Tokyo Swindlers (2024) s01e05 Episode Script

1
Kuramochi.
Got a minute?
Yes.
I want to ask you something.
It's about the case you're working on.
-How far did you get?
-What?
The land swindlers.
What did you both find?
I let it go because he was retiring soon.
No crime was reported, but Tatsu-san
said it was for your training.
He investigated without my permission.
Whatever.
Give me a report by end of day tomorrow.
Something's off.
It couldn't have been suicide.
Huh?
There's no way.
-Tatsu-san would never kill himself.
-You are in denial.
We both read the crime scene report
and his note.
It was suicide.
He'd been tormented by the health issues
he was dealing with for quite some time.
I empathize with how you feel,
but you have to admit
Harrison Yamanaka.
Tatsu-san told me.
About the land shark.
About the Shimbashi landowner.
The Ebisu imposter.
Harrison's group. The land swindlers
might be behind all those murders.
Tatsu-san,
on the day before he died,
he could have made contact with
Harrison Yamanaka in some sort of way.
Isn't it possible that he was murdered
under the guise of suicide
by Harrison Yamanaka?
Watch your mouth.
Please let me check the call log
on Tatsu-san's phone.
-Not possible.
-Why not?
It's not necessary.
All right, let's begin.
No need to be nervous.
Answer how we practiced
and you'll be just fine.
-Okay.
-Start by taking off your hat.
Ah, nice.
Great. Please tell me your name.
I'm Kawai Natsumi.
Your date of birth?
I was born Showa 51, and on July 3rd.
-Zodiac?
-The year of the dragon.
-Your address?
-Well
It's in Tokyo. Minato City, Takanawa.
Number 5-22
-What are you thinking?
-Please tell me about your family.
She's very good.
-I live by myself.
-Yes, I think she'll do well.
So, she's our imposter?
Yes.
What's the name
of the temple you work for?
It's Kouan-ji.
How do you write that in kanji?
The characters used are the "light" kanji,
"Buddhist hut," and "temple".
Land swindlers
are members of real estate fraud groups
who pose as property owners
trying to sell their land.
These fraud groups steal large sums of
money using deceit and forged documents.
Land fraud groups contain
a leader, negotiator, informer,
legal advisor, document forger,
and imposter recruiter.
Each group member must possess precise
and highly-advanced criminal techniques.
The identity confirmation
with Sekiyo House
will be in ten days, on November 20th.
We're meeting in the lobby café
of Shirogane Grand Hotel.
Goto-san, me,
and the Kawai Natsumi imposter,
all of us will be there.
What about Abiru?
We'll tell them that Kawai Natsumi wishes
to meet with as few people as possible.
When it's real,
will she be able to respond properly?
Her son's life's at stake, she'll be fine.
Don't worry about it.
She's much smarter than I thought.
I think it'll take about half an hour
to finish the identity confirmation.
Then we'll all head out for Kouan-ji,
separately in taxis and our Lexus.
We'll have them check out the land,
including the parking lot,
and give them a tour inside the temple.
If we go as far
as letting them inside the temple,
they'll have zero reason to doubt us.
What about the keys?
I sent Orochi. He started working there
last month as a part-time gardener.
He can replace the keys
to the main gate,
the main hall, and the office
any time you want.
Great work, Take-chan.
You're back to your old self.
I'm just doing the work
I'm being paid for.
What? You guys agreed on the pay?
-Three billion yen?
-Yes.
We were very calm
and discussed things properly.
I ended up having to do more work for it.
Like what?
I asked him to launder the money
that we'll receive from the buyer,
which I usually take care of.
It's a large amount of money,
and my usual laundering method
may leave unwanted footprints.
That's unfair. What about
the rest of our shares?
Yeah, what about our bonus?
You shut the hell up! I'm doing
more than the rest of you put together.
You're doing the same work you always do.
I'm laundering money and there's
more chance of me getting caught.,
Sure. Then what?
We'll leave Taniguchi-san at the temple,
and Goto-san and I
will head for the Sekiyo head office.
We'll have Abiru-san join us there.
