōwada subconsciously looked at Maeda, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Household Agency, who was also participating in the video conference.

Commander Maeda finally realized what was happening.

"Grand Catering Department! Prepare the meal!"

(End of this chapter)