The bidding date for the redevelopment project's been changed.
December 9. Time is running is out.
Could this be the date and place of the collusion for the redevelopment project?
This is the JFTC. Everyone please remain still.
Otsu!
This isn't collusion for the redevelopment project.
We have employees and many subcontractors.
We can't let the company go under.
Weak people don't have the right to fight.
Weak people only talk as if they're strong and try to act tough.
But in the end, they can't do anything. They're a hindrance.
Guardians of Competition
Lacter Construction Main Office
Please stop your business for the time being.
We are the JFTC.
Team Cap Kazami Shinichi
Inspector Koshobu Tsutomu
We will now conduct an on-site inspection.
Inspector Shirokuma Kaede
Koshobu.
Yes?
You just finished your suspension, so don't be rash.
I understand.
We're conducting on-site inspections of Lacter Construction
to look for clues to collusion between the Big Four and Toudou
DFT Konno Mamori
on the Tokyo Bay Area redevelopment project.
Meanwhile, with Hiyama's arrest,
I want to find the reason for my reassignment.
Shibano Ryuhei, who got away from you,
Section 1 Criminal Investigation Team Omori Tetsuya
was at an underground casino near where Koga was murdered.
An underground casino...
Shibano was approached by a police officer investigating Koga's case,
and mistakenly thought he was under suspicion for going to an underground casino.
That's why he ran away.
And as for Shibano's case...
The investigation was stopped because of pressure from Vice Minister Toudou.
By having Koga's case investigated...
they were afraid that it would bring the collusion to light.
The police department, in response to Toudou's wishes,
had you transferred, as you may have witnessed the suspect.
It was all due to Toudou's influence.
Excuse me.
That man over there, Tsukada.
Lacter Construction Tsukada Junpei
He took over Hiyama's place
and is now in charge of the redevelopment project.
Can you move him away from his seat? I'll check the desk.
Understood.
Excuse me.
Hello? Yes.
I understand, I'll come right away.
Tsukada, there's a problem.
There's some trouble. Please come immediately.
What is it? At a time like this.
Vice Minister, MLIT Toudou Kiyotada
By the time of the bidding for the redevelopment project,
there's no doubt that collusion would have taken place.
The only ones who can stop that collusion and expose Toudou
is the JFTC.
Tokyo Bay Area redevelopment project
3 Days before the Bidding date
It's not going to be so easy to find anything.
There has to be a clue to the collusion that's about to take place.
We just have to be patient.
Oh, a receipt from Ginza Katsuragi Tei.
95,000 yen for 5 people?
Inspector Momozono Chiyoko
Must be a really nice place to eat.
- I bought lunch. - Thank you for your hard work.
Sweet bread and
sweet bread and
sweet bread.
Compared to them, we're.... like nothing.
You're lying, right? Why are you saying that?
This is my treat, you know. It's goodwill!
- Thank you! - What do you think about this person?
Ah, hey, speaking of which, where's Rokkaku?
I'm having him keep an eye on Tsukada.
Eh?
Inspector Rokkaku Kosuke
It's supposed to be a corroborative investigation of the previous collusion.
What are you going to do if the committee finds out?
We don't know when they're making a move.
That's true, but...
Oh, that's right.
Can someone go to Otsu Construction and confiscate the files?
There was nothing else I could do.
I will go.
What's this...
Wait!
If we lose business with your company, we'll...
Otsu Construction Otsu Kousuke
Otsu Construction Otsu Tamaki
If you're looking for documents related to Lacter Construction, here they are.
I'm sorry.
For the trouble we have caused you,
we are truly sorry.
We will work hard to regain your trust...
Once it became known that we were involved in the collusion,
all the jobs we had were cancelled.
I have no money to pay the contractors...
I don't know what to do now.
It's my own fault, isn't it?
Most companies are serious about what they do.
But we tried to cheat.
I beg of you!
But my husband was just desperate.
It's not so easy to do the right thing.
I will do something about it.
I'm back.
Did you find anything?
Nope.
Anything from Tsukada's desk documents?
