Did you know that the death penalty in this country is carried out in no particular order and at no particular time?
It's always up to the big shots.
Somehow, they're often suddenly put together...
Death row inmates are suddenly informed of their execution on the morning of the day of execution.
So for them, the morning is a terrifying time for them.
When they hear the sound of the guards' footsteps, approaching from afar...
they wonder if today is the day.
Taiyo TV Breaking News
3 death row inmates to be executed
Elpis: Hope or Disaster
This drama is fiction inspired by real events.
12 years ago,
Matsumoto Yoshio was arrested and is serving a prison sentence
for the serial assault and murders of several woman.
Actually, this man is innocent,
and the real culprit is still out there.
In addition, Asakawa-san, who has learned of the possibility of a new case,
is working hard to do investigative reporting on the case in her late-night variety show "Friday Bonbon".
I know she says she's working hard on the case
but the truth is, the one who started it all,
is none other than me, Kishimoto Takuro.
Then, there was breaking news that three death row inmates were being executed,
and we were right there when it happened.
July 2018 Taiyo Television
Yes, is that so?
I would like to know if Matsumoto-san...
Yes. Excuse me.
Whether Matsumoto-san is one of the three,
the lawyer Kimura doesn't know either.
We'll just have to wait for the names of the executed death row inmates
to be announced in a follow-up report.
The Ministry of Justice announced the names of the three convicted death row inmates that were executed today.
The death row inmates that were executed were Fukazawa...
But in the follow-up report that came out this afternoon,
Matsumoto-san's name was not among them.
I know I shouldn't be saying this, but...
I'm relieved.
Yes.
But, I really want to move things along quickly.
Oh, by the way, Asakawa-san.
There's someone I'd like you to meet.
- Yes. - Uhh.
She's a reporter from "The Capital City Paper".
She came by to see me yesterday.
She said that she was investigating whether
the murder of the middle school girl and Matsumoto's case were related or not.
I would love to meet her.
The lawyer Kimura introduced us to someone who could be a potentially strong supporter,
Sasaoka-san of "The Capital City Paper".
Oh! I'm sorry. Excuse me.
Ouch! At least say sorry!
She was someone who was beyond our imagination.
Ah, I'm Sasaoka.
I'm Asakawa, pleased to meet you.
Wow! You're so beautiful.
I used to see you on TV a lot. Well, until recently, with the magazine...
and the thing that happened with the other guy...
and then things got very...
Excuse me, I'm Kishi-... Kishimoto.
Ah, I'm Sasaoka.
Do you cover the political news?
Oh, I'm afraid I just cover the society column,
so that's why I'm doing this interview on my own.
I'm afraid this is a boring story.
I'm from Yatobi City.
I used to go hiking at Mt. Hattobi as a child.
It was a nice, peaceful mountain.
But these senseless murders of several young women
made that place famous for being a crime scene.
Oh, that's not it. Wait a minute.
Hehe, you know, my work involves dealing with a tremendous number of documents and manuscripts.
I'm really not good at keeping things in order.
So, the other day, there was an incident involving a middle school girl in Mt. Hattobi, right?
I seriously looked into the society column's archives to find out more.
And indeed, I got caught up in the 12 year old case of Matsumoto Yoshio's arrest.
I can't help but feel that the real culprit might be someone else.
- That's right. - That's right.
Since we're meeting here, I made copies of all the case files we have.
Wow, I'm so grateful.
Oh, this isn't it. So sorry.
And then, it took her two hours to find it.
I thought to myself, "who on earth is this woman", and should I be grateful or annoyed by her presence?
Asakawa-san seemed to have gained a lot of momentum
and suggested that we meet with the detective from the Yatobi Police Department who was involved in the case.
On the day of the incident, around 6:00 p.m.,
Matsumoto Yoshio approached the victim, 14-year-old Igawa Harumi,
as she was on her way home from school along Mt. Hattobi,
and asked if he could buy her underwear for 10,000 yen.
The two of them, to avoid being seen,
entered a mountain path on Mt. Hattobi.
There, the defendant saw Harumi take off her underwear.
Unable to control his impulses, he tried to rough her up.
When she resisted, he strangled her and killed her.
Plays flute in the brass band. Likes music and stars.