He'll sign the sale and purchase agreement
between Abiru Holdings and Sekiyo.
How are things at Sekiyo?
Ten billion is a big deal.
Doesn't it take a long time
to get internal approval?
We've told Sekiyo that unless they obtain
the company's approval,
we're not letting them meet Kawai.
As I previously explained,
we're competing with other companies.
Mitsui, Tokyu, Mori, and Sumitomo
have information on this property,
so we need to complete the approval
process as swiftly as possible.
The landowner is very impatient
to sell the property,
which means there is probability
we will let this property slip
if we don't act quickly enough.
Wait a second. Impossible.
Approval for a purchase this large
in two weeks?
In-house rules won't allow that.
You're speaking out of turn.
All transactions over ten billion yen
require a resolution from the board.
It's not possible.
This agenda is urgent.
What?
We've had multiple cases like this
in the past.
Corporate decisions were made
by obtaining approvals from top directors
including the president,
forgoing the board of directors.
Those cases dealt
with high-grade properties,
so we set aside in-house rules
and business value judgment.
Instead, we prioritized avoiding the risk
of competitors snatching the properties.
In addition, I have already informed
President Abekawa of this property,
and he is quite interested.
Not only is this a matter of priority,
it is also an agenda
that can be approved by the president.
The very fact
that the president himself is interested
means that this needs to take precedence
for everyone else in the company as well.
Why are you
playing the president's card lightly?
I'm not playing it lightly.
This property is worth it.
From the meeting we had with the broker,
I am now convinced
that they are willing to sell
as soon as we have the company's approval.
This means that if we hesitate
even for a second,
the property can be sold to a competitor.
Are you sure about this?
-I already said what I had to say.
-Forcing this process is a big risk.
Why don't you be more specific?
This broker, Abiru Holdings, sounds shady
and we haven't done business with them.
They have a real estate division,
but made their name as an apparel upstart.
Can we trust that?
There was no issue in their credit report.
Besides, Abiru Holdings has the LDP
lawmaker Tabuse's wife as their advisor.
I'm sure you know about him.
Tabuse is a valuable and strong ally
of the construction lobby.
A broker fee of one billion yen is absurd.
A one billion gain
as the middleman? That's odd.
That decision was made between Abiru
and the landowner. Who cares?
Yeah, about that.
-It's strange you haven't met her yet.
-Haven't you read?
She fell ill and couldn't meet us.
I thoroughly checked
the power of attorney,
her passport and her driver's license.
You're planning a property purchase
for this amount
without a face-to-face confirmation
of the landowner's identity?
Our meeting with her is in process.
You shouldn't apply for approval
before meeting her.
Who's going to take responsibility
if we take our time
and our competitor gets to her first?
Are you sure this isn't a fraud?
What the hell?
I'm saying, what if this is
some sort of land fraud?
What if this land isn't actually listed?
These documents All of these!
What if they're fabricated
and falsely representing the landowner?
Insanity.
You've heard about them.
Tokyo became host of the Olympics and
there have been numerous cases of fraud.
Don't you remember
the Ebisu property swindle?
We're on a different scale.
We're dealing with a massive property
worth over ten billion.
Those shit bastards
could never dream of handling that.
Like I said earlier,
the president is already interested,
so stop getting in my way.
Report it to the chairman if you want.
Although, the president has the final say
for domestic properties.
You must be aware of that.
I'll give you some advice.
That urban development project,
the one initiated by the chairman
over in Kazakhstan
-You should be questioning that.
-What?
An old classmate heads
the Russian division at the MOFA.
He said
to keep an eye out for some shoot-outs.
Wait. There's one more thing.
On the day of the confirmation,
are you absolutely sure we can get
the real Kawai Natsumi out of the temple?
This won't work with her still in there.
She's going on a trip that morning.
She'll be gone.
It's a non-issue.
A trip? Where to?
Okinawa?
Yeah. So?
Where did this come from?
Well, I kinda figured things out.
What things?
I'm realizing
how important you are to me,
how I feel about you.
I'm sorry I made you wait.
Okay? I want us to make love.
