Original subtitles

You will be released.

You must go to the hospital right now.

Doctor, are you saying

I should get surgery right away?

I can let you…

live or die.

That man!

Mr. Nogi.

That case my father was involved in and the arson.

Aren't they connected in some way?

Not only that,

but Kaori's accident and Masaki's disappearance as well.

Please tell me

the truth.

What makes you think that?

This is a photo taken by the delivery staff

as proof of contactless delivery on the day of the fire.

Here you can see…

the plastic fuel can filled with gasoline that was used to start the fire.

And this man

was seen at the inaugural press conference of diet member Shotaro Azuma.

The man is Yoji Akiba, the secretary of Former Prime Minister Tadao Azuma.

SECRETARY YOJI AKIBA

Twenty years ago,

Diet member Shotaro Azuma was arrested and indicted

in the environmental energy corruption case.

He was acquitted in the end because all the evidence in the trial

was overturned by you.

The arsonist who set fire to your house is actually the secretary of Tadao Azuma,

the Former Prime Minister, who is diet member Azuma's father.

Right now, the police are on the way

to bring in the secretary for voluntary questioning.

Mr. Yoji Akiba.

We have some questions to ask you.

Come to the station, please.

This man

set fire to your house,

and tried to kill you.

It can't possibly be unrelated to that corruption case 20 years ago.

What is the connection between those two cases?

Mr. Nogi.

There must be facts that only you know.

You've reached that point, I see.

If it's all right,

let me tell you a little bit about that time.

Yes.

At the time,

I was an attorney who had just set up my own law firm.

Environmental energy corruption case…

Here you go, sir.

Before the trial began, I was suddenly called

to the office of Former Prime Minister Azuma.

A mysterious e-mail?

My son says he has nothing to do with it.

It was "e-mail evidence" that Shotaro Azuma, Tadao Azuma's son,

pressured a bureaucrat to do a favor to Yamagami Heavy Industries.

The favor was to grant a subsidy of 200 million yen.

FROM MASATAKA KATO TO KENICHI MEGA (METI)

Who knows where they got the e-mail from?

Anyway,

the prosecution used it as evidence

to steamroll an indictment against my son.

So this

is fake evidence

fabricated by the prosecution.

It's a false accusation.

False accusation?

You started as a prosecutor.

So you know their methods well.

I'm asking you please.

I need your help on this matter.

In order to clear my son's name,

I require your expertise!

Fabricating an e-mail to prove the crime.

It sounded far-fetched to me at first.

But if it was true,

it was absolutely impermissible.

I'd like to appeal to the judge that this case is clearly fabricated.

It is clear that somebody fabricated the e-mail.

The one who forced your statement was Mr. Tsuji, the prosecutor in charge.

Wasn't the prosecution too overzealous in their huge opportunity

of arresting a sitting Diet member?

Isn't that right?

And my client was found not guilty in the trial.

I find the defendant not guilty.

At the moment,

I believed that justice had been served.

However, I learned later…

Everything went according to plan.

Rather…

your work was even better than I had expected.

Let's keep in touch.

It turns out, from the beginning,

everything had been concocted by him.

He let the prosecution discover that fake e-mail as evidence,

he made me question the evidence,

and win his son's acquittal.

Did he go to such lengths to protect his son?

I would say less for his son,

more for his own position and power.

That's what's so frightening about him.

He believed his son's indictment would incriminate him too,

so he blocked it.

He went so far as to fabricate an e-mail

and trap the prosecution with it.

My guess is that Yamagami Heavy Industries

gave huge amounts of money to him as well.

I was manipulated too…

by Former Prime Minister Tadao Azuma.

This is Nogi.

Prosecutor Eisuke Tsuji has committed suicide in his home.

He has passed away.

What?

Mr. Tsuji…

your father…

was my superior whom I looked up to.

I knew his personality very well

and his work ethic.

I would be lying…

if I said I didn't regret it.

Mr. Nogi.

Water…

Yes.

Here you go.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

After that case,

I became more and more busy with work.

I was gaining fame as an attorney.

It was at that time

your friend came to visit me.

Was it Kaori?

Do you mean Mr. Tsuji's daughter?

They're classmates at the same university,

and I'm also their friend.

But

neither Masaki nor Kanade

knows about this case.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENERGY

What if they found out?

What are you saying?

Who is this Kanade?

Like I said, she's the daughter of Prosecutor Tsuji.

Are you okay with them dating?

It doesn't matter to me who my son goes out with.

And this case is already in the past.

But is it really?

The more I look into it, the more unusual it gets.