As expected of a newspaper reporter, doing so much research.
Uhm... I guess...
I should wait outside instead?
What?
I get the feeling we won't get along at all.
I'm sure these local detectives have super scary faces.
What are you talking about? Let's go.
What?
However, my imagination betrayed me yet again.
I'm Hirakawa.
The face of today's local detectives are so urban,
they could be sitting at Starbucks with their Macbooks and you wouldn't be the wiser.
But...
I don't know how you came up with this kind of thing.
That Matsumoto who is on death row has been falsely accused,
and the real culprit, who hasn't been caught yet,
killed a middle school girl the other day? Hahaha.
- That's a little... - I knew we wouldn't get along after all.
I'm sorry. Well, in conclusion,
Matsumoto Yoshio is the murderer. No mistake about it.
Yes, but in the unlikely event that
there is a possibility that the real culprit is on the loose...
No, from our point of view, this case has been solved decisively.
So, thank you very much for your hard work.
Uhm, were you involved in the investigation at the time?
Yes, I was involved at the time.
But I was still just a low ranking officer.
I wasn't privy to all the important details.
To be honest, I don't remember much about it.
What?
So... what makes you so sure that Matsumoto-san is the culprit?
What?
No, because it's weird that you're so sure he's the culprit even though you don't remember anything about it.
No, even so, the Supreme Court has already ruled on it.
No, no, no. So there's a possibility that the ruling is wrong, isn't it?
And if it's wrong... it's not such a bad thing to talk about it, right?
Because if you think that the case is solved, and the real culprit is still on the loose, a crime could happen again.
- Right? - No.
That is absolutely impossible.
Ah, then,
could you provide the contact information of the inspectors at that time?
Huh?
Let's see... they are Inspector Yamashita and Sergeant Oikawa?
They've already retired, right?
There's no way I would give you personal information like that.
I was afraid that Asakawa-san would get mad at me.
What's with that guy?
It was like talking to a car's GPS or something like that.
He didn't listen to me at all.
I was trying my best to put all the blame on that detective.
I guess he got angry because I was questioning their investigation at the time.
But even so, what's with that attitude?
He is definitely hiding something.
No, I'm pretty sure there's dark stuff going on.
Asakawa-san, on the other hand...
At times, people who can't read the air are very strong.
Kishimoto is terrible at reading the atmosphere of a room/conversation and ends up saying inappropriate things. But it can sometimes turn out to be a good thing since he inadvertently pushes the right buttons.
- You mean that guy? - No, you.
Hey, wait...
How is it that you're so terrible at reading the air?
That's what Asakawa-san says.
Wherever people live, there's always air.
And I too, can't live without it.
I don't understand what's so fun about it.
Anyway, in times like this, we are supposed to look happy.
Finally, we...
In times like this, we are supposed to celebrate.
Even if you don't really like them that much.
So? How did it go? What happened?
Well, it's a wedding you'd expect from Akkun.
- The audience was full of celebrities. - Wow.
- The bride was super beautiful. - Oh wow.
Hahaha.
The food was probably top class too.
I knew it.
Oh, by the way, Taku-chan.
Are you visiting again this year? The grave.
Ah, Kai-kun's?
Yeah, I'm going.
Oh, I see. I might not be able to make it that day,
- but I'll try to go before or after. - I see.
So everyone goes every year, don't they?
To Kai-kun's grave.
Well...
But more and more of us have stopped going.
- Is that so? - Yeah.
I think that, among the Meioh 2015 graduates,
there are two types of people.
Those who visit Kai's grave, and those who don't.
And those who still go, like me and Taku-chan...
Unfortunately, we don't move up in the world. Hahahaha.
That's not true.
Then, what about those who don't go?
- Woo! - Oh, those who don't go...
In short, it's Akkun.
Everything revolves around Akkun and his surroundings.
The magnificent mainstream.
Ha! This is exactly the world of today's wedding receptions.
Those of us who suffered the anguish of being bullied,
and knowing those who killed themselves because of bullying,
we want to forget about it as soon as possible.
Don't think about it, don't worry about it.
Sniff out problems,
and focus on the long run.
That's what winning at life is all about.
Apparently.
Heh.
Ah, excuse me...