Somewhere we can be alone.
Yeah, but
You don't trust me? Your look.
No, that's not what I meant.
It's so sudden.
I'm thinking of quitting this job,
for good.
-You're going to quit?
-Mm.
I've got some money saved up,
so I'm thinking of doing something
I've always wanted.
Really? What is it?
-You won't laugh, right?
-Mm-hmm.
A hamburger shop.
Hamburger?
Mm-hmm. Too many in Tokyo, right?
But the one I want is
A&W or something like Jef in Okinawa.
Oh, you don't know? Their shops
and their hamburgers are totally American,
like you're at an American diner.
Back home,
I used to eat their burgers a lot.
Man, they're so damn good.
I guess that you're from Okinawa?
I never told you?
I guess not!
Yeah, I ultimately wanna open one up here.
Ah, but if someone like me wants
to make money, this job's the only option.
So, uh, I planned to save up about
a hundred million yen. So I wanna try it.
You've been wanting this a long time.
That's right. It's been my dream.
So going to Okinawa,
is the first step
toward making it all come true.
Mm.
That's why, Natsumi, I want you there.
You're telling me that you need
You want my money?
No, don't be stupid, girl!
Come on.
Natsumi, you've been the biggest supporter
of my dream. You helped me reach my goal.
Oh, uh
And, uh, I wanna thank you.
I wanna be with you.
And make love to you properly.
-Evening, Kaede-san.
-Evening.
Um I'm good. We're all good.
Okay, here. It's an early flight.
Make sure you don't miss it.
And, um, what comes after that?
We've arranged a rental car and a hotel.
The rest is up to you.
Oh, but I'm not really familiar
with Okinawa. She might catch on.
Then where's your hometown?
Kumagaya, Saitama.
-That's close!
-You're right.
Go to those hamburger places
I told you about,
and just spend the rest of the time
relaxing at the hotel.
-Kawai-san will probably like that better.
-Just keep fucking her up and down.
Understood.
You better not think
about running away either.
Some guys'll be keeping an eye on you.
So behave while you're down there.
Okay.
Kaede-san, you have my trust.
Please make sure you never leave her side
during those three days.
I will.
They told me it'll take time.
They have his work-related belongings,
so this is all I have.
I see.
I have something to ask you.
It's sensitive. Would that be okay?
I'm curious about what you honestly think.
About Tatsu-san.
What?
Do you really think
he would commit suicide like that?
-I'm not sure.
-And why is that?
I know
the way he died
can only be interpreted as suicide.
He also left a note.
Our daughter believes it's suicide.
But not me.
There's something
that's really strange about it.
You can tell me.
You read it?
-The note he left behind?
-Yes.
When they first showed it to me,
I was in a panic and didn't see it
the way I can see it now.
It's hard to explain, but it doesn't
sound like something he would write.
It looks just like
my husband's handwriting,
but something seems very different.
In what way?
I can't put my finger on it.
I'm sorry. I'm not explaining it well.
It's fine.
-I'll get you a fresh cup of tea.
-No, it's all right.
My husband wasn't the type
to talk much about his work.
There's one thing he did ask me
to do for him though.
He said there was a man.
A man Tatsu said to get in touch with
in case he died a suspicious death
during an investigation.
MASASHI KUBOTA
Oh, but this is
-You're giving this to me?
-Mm-hmm.
Shouldn't someone else,
like Superintendent Haba
My husband did not like him.
Haba-san, I mean.
What?
Oh I didn't know.
-Neither do I.
-What?
I was working in the same department
before we got married.
-Oh, really, I see.
-Mm-hmm.
I wasn't a police officer.
I worked as a desk clerk.
And I was sexually harassed,
as they say now, by Haba-san.
Oh.
This is better in your hands.
One more thing.
A few nights before he died, my husband
was doing research at the table.
I'm guessing
that's when he wrote this down.
ABIRU HOLDINGS
Simply put, I'm a connected man
who sells information.
Okay.
I used to be a freelance journalist
for the tabloids.
But while going after one lion,
I ended up in the wrong den.
