Tokyo Detective

Chapter 346 Pharmaceutical Monopoly
Upon returning to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare headquarters, Minister Ryota Nagamori immediately announced the new Director-General of the Bureau of Medical and Health Services. He also chatted with the Directors of the Medical Administration Bureau and the Health Bureau, informing them of the contents of the Cabinet meeting.

Of the 11 bureaus of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, only 5 are the most important, concerning matters large and small related to the daily lives of the Japanese people.

They are the Medical Administration Bureau, responsible for the management of medical institutions and the development of medical technologies.

2. Health Bureau: Covers areas such as public health and disease prevention.

3. Health and Wellness Bureau: Manages pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and food hygiene.

4. Labour Standards Bureau: Supervises working conditions, protection of workers' rights and occupational safety.

5. Employment Security Bureau: Responsible for employment services, vocational training, and unemployment countermeasures.

The remaining bureaus are the Bureau for Equal Employment Environment, the Bureau for Children and Families, the Bureau for Health and Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, the Bureau for the Elderly, the Social Security Bureau, and the Social Assistance Bureau.

Takaoka Jiro firmly controlled three bureaus related to medicine, and the heads of the three bureaus were all his former subordinates or lovers, which is why Nagamori Ryota had no choice but to compromise.

After all, in the eyes of some bureau chiefs, ministers come and go but Takaoka Jiro remains a constant. No, Takaoka Jiro will be retiring in a few years anyway.

Now that the Bureau of Health and Wellbeing has fallen, Ryota Nagamori has used the fact that Jiro Takaoka offended the Metropolitan Police Department and was being targeted to win him over, leaving the two directors of the Bureau of Health and the Bureau of Medical Administration stunned and even showing signs of unease.

Their hands weren't exactly clean either, though not as badly as that woman's, but being targeted by the Metropolitan Police Department for no reason wasn't a good solution, especially being targeted by the powerful and influential Metropolitan Police Department's "Dragon."

"Go back and think about it. If you're willing, I'll speak to the Metropolitan Police Department on your behalf."

"Thank you, Minister. I will give you a reply soon."

The director of the Health Bureau left the office with a solemn expression. Was it really time to re-align myself with someone else? But Brother Gao Gang had been incredibly kind to me.

No, if the eldest brother was destined to fall, there was no need for him to stay and be buried with him.
.
Shortly afterward, Takaoka Jiro stormed into the minister's office in a rage.

"Minister Nagamori, don't you think what you did was extremely unfair?"

"Gao Gang, I don't quite understand what you're saying?"

Takaoka Jiro almost couldn't suppress his anger.

“You know what you said to Kindaichi and Matsuo. Tamayama Kohaku hasn’t been prosecuted yet, how can you appoint a new director of the Medical and Life Bureau?”

"Don't get agitated. I'm just following the Cabinet's instructions to appoint an interim director. After all, the Medical and Life Bureau can't be without a director for even a day. If Director Yushan is found innocent, he can certainly be reinstated as director. As for the other directors, they also have the right to know about the new developments in the provincial department."

"you"

Takaoka Jiro was speechless. If the Bureau of Medicine and Health were still in his hands, the minister would never have spoken to him in such a tone.

At that moment, Takaoka Jiro regretted it; perhaps he shouldn't have offended Hanyu Naoki.

Takaoka Jiro was quickly dismissed, and Nagamori Ryota watched his hunched figure leave with a look of disdain.

"You should think about how to avoid getting involved in this case. Otherwise, retiring early would be the best outcome, Old Dog. As for Tenyu Kirin on the other hand, there's no need to go against the Metropolitan Police Department for Old Dog's sake."

Meanwhile, in the office of the Deputy Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Police Department, Naoki Hanyu was chatting with Ten'ei Shiratori.

After hearing about the cabinet meeting, Shiratori Ten'ei burst into laughter.

"As expected of you, you're incredibly audacious. But I'd also like to see what Takaoka Jiro looked like back then."

"I just reported the case truthfully. By the way, there should be videos of the standoff between the provincial and municipal departments online, right?"

"I've got it. Did you arrange for someone to send it?"

"of course not."

Naoki Hanyu searched on his phone and found it, and the number of views was increasing rapidly every second, with each comment more outrageous than the last.

"Damn it, the director of the Medical and Health Bureau actually committed murder for money! May he be punished by heaven!"

"This is another disaster for hemophilia. It happened 40 years ago, and now it's happening again. Those people are simply murderers and deserve exorbitant compensation."

"Can we really trust the authenticity of this video?"

As soon as the questioning arose, many people quickly refuted it.

"You don't even know who handled the case? Naoki Hanyu. I don't need to explain who he is, do I?"

"The Dragon of the Metropolitan Police Department, the ace among police officers, the light of justice."

"It's highly likely that there's an arrest warrant."

"I work for the government, and I'll let you in on a secret: the Director of the Medical and Health Bureau has been replaced."

"Is it true or not? If he has already dismounted, it seems to be true."

Naoki Hanyu was amused by the frequent comments about his supposed righteousness. Although he had handled many major cases, he would never consider himself to be righteous.

Just then, the video suddenly went black, indicating that it had been deleted by the network administrator.

Naoki Hanyu smiled.

"The video has been deleted, but it won't be gone for long."

This kind of case can't be hidden, not even without Naoki Hanyu's instigation.

Just then, the phone rang; it was the president of Tenyu Kirin.

"Chairman, the State Drug Administration just called and said our new drug has been approved and can be launched on the market."