So I started looking for the contact information of the detective who conducted the interrogation,
but I couldn't come up with anything using this Showa-era method.
I'm sorry. My mistake. Excuse me.
He is going through the phone book and calling everyone with the surname "Yamashita", the same surname of the detective.
Kishimoto-san! Are the flip cards ready yet?
Oh! Sorry, sorry. I'll finish it by tonight.
- Sorry. - You won't make it in time.
I'm fine. It's totally fine.
Damn. Seriously?
As a result of all the phone calls I made during my job....
What?
Yes, that's right.
One week later, after calling 144 Yamashitas.
Yes, but... who are you?
Say cheese.
Yes, it's OK.
Wow! I can't believe I get to meet Asakawa Ena-san.
I'm so glad my father is a police officer.
Ah! May I shake your hand?
Ah, of course.
Thank you very much. Come on, shake hands with her.
Come on, come on. That's enough.
Come on, they've got work to do.
Go inside, come on.
- Thank you very much. - Go inside.
- Shall we go? - Thank you.
- Ah. Bye bye. - I'm so happy.
So, what did you want to talk about?
Now, may I ask about the interrogation after your arrest?
Please go ahead.
The actual interrogation was conducted by yourself and...
Me and... well, Oikawa was the main interrogator.
There were three of us. Well, we took turns sometimes.
Well... Matsumoto denied it at first.
But in the end, he admitted his guilt.
How did he admit it?
He got down on his knees asking for forgiveness.
Rubbing his head on the floor
Crying a lot.
Did he actually say he did it?
Hmmm... Well, you know...
Well, you... No, we....
we asked him if he did it,
and then he asked for forgiveness.
So that means he did it, right?
Anything else?
Oh, no.
Then, the next question....
Well, you... No, we....
we asked him if he did it,
and then he asked for forgiveness.
So that means he did it, right?
Oh, Asakawa-san, weren't you looking at me at this point?
Ahh.
I wanted you to speak up about it, since you don't read the air.
Why?
I felt that "please forgive me" meant "please stop doing this".
One day, out of the blue he gets taken by the police, and one by one, one by one they keep saying, "You did it, didn't you?"
And after being yelled at continuously, his mind couldn't take it any more.
No, no. Then why didn't you ask him yourself?
Because if I offended him, the interview would have ended there.
- Ah! - What are you guys doing?
Ah, this is the detective who was part of the case of the falsely accused.
- We were able to get an interview. - Oh! Can I have a look?
Oh sure. Here you go.
Well... Matsumoto denied it at first.
...and then he asked for forgiveness.
So that means he did it, right?
What are you going to do with this?
Huh?
Do you have a strategy? Friday Bonbon,
to get this on the air, you're going to face stiff opposition, right?
Uh... well, first of all...
Make sure to have a good summary of the case and the testimonies of the people involved.
And, based on that, I'll get more allies on the inside...
Interviews with the victim's family?
Oh, I'm not sure if we should do that.
Why not? They're there.
If Matsumoto is not the culprit, where is the real culprit?
Our angle should be the victim's family who want the truth to come out.
That's the best strategy.
Yes, but the victim's family...
They believe that the murderer has been caught.
And now, more than 10 years later...
how would they react to being told there is a possibility he was falsely accused?
How'd they react? Of course it would be frustrating.
Either way, what you guys are trying to do
is going to be extremely arrogant and cruel to the victim's family.
These two used to work together on "News 8",
so they must have had this kind of senior/junior relationship.
Convincing the victim's family....
As I looked at Asakawa-san, who was so honest...
I couldn't help myself, but to search for it again.
Asakawa Ena,
kissing in public...
... and record it. You won't make progress if you don't go through with it.
- Of course I understand that. - If you know it, then do it.
A safe scenario is just going to get trashed by the press.
Ok then.
Huh?
What are you looking at?
Oh, it's nothing.
- I'm going to do the interview. - Huh?
The victim's family, by any means.
Oh, okay.
It was much easier to locate the home of the victim's family
than it was to locate the retired former detectives.
Maybe it's here.
Ahh, here it is.
This is because they lived in the same house after the incident.
Shall I ring the bell now?
No, no. We're just here to check for today.
I didn't even bring a gift.
Well then what was the point in bringing this...