No good either.
Well, then, shouldn't we quickly conduct on-site inspections of the other three of the Big Four as well?
We don't have time for that. The bidding's in three days.
We don't even have a pretense for an on-site inspection.
Then what in the world should we do?
These are Otsu Construction's documents, aren't they?
Yes.
Otsu Construction has nothing to do with the redevelopment project.
But they are a business partner of Lacter Construction.
By the way, where are Cap and Momozono?
They already left. It's past their regular time.
Eh...
It's Rokkaku.
It's bad, Koshobu.
- Don't tell me... - Did he lose Tsukada?
Oh, no, he's eating leisurely.
Eh? Then what? What is it?
I found something amazing.
Take a look at the email I sent you.
I've been using my father's connections to find information on the Toudou case.
Isn't this bad?
What is this?
It's a bill
to partially legalize collusion in the construction industry.
Legalize collusion?
It seems that Toudou is planning to submit this to the legislative assembly.
If such a law is passed, it will result in
the big companies monopolizing more and more jobs, right?
What should we do, Koshobu?
We have to prove collusion in the redevelopment project,
and expose Toudou's wrongdoings.
If we miss this, we'll never be able to arrest Toudou again.
- Thank you, Rokkaku. - Okay.
Why would Toudou go to such lengths...
It seems like he's obsessed with collusion.
I'll let Cap and the others know about this.
What? Legalizing collusion?
Uh. Cap? Where are you?
What's going on?
- Uhm... - Can she sit with you?
I'm... I'm outside at the moment...
- Cap? - Momozono!
Are you together with Momozono?
I just happened to be... investigating something.
Investigation? What investigation?
No, um...
Thank you for waiting. Here's your Mapo Tofu.
- Mapo Tofu? - Mapo Tofu?
- One more plate, please. - Yes.
A pair of chopsticks too.
Um... Anyway, we'll talk tomorrow.
Mapo Tofu?
Thank you for waiting. Here's the Peking Duck.
That's what I'm talking about.
Why did you order so much?
What?
Leave some for me.
Hey, hey, that's creepy.
- What? - Scary!
Excuse me.
Regarding the bill, it's expected to be submitted to the legislative assembly tomorrow.
If things continue as they are, there is no doubt that the bill will be passed.
With this, those without power will be eliminated.
Provisions of the Antimonopoly Law
Not applicable
This country will become stronger.
Tokyo Bay Area redevelopment project
2 Days before the Bidding date
I knew it. You probably stayed up all night, didn't you?
My bad.
You took the liberty of investigating again.
Are you okay?
If the committee finds out, you'll be fired this time.
I know.
Public Prosecutor on Secondment Midorikawa Eiko
So how's it going?
I tried to find someone who could tell me more about Toudou.
And I finally found someone.
- In Osaka. - Eh?
He said he's willing to help.
Kitazawa Yuji
He was Toudou's boss when he worked in Kansai almost 30 years ago.
Thank you.
Do you know why I'm going this far?
What?
You're a bit dull like that.
I've come this far.
So don't you dare give up in the end.
She is vague about what she is referring to, so she could also be saying "Because I'm not going to give up on you till the end".
Osaka
Toudou's ex-boss Kitazawa Yuji
Ah... Where were we?
You were telling me about Vice Minister Toudou
Huh? Huh? Huh?
Excuse me. Excuse me. One more.
Ah... He was someone who wasn't well liked.
He could do his job, but he was so serious.
Anyway, he was a man who wouldn't tolerate injustice. Yeah.
Eh? Uhm... Was he involved in collusion or any rumors like that?
Deep fried horse mackerel.
I haven't had deep fried horse mackerel at all lately.
Deep fried horse mackerel.
350 Yen
Here's your beer.
- One deep fried horse mackerel too. - Yes, one moment.
There's no way he would get involved in collusion.
I did get involved in a bit of collusion, however.
He went after me thoroughly just for making a profit.
Thanks to him, I'm in this state.
He would say things like, "Competition is necessary for the development of this country."
Is collusion really that bad?