I was kidnapped and about to get killed
by yakuza, but Tatsu-san saved me.
Ever since then, he looked out for me.
In return, I'd give him
underworld information.
Well, that's how we were.
-Yeah.
-I guess, uh, he passed away, huh?
But just like you and his wife suspected,
Tatsu-san wouldn't kill himself.
I bet he was threatened and jumped.
Did you say jumped?
You hear about it in the media.
These mysterious suicides.
A recent example,
that, uh, what's-his-name,
a former executive at Livedoor,
found dead at a capsule hotel in Okinawa
with his belly sliced open?
Yes.
They treated that like it was a suicide.
Though, of course, he was murdered.
In the underworld, there are people
who do things like this in cold blood.
They corner people they want dead,
and they tell them to die that instant.
They say, "If you don't die,
I'll kill your whole family."
So what are you gonna do, huh?"
It's an ultimatum where somebody's
gonna die no matter what.
That's what happened to Tatsu-san,
I'm sure of that.
So I'll do anything you need.
How can I help you?
From here on, you and I are gonna
Well, all I'm really good at
is gathering information, but, uh
But this isn't work.
This is to bring peace to Tatsu-san.
This time, consider this my funeral gift,
free of charge.
Tell me everything about the last case
you were investigating with Tatsu-san.
Tatsu-san was going after a man
named Harrison Yamanaka.
Harrison? He's well known.
What do you think?
Well,
there are concerning factors,
including the internal approval process
at Sekiyo, but we're pretty much ready.
That's not what I meant.
Port Ellen's first release was in 1979.
This was distilled
in the year you were born
on the island of Islay in Scotland.
Avid whiskey fans would be eager
to taste even a drop. It's that rare.
Oh, sorry about that.
It does taste good to me,
but I don't know
if this is worth that much attention.
That's perfectly fine.
Generally speaking, the value of things
tend to keep changing through time.
This bottle was sold for only
about 3-4,000 yen in Scotland
during its heyday.
And then in 1983,
the Port Ellen distillery closed.
However, the recent whiskey boom
has turned this Port Ellen
into something precious and sought-after.
Now since it's no longer produced,
whiskey enthusiasts around the world
are competing against each other,
raising its value.
I bet
all of those competitors
don't even appreciate Port Ellen.
So then,
what is it exactly
that they are all paying for?
-For the scarcity value?
-Of course that is part of it.
What if we say this Port Ellen has an ego?
Would this bottle
be aware of its own scarcity value?
The same goes for land.
All lands have simply existed
since the dawn of time.
Wild animals may have
a sense of territory,
but they have no desire to own land.
Humans are said to be animals
whose instincts have been pre-destroyed,
but instead, we have intelligence.
Our intelligence formed civilizations,
creating our reign
above the rest of the living world.
Our ego,
with it, we created such a terrible world.
The most foolish thing of all is that
we're obsessed with possession of land.
Land, by nature,
does not belong to anyone.
Nevertheless, the concept
of land possession
was invented in the human mind,
and it led us to never-ending wars,
killing, and struggles for power.
Put simply, human history
is just a history of scrambling for land.
And land drives people mad.
Would that mean
that land perhaps
has the instinct
to annihilate all that is human?
You might have a point there.
My apologies for rambling and boring you.
-You didn't.
-Maybe it's Port Ellen talking.
One day,
I hope you share with me your reason.
Your true reason of why you decided
to accept my invitation
to become a land swindler.
One day.
Hopefully soon.
NOVEMBER 19
DEATH ANNIVERSARY
What? What do you mean?
What I mean is the four directors
aren't giving their approvals
to our request for purchase.
Why won't they? We can't get
the president's approval before theirs.
-It's Sunaga-san.
-What?
Sunaga-san seems to be going around
telling the directors
that this property is suspicious.
Sir, there's something
that has been bothering me as well.
What now?
Uh, so getting the company's approval
before confirming the owner's identity
is very risky.
What can I do?
She was sick and they said they'd bring
the owner next time for sure.
It won't be an issue
if we confirm her identity then.