- Ah... - Whoa...
- Hey, wait! - Excuse me, excuse me...
Hey! Get lost!
- No, hey... - Excuse me, excuse me...
- Get out! - Excuse me!
Well, it's not every day that the media wanders around there.
Because at the time, the media was handling it so badly.
Is that so?
Oh, it was terrible.
Day after day, those stupid reporters surrounded the house and kept calling the intercom,
asking, "What do you think of the rumors that Harumi was selling her lingerie?", and so on.
It was frustrating for the victim's family.
Change of strategy, I guess.
What?
It's not so easy to meet the victim's family, they're not going to want to see us.
Yeah...
- It's big on Taiyo TV... - It's big.
- It's on Taiyo TV, right? - Yeah, on TV.
What? She changed boyfriends?
- What do you mean? Looks like it's changed. - That's so cool.
- What? Again? - Yes.
Yes, on Taiyo.
- That's cool. - Not that it was cool, but...
Thank you very much.
- Eh? - I'm hungry, let's go.
- Wait a minute! - Hurry up.
Hurry up. Wait!
Hello.
Uhm... Can I ask you something?
About 10 years ago, around this area...
There was a serial murder case involving several young women.
Do you remember it?
Out of the blue.
It's a very disturbing topic, isn't it?
I'm sorry.
Uh, I work for Taiyo TV.
Regarding what happened back then.
I'm asking around the neighborhood to find out more. Your store...
If I'm going to talk about it...
I have to close this store first.
Put down the shutters, lock the doors. Turn off this light.
And then if you still insist on listening...
I'll tell you.
What do you know?
Such things are always in search of the right phase in order for it to be told.
What you want to know...
is not something that can be dug out with a rough tool like language.
In the first place...
Who are you?
Yes...
Uhm...
Excuse me.
I'm sorry.
Ah... What were you doing?
Eh? What's wrong?
Huh?
Eh... Where is it?
It's gone.
You mean the shop?
Maybe it's closed.
Well, we'll talk to him again,
when it's open, is that okay?
You're right. Sorry.
Asakawa-san...
said she would write a letter to the victim's family.
There was no reply to the first letter.
There was no reply to the second letter either.
But after the sixth letter...
This is Asakawa.
Hey, do this properly.
Yes?
Yes.
Yes. I'm very sorry...
Yes, I'm very...
That's enough already!
I'm never going to talk to the press.
I don't care if you say he's falsely accused, I don't give a damn!
Don't ever send me a letter again.
Got it?!
It can't be helped.
Give up the interview with the victim's family,
and let's put more effort into other stories.
No.
I don't want to give up.
You know who's to blame for this?
It's the press, not anyone else. It's us.
Yeah. No, I mean, we...
I mean, the press at the time.
Well, I hate to say it, but...
It was Saito-san and the others' fault, wasn't it?
But we are part of the same press.
For example, it was your mouth that made a move on a bonbon girl...
and then you say "my eyebrows had nothing to do with it!"
You can't say something like that.
I don't understand what you mean.
It's our own fault, so we have to make up for it somehow by ourselves.
You want to clear someone else's name,
and you say you want to reveal the real culprit...
Are you just going to give up and say, "It can't be helped"?
That's... wrong. It's terrible.
Well...
No.... but if we can't, it just means we can't.
Then what can we do?
Yes.
Is this Asakawa Ena-san's cell phone?
Yes, that's right.
Uhm, I...
am Igawa.
Eh?
My name is Igawa Sumika.
Uhm...
I'm Igawa Harumi's older sister.
Welcome.
Uhm...
The other day, my mother told me
that my father turned down Asakawa-san's request over the phone.
Oh, yes.
I understand how my parents feel.
But at that time
I just couldn't understand.
I couldn't give up.
So, I wanted to talk to you about it.
Yes.
Harumi and the murderer
entered Mt. Hattobi together. Why did they do that?
I heard that Harumi was trying to sell lingerie.
At least that's how the police explained it.
Yes.
At that time, I
thought that Harumi would never do such a thing.
"I know that you, her family, find it hard to believe."
"I'm sorry to say it's true." That's what they said.
Yes.
Actually, my parents
already half believe it.
They just didn't know for sure
if Harumi may have had such an aspect to her.