In my opinion, competition is the real villain.
Weak people don't have the right to fight.
You just don't know
what kind of tragedy that would create.
This is the last picture I took with my mother.
She was very well dressed.
Unlike me.
I guess this confirms we have checked
all the confiscated files from Lacter Construction.
Zero clues, eh?
I give up.
Let's go through it all again from scratch.
I'm going to go have lunch.
What? The bidding is the day after tomorrow. And at this time...
I'm starving. It can't be helped.
Hey, wait a minute.
- Then, I'll go out for a bit too. - Eh?
What's up with the two of you?
You've been eating out a lot lately.
Anyway, he was a man who wouldn't tolerate injustice.
There's no way he would get involved in collusion.
He would say things like, "Competition is necessary for the development of this country."
I see.
So you haven't found any clues
have you?
What am I supposed to do...?
Chief Inspector Honjo Satoko
Did you come here just to whine and complain?
Momozono!
- Shh... - Huh?
- Why are you here? - Because...
- Shh. - Oh, shh...
No, I just wanted to talk to Honjo...
- Didn't you just have lunch over there... - Shh!
- Huh? Why are you all...? - Shh!
Why are you even here?
Have some confidence.
You are a person I can count on.
Not just you,
but everyone at Bureau 6.
I want to tell you the reason
why I started Bureau 6.
The first person I met was Koshobu.
When he appeared to me as a JFTC official,
I was really surprised.
And I knew immediately,
that he was pursuing Toudou.
Your collusion
will be coming to an end.
If he moved around in the dark, he wouldn't be able to get close to Toudou.
On the contrary, he'd make Toudou wary.
So I decided to keep him close to me
to keep an eye on him.
But as I learned more about his talent as an inspector,
I wanted to create a special team.
That's what I thought.
To expose Toudou's fraud,
we would need a strong team.
With his outstanding insight,
and extreme resourcefulness in any situation - Koshobu.
An excellent interviewer with a remarkable ability
to get into people's pockets - Momozono.
With excellent information-gathering skills
and whose father is a senior prosecutor - Rokkaku.
And as for Cap...
Since I had no specific person in mind, I decided using a dice roll.
Dice?
But it turned out to be a great decision.
Kazami works hard behind the scenes,
and is always there to support everyone.
And Shirokuma, a former detective.
You have an outstanding ability to take action.
When I learned of your strong sense of justice,
I knew that you were the right person for the team.
Honjo.
Bureau 6 is the strongest team.
I'm sure you guys can do it.
That is what I believe.
Well, let's go back.
This is no time to slack off.
Come on, you should get back to be on the lookout.
Okay.
Why are you taking the flowers?
How's it going? Feeling a little more motivated?
Yes, I am.
Thank you very much.
Otsu Construction
This is Shirokuma.
What?
- What are you doing? - I'm reading, obviously.
I'm going through it again from scratch.
- Who are you people again? - That's rude.
It's past regular hours.
We don't have time for this kind of talk.
Come on, hurry up and help.
Okay.
So how was Osaka? Did you find anything out?
Nothing on the redevelopment project.
I see.
But I did find out what kind of person Toudou is.
Otsu, where's Tamaki?
I haven't found her or been able to contact her either.
I've searched everywhere I can think of.
I will do something about it.
- I'll look for her too. - Thank you.
Kaede, get in!
Everyone, take a look at this.
- Communication has been very thorough. - Tsukada?
Tomorrow is happening at last, isn't it? Yes.
- Tomorrow is the day before the bidding. - Thank you.
Isn't this about the collusion?
What about the location? Did he say anything?
No, I didn't get that far... I'm sorry.
No, no... You did good.
The collusion is tomorrow. Now if we can just find the location...
Let's look for clues.
- I'll help too. - Okay.
- Eh? - Whoa!
- What are you doing? - I'm sorry!
Huh? I saw this amount of money earlier too.
Hmm?
There's no note at the back.
"Uragaki" is a note written at the back of bills or checks. For receipts, it is to indicate the purpose of the expense.
Look at this.