During the trial, all the testimony was reversed.

Please reconsider.

The accident happened right after that.

I went to see your father and heard everything.

What are you doing?!

Come on, stop! This is nuts!

Why won't you believe me?!

Maybe you could say she's also one of the victims of that case.

And then

Masaki appeared in front of me.

Weren't you the one who killed him?

Did you kill Eisuke Tsuji?

Say something!

Even he started prying into that case.

I thought that that was the one thing I really needed to prevent.

Around that time,

Former Prime Minister Azuma's secretary Akiba

reached out to me.

Did you happen to meet

the daughter of Eisuke Tsuji recently?

I knew right away that he was

trying to silence me.

My house burned down soon after.

I nearly died.

And when I came to, I was here in this room.

That same flower bouquet is being delivered here

almost every day.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

They were seriously trying

to get rid of me.

But…

for better or worse…

I survived.

I'm still alive, and I'm here

talking to you now.

Yes.

Shotaro Azuma was chosen as the president of the Democratic Liberal Party.

He'll be prime minister very soon.

Second generation prime minister.

The scenario turned out just as his father had wanted it.

This…

You did a really good job of finding this.

Prosecutor Nishimura.

Yes.

You're still young.

You're young and honorable.

But

if you intend to fight using that as your weapon,

I'm willing to put it all on the line and cooperate.

Are you saying

you will help me?

If we were to do it,

now is the time.

I'm sure behind Akiba,

is that man.

Former Prime Minister,

Tadao Azuma.

This is my will

I'm leaving it behind.

You shouldn't say that…

I mean as an attorney.

Maybe I…

died in that fire.

No…

Perhaps I was reborn.

Mr. Nogi,

while knowing he's risking his life as an attorney,

told me everything.

His smile

looked a little bit like Masaki's.

Koichiro Nogi definitely said those words?

Yes.

That means as we thought, Mr. Tsuji was…

It's so regrettable.

There's another piece of evidence

linking the corruption case from 20 years ago with Akiba's arson.

Assistant Officer Kaji was in contact with Akiba.

What?

He was given this cell phone by Akiba and he was monitoring your movements.

INVESTIGATION WILL CONTINUE NM WILL BE DETAINED

KAJI MESSAGE RECEIVED

Kaji was?

I'm sure he'll get disciplinary dismissal.

What a foolish thing he did for a small amount of money.

Ms. Nishimura.

Yes.

Akiba will be arrested

for arson of inhabited buildings and sent to prosecutors shortly.

Through interrogation,

how far can you get towards the truth in the environmental corruption case?

That is where…

we truly fight.

Yes.

You talked to him?

Then he's well enough to talk now.

He's made a smooth recovery so far.

What did you talk about?

The real culprit of the arson.

Not just that though.

I asked about that case.

During that case my father was in charge of,

Mr. Nogi was manipulated by a certain man.

Which man?

I can't disclose it now, but…

a certain politician.

Mr. Nogi

fought in court against my father

without knowing that politician's ulterior motive.

Were you…

convinced by him, Kanade?

Do you believe his words?

He'd say anything to convince you.

-That's his-- -Masaki.

There's something…

Mr. Nogi told me.

What is it?

Masaki is a big fool.

But…

sometimes I envy the way he lives.

I don't want to let him die.

I want him to stay alive.

No matter how much he hates me,

Masaki is my…

precious son.

I believe Mr. Nogi.

Because I feel the same way as him.

I don't want you to give up on staying alive.

Right now,

I'm very close

to getting the real perpetrator who framed my father.

I'm certain I can get him.

So--

You don't need to worry so much.

I'll get the surgery.

I was just afraid of the scalpel going into me.

Being cut up by your fiancé

is scary, you know?

Maybe he'll cut off the anesthesia during the procedure.

Just kidding.

You seriously have to stop saying things like that!

Kanade.

I'm grateful.

Thanks for thinking about me this much.

And thanks for talking with him.

So, Prosecutor,

do your best.

If you're almost there,

don't stop until the end.

YOKOHAMA DISTRICT PUBLIC PROSECUTORS OFFICE

Former Prime Minister Azuma's chief public secretary, Yoji Akiba.

He started his career as a part-timer in his office when he was a student.

IN 2004

Promoted to secretary in 2004.

The environmental energy corruption case was around the same time.

CHARGING INSTRUMENT

There's no doubt Akiba is connected to the case.

But, we don't have definite proof yet.

FROM MASATAKA KATO TO KENICHI MEGA (METI)

Excuse me.

I'll clear out my desk and go home.

All right.