But I...
have been thinking that I can't believe that no matter what.
Because otherwise,
the 14 years that she has been living with us...
all of it would have been lost.
That's why my parents got so angry,
when they read Asakawa-san's letter saying that there might be another culprit.
But I felt a huge relief.
If that's the case, then...
I knew that Harumi had a completely different reason after all.
Ugh... that was the moment
I felt like the Harumi I knew
finally came back to me.
I'm sorry.
Sumika-san.
Yes.
I know this is extremely rude of me.
I have a favor to ask.
Would you allow me to record an interview with you?
Interview me?
I know it's a very impolite request, I am truly sorry.
But this false accusation case,
must be resolved correctly at all costs,
I believe, once and for all.
But for that to happen
our voices alone are not enough.
We need to gather more and more allies.
Sumika-san's image and voice
can convey in an instant what we cannot convey
no matter how many words we put together.
Somehow,
one way or another, please.
That day
was a day where we could see a meteor shower.
That's why we promised to watch it together.
My sister and I
both like stars.
A long time ago,
we used to watch them here together.
But...
she never came back.
Haru-chan.
Igami Sumika ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Harumi
To be honest, after coming here,
I've come to realize how far I had gotten myself
into this ridiculous mess.
What I shot that day
was something I wouldn't want to keep to myself till the day I died.
But our show...
is a late-night variety show, "Friday Bonbon".
With an average viewer rating of 4.2%,
it's a long-running program that has inadvertently entered its 10th year of running by flying low.
From head to tail, in harmony and chaos.
How is it possibly going to fit in this show?
What are you talking about this late in the game? We have all this footage now.
I won't hesitate anymore.
From now on I'm only going to do what I think is right.
What?
I seem to have gained a little confidence.
After meeting Sumika.
To be honest, until then, I was both hesitant and disheartened.
But
I wondered
if it was okay for an amateur to imitate a journalist.
But after meeting Sumika,
you could say, I was saved.
She never came back.
I'm still full of anxiety.
But if this is really the right thing to do,
more allies will come on their own,
and a path will open up.
Probably.
I noticed that Asakawa-san
started to show signs of some kind of spiritual dignity.
In fact, it felt like she was a whole different person,
who would go to great lengths to do what needed to be done.
Matsumoto-san was home at the time?
We would like to continue our research on this man.
3 and 4...
Make this the main subject.
Can you make it a little easier to see?
Kishimoto Takuro: We were able to get an interview with the victim's family and made a great VTR! Thank you for your advice!
We showed the finished VTR
to the younger staff of Friday Bonbon.
Were you confined by Matsumoto-san?
Not at all. I wasn't being confined.
and then he asked for forgiveness.
So that means he did it, right?
Haru-chan.
We would like to continue our research on this man.
What do you think?
We will support you!
Seriously?
I've never seen everyone say it with such a serious face,
I was happy.
"If it's the right thing to do, allies will follow on their own."
Asakawa-san's words might really be true....
Or so I thought.
After showing the video for the first time at Monday's regular meeting...
Hahahaha...
As the room lit up...
Hahahaha.
I see.
That's bad.
Let's see, what should we do?
Well, let me start with my personal opinion.
Eh... for sure, the VTR is well done.
But, well, I don't think it's right to put this on Friday Bonbon.
Go ahead.
It's certainly an unprecedented and risky project,
but I think it's worth it.
Me too.
I think we should do it.
I think so too.
I definitely think we should do it.
Oh, oh, oh.
How about you, Yamazaki-san?
Well, I'm worried about it.
I think this kind of thing would make the other sections look flimsy.
Ah I see, I see.
After all, "Bonbon" is a fun type of show to watch.
It's a matter of balance, isn't it?
That's right.
Thank god it's Friday, right?
He says "Hanakin/花金" or "Flowery Friday" which is a term the older generation uses to mean going out till late on Friday night as people don't have to work on Saturday.
So it's not good enough anymore?
Oh, I'm sorry.
But, for you to say
it's because of the risks and the need for balance, is nothing new.
The only way to get a proposal through is to be neither good nor bad.
I think there's something wrong with that.
I think it's long overdue to rethink the attitude of the program itself.
Huh? It's time to rethink?