The prices are the same.
And neither one has a note at the back.
The other receipts have the destination and the staff name written on them.
Wait, I saw the same amount of money too.
Where was it?
It's not the JFTC's job to search for people, is it?
I couldn't stand by and do nothing.
That's just like you. Well, that's the good part.
You're always working so hard for others.
That's why you don't have time to think about other things.
...is it okay if we move forward with this?
The topic of marriage.
Sorry.
You're not satisfied unless you do things thoroughly.
I'm rooting for you.
Tetsuya.
Otsu.
Yes.
What?
So many receipts of similar amounts without notes...
What do you mean?
During the previous collusion,
Hiyama took a taxi.
To avoid being traced,
they probably take taxis when colluding.
So of course there's no note.
So these are the receipts for taxis that took him to the place of collusion.
Assuming he took a cab from Lacter Construction.
The distance for 1,500 yen is about 4 kilometers, so...
somewhere in here.
So the place of collusion is within this circle.
- Oh, that's right. - W-Wait a minute.
These receipts we found in Lacter Construction's confiscated files...
I checked every restaurant that was used for their meetings.
Eh?
Of those stores... those that are within this range are...
Here, here, and here.
There's one here, too.
Is this all of them?
Don't tell me, all these times you've been eating out lately...
I was asking around.
I told you it was an investigation.
You're definitely lying.
You're being rude.
So we have confirmed all the restaurants used for meetings within this area.
But none of them looked like they were used for collusion.
Doesn't that mean it's the other way around?
- Huh? - What?
When they met to collude, they didn't have receipts.
In other words, we should hit all the stores that don't have the receipts here.
No, that's impossible.
The number of restaurants in this area...
- is at least 500. - There's no way we can go to every one of them.
Damn... We've already narrowed it down this far.
Tokyo Bay Area redevelopment project
2 Days before the Bidding date
Hello.
Have you been spying on me here all this time?
The collusion is taking place today, right?
In the end, we couldn't find the collusion site.
We lost.
May I have a word with you?
I'm sorry for the tight space. We're a small agency.
We're all public servants, but we're not at all the same.
These are all of Lacter Construction's confiscated files.
We've been searching high and low for clues.
But we couldn't.
I'm at a loss.
But I did find something.
In the past...
I heard you were a diligent official who worked seriously for the country.
I heard that you dealt with collusion strictly.
What made you change?
The reason I noticed it was a picture of your family.
A picture?
The picture you took of your wife and daughter, Tamaki.
The last picture.
It was taken in Kobe.
It was taken on January 16, 1995.
After that picture was taken, you left for Tokyo on a business trip.
The next day, something unexpected happened.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake.
The Great Hanshin earthquake or Kobe earthquake, was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1995 in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. Approximately 6,434 people died as a result of this earthquake; about 4,600 of them were from Kobe. This was Japan's deadliest earthquake in the 20th century after the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, which claimed more than 105,000 lives.
The earthquake
destroyed the apartment building where your family lived.
The young Tamaki barely survived.
Your wife lost her life there.
The apartment was public housing built by the prefectural government
Through a bidding system
The contractor who won the construction at the lowest price built the condominium.
The builder was so eager to sell the cheapest price,
that the strength of earthquake protections was falsified.
As a result of excessive competition to get bids,
there were a number of such defective houses built at that time.
And many lives were lost.
That's why you hate competition
and promote collusion, isn't it?
But I had no idea
you would even try to make a law to legalize collusion.
The infrastructure of this country
is an important lifeline that protects the safety of the people.
It's different from cheap goods sold in supermarkets.
Even if it costs a little more money.
a reliable major company should perform the construction work in a stable manner.
That is how we can protect the safety of this country.
Collusion is there
for the sake of protecting the lives of the people.
But because of that collusion
there are people whose lives are put in danger.
Your daughter, Tamaki.
Because of her husband's involvement in the collusion, she was driven into a corner.
She took drugs and tried to kill herself.
How is she?
She survived.
Through collusion,
things that are most important to someone are being taken away.