"I see. I'll trouble you to arrange the follow-up."

"Ok."

After hanging up the phone, Naoki Hanyu looked at his expectant boss. "Uncle Tianrong, it seems your stocks are about to stop falling. Are you happy?"

Shiratori Ten'ei shook his head.

"It's so-so. Anyway, if we lose money, it'll be you who loses. But I trust you. Since you've said you want to buy 2.8% of the shares, you must have your own plans. My retirement is in your hands."

Naoki Hanyu lent money to Ten'ei Shiratori to buy 2.8% of the shares, as a way of repaying the other party for his continued support.

Shiratori Ten'ei suddenly said with a smile.

"There are two more good things I haven't told you yet. First, your promotion to Superintendent is being discussed by the Security Committee, and you'll probably be Superintendent tomorrow. Second, the position of Director of the Criminal Investigation Department will, barring any unforeseen circumstances, go to Masao Kuraki."

Naoki Hanyu smiled; these really are two good things.

"That's a real shame. I'm a superintendent of police, can't you leave the ministerial position to me?"

"You're really dreaming. The position of head of the criminal investigation department is coveted by many superintendents. It's impossible for a superintendent to take it. If you really want it, I can ask someone to transfer you to the prefectural headquarters to serve as head of the criminal investigation department."

Naoki Hanyu retorted.

"No, I'll stay at the Metropolitan Police Department. I just can't bear to leave you all."

"You slippery little devil."

After chatting for a while, Naoki Hanyu took his leave to find his future superior. Luckily, it was Kuraki; otherwise, it would have been troublesome if it were someone like Anzai. He didn't want to kill three criminal investigation ministers in a row.

Naoki Hanyu stopped in his tracks as soon as he entered the Second Investigation Division's office, captivated by the scene inside.

The small office contained a dozen or so people of all ages and genders, and the atmosphere became heavy.

When Kuraki Masao, the head of the Second Investigation Division, saw his friend, he simply nodded; he had more troublesome cases at hand.

Naoki Hanyu asked a detective from the Second Division.

"What's up with these people?"

"This"

Naoki Hanyu patted the other person on the shoulder.

"I'm good friends with your section chief."

“These people are buying counterfeit drugs. The section chief wants them to expose the drug dealers, but they refuse, so we've reached a stalemate.”

Fake medicine, but won't they reveal the drug dealer?
This doesn't seem like fake medicine. The patient is sick, but not stupid. He wouldn't not know whether the medicine is effective or not.

"What kind of illness is the medication for? Do you know how it was purchased?"

The detective hesitated for a moment before speaking up. He had heard that the man in front of him had solved another major case, and he really wanted to get to know him and be transferred to the police station.

"Lung cancer, to be precise, large cell variant cancer (fictitious cancer), the generic drug they purchased is a generic termatinib (fictitious name), the source of which is estimated to be India."

Termatinib is a targeted drug specifically for large cell carcinoma variants, and it is even effective when cancer cells have spread to the brain.

The targeted drugs commonly used for non-small cell lung cancer are carmatinib and terpoxtinib, and even ordinary large cell lung cancer is treated with these two drugs.

However, these two medications have very little effect on large cell carcinoma. As a result, a new drug that was only released by Johns Hopkins Pharmaceuticals three years ago has already monopolized the treatment of large cell carcinoma and has become one of the most expensive drugs in the world.

The price is really very high; one box of medicine costs 280 million yuan and lasts for 15 days, and it is not covered by medical insurance.

That means the patient will need to spend 560 million yuan a month, or 6700 million yuan a year.

Such families can afford to spend 6600 million a year, so when faced with the choice between genuine drugs and counterfeit drugs made by India (whose methods are unknown), patients know very well which drug to choose.

Kuraki Masao said with a solemn expression.

"We hope everyone will cooperate with the police investigation. We only asked you to cooperate because we found counterfeit drugs on you. No matter what, the police will continue to investigate."

"."

Seeing that the stalemate was continuing, Masao Kuraki really didn't want this case to affect him just before he was about to take over as minister.

Just then, an old woman with white hair came out, pleading pitifully.

"Officer, can I ask you for a favor?"

Kuraki Masao could tell from the other person's expression that he wasn't going to betray them, and his heart tightened.

The old woman continued.

"Could you please stop investigating Third Brother's medicine? I've been sick for three years, and I've been taking the 560 million yuan worth of genuine medicine for two years. It's cost me my house, and it's ruined my son. My daughter-in-law looks at me with hatred."

Now that we finally have affordable medicine, you insist it's fake. Do you think I don't know if it's fake or not? The drug dealers only sell it for 5 yuan a bottle and don't even make a profit. Everyone gets sick sometimes. If you arrest him, we'll just be left to die.

Kuraki Masao tried his best to keep his expression straight. He felt a pang of sadness at the old man's pleading, but what could he do?

If the police are called by the police and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare puts pressure on him, how can he not investigate the case?
“Back in 2016, someone was prosecuted for importing generic drugs from India. Because the selling price was not very profitable and the quantity was small, he was only sentenced to three years of probation, and all the drugs were confiscated. By helping him cover it up now, you are harming him. The more drugs he sells, the heavier the sentence will be. Now that you have stopped him, he may also get a probation.”

"."

Several patients were struggling internally and ultimately did not provide their names.

Regardless of the circumstances, all drug dealers will die once they are caught.

Faced with the threat of death, they would rather live than die, but they would also be grateful to the drug dealers.

(End of this chapter)