What's your basis for saying that?
That's Asakawa-san's personal wish, isn't it?
That's not true. This is what all the other staff
really think so as well.
It's easy to say that.
But the program has to be able to keep going on.
Of course.
But, I think it is necessary to take on challenges in order to continue.
What do you think? Murai-san?
Eh... Did you hear that?
Well, it's good, isn't it?
Eh?
Yeah, isn't it okay?
What? What do you mean, it's okay?
Why don't we just do it?
Ohhh, are you sure......?
Because it's interesting.
Recorded interviews with the victim's families...
And... Cherry-chan?
Showing the face of the woman from the victim's family.
And the detective of the case at the time...
No, that alone is already pretty nasty, right? It's interesting, yeah?
Ah, so that's how it is, huh?
Well, if they get mad at you, just pull it back.
No one's going to take it seriously anyway.
Tired office ladies drinking cans of shochu.
That's Friday Bonbon.
The greatest!
Ah, hello.
Ah, you finally picked up.
What's that? Yes, yes, yes.
Well, let's see...
As for the decision to broadcast the program,
I'll consult the director about it.
What?
Then we'll await his final decision.
No, no, no, that's...
Please wait. This has already been decided within our department.
Please don't bring it to the higher ups.
If you do... I'm sure it will be rejected.
If so, it can't be helped.
The program is the company's property.
There must be no possibility that our decisions will cause trouble for the company later on.
- I agree. - Yes, I agree.
Let's now return to the regular meeting.
Yes.
In the end, the next day we got a call from Nagoshi-san.
It is inappropriate for broadcast.
Given the purpose of the program, of course it's not a good fit.
Otherwise, we won't be able to handle complaints from all directions.
The director has told us that this is not fit to go on the air.
As expected, the director had decided that it was not appropriate to broadcast.
I want to do the right thing.
Once, I left one of my friends to die,
and yet I'm still trying to hang around them.
My mother too.
I want to do the right thing.
Sorry to drop by all of a sudden.
There's something I really wanted to talk to you about.
I thought you couldn't drink.
Yeah, I envy those who can drink.
Are you okay?
Ah...
I feel sick.
Can I smoke a little?
Do you smoke even when people say they are feeling sick?
I'm the one who needs to calm down.
You're the worst, aren't you?
As usual.
What do you want to talk about?
You know...
that false accusation case you guys are chasing.
Ah. That case has been shut down.
The director made an official decision today.
What?
Excuse me. Can I...
go throw up?
Uhm, if you don't want to hear it,
can you turn on some music?
Did you throw up?
Uhm...
Hm?
Is there something you have to do?
No, it's okay.
See you.
I'm sorry I'm late.
Oh.
Good morning.
It seemed weird at the time.
- Excuse me. - Yes.
It's the VTR for Ena's Eye.
The narration was wrong, I had to re-record it.
Can you replace it with this one?
- Yes, I understand. - I'll leave it here.
Okay.
Wow! I was just watching.
Well, it was Kawakami-chan who came to me. Kawakami-chan.
I was relieved. How did you...?
Yeah, I couldn't stand it any longer. I couldn't hold back any longer. And then I saw...
What was it? I was thinking...
But I never imagined it.
I was like, "Oh my gosh! I was like, "Oh my gosh!
The heat wave will continue through the end of the week...
Okay, Ena's Eye VTR is up next. Please use air conditioning properly....
5 seconds, 4, 3...
Yes, on today's Ena's Eye...
First of all, please take a look.
What?
She's not saying anything.
- Start the VTR. - Yes.
Yatobi City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Sixteen years ago,
between 2002 and 2006...
Hey, it's different.
Three girls lost their lives.
What the hell is this?
All of them were murdered...
That's not Ena's Eye!
What the heck is this? What's going on?
- Asakawa-san switched it out earlier. - Asakawa?
Stop it. Stop it!
He works at a sheet metal factory.
Matsumoto Yoshio, who was 50 years old at the time.
And in 2016, the sentence handed down was...
Matsumoto death penalty is actually for the 3 people....
Asakawa-san left us all in the dark.
...investigate the truth of the case.
3 girls
Serial Murders
Death Row
All by herself...
Falsely Accused
she ran headlong towards righteousness.