It's not just Tamaki.
Even now, many companies are losing work and going bankrupt.
They are losing their livelihood.
There are even people who lose their lives.
Toudou, please tell me
where will the collusion take place today?
Please tell me.
I really want to stop the collusion.
I beg of you.
After such a vigorous appeal, I never thought you'd end up in tears.
Please!
Did you think I'd respond if you appealed to my emotions?
That's why you're so weak.
Please, please, Toudou!
It's already too late.
The talks are already over.
I've been waiting for you to say that.
How did you know the collusion was over?
I received a report.
Ah. Do you think I slipped up?
You can't pursue me with just these words.
You received a report?
Huh? That's strange. That can't be true.
- Right, Shirokuma? - Yes.
No one except the participants
would know that the collusion was over.
As soon as the talks were over,
the cell phones of the Big 4 were confiscated.
I do owe you one apology, however.
I said we couldn't find the location of the collusion.
That was a lie.
The truth is...
- ... at least 500. - There's no way we can go to every one of them.
Damn... We've already narrowed it down this far.
Ah!
What is it? What did you find out?
Panthère d'Argent is within this range too.
I'd love to go there at least once.
What's that?
That's not important right now!
Panthère d'Argent...
Hmm?
I came across that property in the Otsu Construction files.
We found a receipt for Panthère d'Argent.
This was the only restaurant with a receipt that didn't have a note. That's why I remembered it.
This is a very expensive restaurant.
They're having trouble paying their subcontractors. How did Otsu Construction...
The dates are the same.
November 24, 2022
What do you mean?
Otsu Construction was getting work from Lacter Construction.
In terms of the relationship, they're like subcontractors, right?
Yes.
Subcontractor bullying.
Hiyama was forcing Otsu Construction to pay for expensive food and drinks
at the restaurants he used for collusion.
Huh?
All of these...
took place on Thursdays.
This restaurant is closed on Thursdays.
If they went to the trouble of using a regular off-day when no customers come...
It can't be just a dinner party.
Tomorrow is Thursday. The restaurant is closed.
There's no doubt about it.
This is where the collusion takes place.
This is where the collusion took place today, isn't it?
Now, as for who is in charge of which area, and the amounts,
let us finalize the decisions.
Is this acceptable?
If you accept, please sign the memorandum.
The collusion for the Tokyo Bay Area Redevelopment Project is now complete.
Thank you for participating in tomorrow's bid.
This is the JFTC. Everyone please stay put.
Wow, good job on the collusion.
All of you really look like bad guys.
I've never seen collusion in real time before.
Collusion? What are you talking about?
There's no point in playing dumb.
Everything,
was recorded.
Are you watching? Vice Minister Toudou.
We have all the evidence!
I'll be taking custody of your cell phones and computers.
As you can see, right after the collusion ended,
the Big 4's cell phones and computers are in custody.
They are still being questioned.
It is impossible for them to contact you.
There is no way to know that the collusion is over,
except by participating in the collusion.
So what you just said...
is conclusive testimony that you participated in the collusion.
You lose. Vice Minister Toudou.
Will you admit your involvement in the collusion?
No matter what you and the others did,
the JFTC has no power to punish me.
Excuse me.
We're from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
Vice Minister Toudou, will you accompany us to the district attorney's office?
Why are the prosecutors here?
Ah...
That video earlier? I sent it to the Prosecutors Office as well.
You thought the prosecutors were on your side, didn't you?
But she managed to sway the Prosecutors Office.
She is not someone to underestimate.
He's a Vice Minister.
Without solid evidence, the prosecutors can't move.
I've been gathering this for the last 15 years,
data regarding the collusion that we believe Toudou is involved in.
It should be useful in the investigation.
We don't have the power to arrest them.
But I'm sure my team will be able to provide us with evidence.
This may be
our last chance to catch Toudou.
Please lend us your power.
Please!
Please check his home computer.
I'm sure there's a record of his participation in the collusion.
And what he said earlier corroborates his participation in the collusion.
The evidence is sufficient, isn't it?
Yes.