Hey, Kaji…

I'm deeply sorry!

Uh-huh.

Tell me, weren't you using a cell phone to communicate with Akiba?

Yes. He handed me a flip phone for that purpose.

FROM MASATAKA KATO TO KENICHI MEGA (METI)

People often hold a grudge.

Excuse me.

I want to see the items seized from Akiba's home.

I found it.

They're the same.

Ms. Nishimura, what's going on?

Why the flip phone?

RESET DEVICE DATA ERASED

The data on this device had been completely erased.

It's not currently in use.

I see.

This was the cell phone used to fabricate the e-mail in the corruption case.

The data was completely deleted from this cell phone.

But Akiba was holding on to it.

Why?

That phone is not in use, but he was paying the bill for it.

What?

-Why? -Beats me. Maybe he was just being lazy?

Or he had some emotional attachment to it?

We should look into it.

Kanade said she has an important interrogation today.

So she can't be here, but she'll come as soon as she can.

Even if she were here,

it's not like she could oversee in the operating room, right?

You guys can go too.

You don't need to be here. Go hang out somewhere else.

Don't be like that.

We're friends, right?

Huh?

-But you know… -Yeah?

I haven't forgiven you.

What?

I thought you set that fire.

Sorry about that.

I'm really sorry.

Jeez.

Mr. Nogi, we'll take you to the operating room momentarily.

Okay. Thank you.

Take good care of Masaki.

I will.

The surgery will require a long time.

I'll take the utmost care.

I'm literally "a carp on a cutting board."

He's making jokes. He should be okay.

I'm counting on you, doctor.

-Doctor. -See you later.

Hang in there.

CENTRAL OPERATING ROOM

He's quite a guy.

Takashi.

I'm impressed.

I think…

I'll take the bar exam.

Yeah.

Huh?

I'm going to take the bar exam.

It's my turn to start working.

What?

Yeah.

-Huh? -Uh-huh.

YOKOHAMA DISTRICT PUBLIC PROSECUTORS OFFICE

Where were you on the night of September 1st

when Mr. Nogi's house was set on fire?

As I've said…

I think I was on my way home from the office.

Can you prove that?

Did you stop by anywhere?

I don't remember.

Aren't you the man

in this photo?

He just looks like me.

Arson of inhabited buildings is a serious crime.

Furthermore,

-attempted murder is-- -I didn't do it.

Let me ask you a different question.

Doesn't this cell phone look familiar?

No.

This is one of the items seized

from your home.

You must remember

the environmental energy corruption case from 20 years ago.

Well, kind of.

You are the secretary

of Former Prime Minister Tadao Azuma.

His son, diet member Shotaro Azuma

was accused of bribery in that case.

In that case,

this e-mail was the decisive evidence to indict him.

FROM MASATAKA KATO TO KENICHI MEGA (METI)

But, this e-mail turned out to be fake, fabricated by an unknown person.

It caused a social uproar as a case of false accusation by the prosecution.

What does that have to do with me?

Mr. Akiba.

Look at this cell phone,

and the cell phone used to fabricate that e-mail.

Aren't they the same phone?

You have been paying the bill

for this unused cell phone for 20 years.

Why is that?

I don't know.

What you required

was not the cell phone itself,

but the data storage service.

It's a service from the mobile carrier

which stores your data safely on their server.

OTHERS: DATA STORAGE SERVICE FEE

Wasn't that the purpose for continuing to pay for this phone?

And in the server,

we found old data for the actual fake e-mail.

The date matches, as well as the wording.

FROM YOJI AKIBA TO KENICHI MEGA (METI)

FROM MASATAKA KATO TO KENICHI MEGA (METI)

After that case was closed,

you officially became

the secretary of Tadao Azuma.

What are you getting at?

In other words,

you were instructed by Former Prime Minister Azuma

to fabricate this e-mail.

Wasn't it also him

who instructed you to set fire to the Nogi residence as well?

He told you

to silence Mr. Nogi because he was afraid he would expose him.

If I said that's correct,

would you be satisfied?

It will settle the score for your father, right?

I'm not out to settle the score.

I am just seeking the truth

as a prosecutor.

It's my job to do so.

What's so funny?

Well…

I'm not laughing at you.

I'm laughing…

at myself.

I kept it for protection

in case I needed to blackmail him.

It was my only weapon.

A protective amulet against getting killed.

Who knew it would backfire like this?

I should have erased everything.

I should have.

It's finished.

His condition is very stable.

He's going to be okay.

How was the surgery?

The procedure went smoothly.

His recovery will depend

on his physical strength and his will to live.