By the way, do you know why you lost?
Lacter Construction's Hiyama was so reluctant to pay
that he forced the receipts on the weaker subcontractors.
That's how we were able to determine the location of the collusion.
Take a closer look.
This is not just a receipt.
This piece of paper represents
the anger, hatred, and regret of so many subcontractors
who have been unilaterally oppressed
by a great power for so long.
No matter how many admirable ideals you talk about,
in a society without competition, the corruption starts from the top,
people like Hiyama will emerge to line their pockets.
How does this help the people?
What you are doing
is revenge for the loss of your wife.
Because of you, thousands and thousands of companies
have gone down without even getting to the starting line of competition.
To survive,
to protect what was important to them,
some of them had no choice but to engage in collusion.
This country is like a train with broken brakes.
The big boys get together secretly
and decide everything.
My father was one of them.
He was proud of his work.
He wanted to make the company big,
and one day, build the biggest building in Japan.
Even if that couldn't happen as a result of competition,
I'm sure he would have no regrets.
And yet, you...
Did you not understand?
That you can fight even if you're weak.
Let's go.
This is not the end.
Even if I'm gone, the collusion will continue somewhere else.
Collusion won't disappear.
Even so,
we'll keep fighting.
MLIT's Vice Minister Toudou, who was being interviewed by prosecutors,
was arrested on suspicion of violating the Anti-collusion Act.
In the end, it looks like the prosecutors get all the credit.
Just another day in the office, right?
Come on, get used to it.
With the arrest of Vice Minister Toudou, the bill will be shelved.
That's a relief, right?
But still, as expected of the Big 4,
the amount of stuff we confiscated is unbelievable.
Just how much collusion were they involved in?
This incident came to light as a result of an independent investigation by the JFTC.
- The JFTC... - Did she just say....
She said the JFTC!
That's exactly what she said... The JFTC's independent investigation.
Midorikawa! What are we going to do?
What if more people want to join JFTC?
- Oh. - Is that so?
Oh, maybe the number of views of that video will increase...
Oh, the video....
Yes, yes...
- That's how it is. - Yes, that's right.
- That's sobering. - It's not that big of a deal.
Thank you for your hard work.
Honjo! Honjo!
Huh? Are you all right now?
Thanks to you. Thanks, everyone.
We can work together again, right?
The committee was very harsh with me, though.
Welcome back, Honjo.
I'm back.
Huh?
By the way, where's Koshobu?
I just heard, you're being transferred to Shikoku.
Ah.
It's a promotion. A promotion.
They're making you take responsibility for conducting a reckless investigation without permission, right?
That was something we all did together,
but you said you did it all by yourself just to look cool, right?
What are you talking about?
You'll be summoned soon, Shirokuma.
What?
I'm just kidding.
Ah.
Tamaki's regained consciousness.
I heard about my father.
From now on,
we can fight fair and square.
I have no choice but to work hard.
There's no excuse for losing in a competition.
Tamaki.
That's good to hear.
Yes.
Huh?
Are you finding it rewarding to work for the JFTC?
Just kidding.
If we meet again...
Shirokuma will be a detective.
At that time, please help us.
We're a small and weak agency after all.
I don't know about that.
It's a nice place, isn't it? The JFTC.
Well, I have to get to an interview.
Bye.
Several months later
Everyone, please stop your work for the time being.
We are the JFTC.
Pursuant to Article 47, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Antimonopoly Act.
We will be conducting an on-site inspection.
What you mean by "inspection" all of a sudden?
What?
Come on, give us a break.
So that's how it is.
I'm so sorry.
We'll try not to disturb you as much as possible.
Then let's begin quietly and without any fuss.
Yes...
Excuse me.
Ehime Prefecture
Come on, come on! We are cheap.
We have carrots, green onions, spinach, etc. Come and buy them.
This is amazing, isn't it? Only 50 yen?
Hey bro,
those supermarkets can't compete with us.
We're selling at a loss with this discount sale.
Hee... That's not good.
Huh?
It's too cheap.
It's a violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law.