I'll do my best to follow up

so that he can recover.

If you'll excuse me.

Wait.

Takashi.

Thank you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I'm a doctor.

I only fulfilled my duty.

Take care of him.

Kanade.

Kanade.

I…

I'm alive.

Yes.

You're alive.

Masaki.

You're alive.

I'm relieved.

On the 1st of last month,

attorney Koichiro Nogi's residence was willfully set on fire.

Mr. Nogi was home at the time

and suffered serious injuries.

This is an update on the case.

Akiba was indicted for arson of inhabited buildings

and attempted murder.

Former Prime Minister Tadao Azuma was arrested

on a charge of instigating arson of inhabited buildings

and attempted murder.

As a result of careful investigation,

we discovered that the case of arson and attempted murder

was closely connected to the environmental energy corruption case of 20 years ago.

And that was the motive for the arson.

The prosecutor in charge at the time,

Eisuke Tsuji, was held responsible for the outcome.

This resulted in an extremely heartbreaking incident.

This recent investigation

made clear that Eisuke Tsuji did not indict diet member Shotaro Azuma

with the knowledge that the e-mail evidence was fake.

It also became evident

that he did not utilize violence or force a confession

during the interrogation.

Daddy!

When I grow up,

I'm going to help you with your work.

Wow!

That's wonderful.

But it's pretty tough.

I'll work real hard!

Oh you will, won't you?

I can't wait.

I'll be looking forward to it.

-Yeah! -Okay.

To restore the honor

of Kenji Tsuji and his family,

I wanted to clarify those facts.

Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has arrested Former Prime Minister Azuma.

In addition, it has been proven that Eisuke Tsuji, the prosecutor in charge of

the environmental energy corruption case that happened 20 years ago,

did not fabricate evidence or force a confession.

Mr. Tsuji has been exonerated of these accusations.

Tomo. Yuki.

Hey, wasn't Masaki supposed to come with you?

Wasn't he leaving the hospital today?

Yes, but…

He said he was leaving without me. That's all he said.

What is he thinking?

Can he walk all by himself?

I've no idea.

Jeez.

Again?

"Again" is right.

Oh, look.

MELON SODA FLOAT

Hey.

Masaki.

Why do you always go off on your own?

Don't keep making us worry about you.

Huh?

I was wondering how far I could go.

I wanted to challenge myself.

What if you collapsed on the way? You only just got out of the hospital.

She's right.

Well, I'll deal with it when it happens. I guess?

How about you?

Hmm? I'm done already.

Okay.

I knew right away.

Masaki must have wanted to talk to Kaori privately.

GRAVE OF OIKAWA FAMILY

I wondered what he had said to Kaori.

I imagined it was about that day.

SHINANO UNIVERSITY

Hey, do you guys remember

how we all met each other?

In my case…

it was Masaki cheating on a test.

Oh, right.

But by that time, you all knew each other, right?

Yeah.

I was in the same class as Kaori. She started talking to me, and…

She suddenly grabbed my arm.

Hey.

Tell me your name.

You startled me. What? Who are you?

Kaori suddenly grabbed my arm too!

You're Umeda, right?

I was in shock because I thought she liked me.

You know that's impossible.

What?

Who knows? Maybe at the time, she was a little bit fond of me.

Sorry, but no way.

Huh? Seriously?

Masaki, do you have any memories?

I forgot.

-Huh? -Really?

You're totally my type.

Who are you?

Hey,

why don't you be my friend?

Why are you smiling?

I don't think I can tell you.

What the hell? Tell me.

That thing? I won't ever tell you.

What's "that thing"?

-Hey, come on. -No way.

Hey, you're still keeping secrets from me?

-Are you? -Of course.

All right.

Now, come clean.

Is this an interrogation?

Do you want to eat katsudon?

-Yes, I would. Thank you. -Okay.

Then it's Yuki's treat today.

I'm making it now.

-Get a job. -Huh? Uh…

I know you can do it.

That's a compliment.

Are you okay?

Why?

Aren't you tired?

Not at all.

It's true.

Masaki, where are you staying tonight?

Well…

My dad…

Mm-hmm.

My dad says

I should come home.

He moved to his vacation home.

He wants me to go recover there.

I see.

That's a good idea. You should.

Masaki.

What?

You have to…

get healthy.

Yeah.

Goodbye.

I understand.

You're right.

I got it.

Kanade.

Hmm?

Thank you…

for giving me…

the will to live.

Bye then.

I shouldn't turn around.

Because

from the beginning,

destiny never intended Masaki and me to meet.

Our paths

will never cross.