How about before we meet,
we take copies of her driver's license
and passport, show them to her neighbors,
and we can confirm that Kawai Natsumi
is definitely the person in those photos?
Hmm Well, I guess we could do that much.
Right away.
No, wait.
What if somehow she finds that out
and gets offended?
Oh, um, well, I guess that could happen.
Oh. Uh, excuse me for one second.
I appreciate you calling.
Yes, of course. We are still on track.
MR. TAKASHI AOYAGI
CERTIFIED MAIL
Yes?
-Hey. Get in.
-Yes, sir.
I'm assuming you have something to report?
Certainly.
It's regarding the land deal.
We've managed to schedule
the agreement signing the week after next.
Though, we need
the directors' approval before yours,
and the directors have been, um
It's urgent.
What's the reluctance?
The land is perfect.
There doesn't seem to be any issues.
This is our opportunity
to join the redevelopment project
as this area has been dominated
by Tokyu and JR.
You are correct.
There's, uh There's one
Identity confirmation?
Yeah. Uh, yes.
We have a plan. We've arranged
to meet her face-to-face sometime soon.
-You need approval before that?
-Right.
It's sort of a trade-off and
the owner seems willing to meet us,
but after we get approval.
Sir, I know
this is not the normal protocol,
but would you be willing and able
to give us your approval first?
Absolutely not.
I cannot go against our company policy
to give my approval.
Beyond that, two of the four directors are
in the chairman's faction. You're aware?
Yes, I am.
Though,
we might be able
to change the approval order as an option.
What?
-Hey, take us to Takanawa.
-Yes, sir.
Up for a ride? Show me that land.
Wow. Impressive.
It is.
With this parking lot and the building
plot beyond that wall combined,
it's 3,200 in total.
Ah, I must say,
a building this scale is doable.
I've officially observed
and personally visited the property.
Add that to the approval request
as a side note.
All right.
Mention that you took me to the site
and that we toured the property.
I can do that.
If the directors know
that you have already seen the property,
then that leaves them no choice
but to approve it themselves.
Yeah. After that, I'll put my stamp on it
and erase the note.
The workaround being that we are
still following the standard procedure.
-I appreciate it.
-Yeah.
This really is some land.
I'm almost in love.
I can smell the money.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL
PRESIDENT ABEKAWA HAS VISITED
AND OBSERVED THE PROPERTY WITH AOYAGI
APPROVE
Oh. Sir!
Sir! Here!
It's all been approved.
Even the president!
That's good!
Home run!
We flipped it right on its head.
The guys in legal were still nagging
and freaking the hell out.
Ignore it. Get in touch
with Abiru Holdings right away.
Yes. As planned, at noon,
the day after tomorrow on November 20th,
we will confirm the landowner's identity,
go check the property,
and come back to seal the agreement!
-We did it!
-We did!
Oh! What should we do?
Before we meet her,
should we still talk to the neighbors
like we previously discussed?
That doesn't matter anymore.
-Time to get busy.
-Yes, sir!
Everybody, listen! We got approval!
-We really got it?
-We got it!
-Yeah, it's great. Really great.
-Congratulations, sir. You did it.
Planning and Development Department
did it! We made it happen!
-We did it!
-Amazing!
You helped a lot.
Oh, wow, that's outstanding.
Uh-huh. See you then. Yes.
Ah, yes. Uh, please wait for us.
We'll meet you
at Sekiyo's office, Abiru-san.
Well, let's see
I think we'll join you around 2 p.m.
Yes, sure. Okay, goodbye.
All right!
A big prey fell right into our trap.
-Now they can't get away.
-You're creeping me out.
Well, it's time
for my lucky ritual.
Where are you going?
Huh? I need to get both my mind and body
refreshed before getting a huge job done.
-I'm gonna have a threesome in Yoshiwara.
-You're disgusting.
See ya.
Well, I should have fun.
I'll go play with some guys.
Taniguchi-san is ready?
We're meeting at Shinagawa Station
tomorrow afternoon.
From there, we'll go to the hotel.
You booked it already?
Of course. I booked a suite.
Thank you. Okay, see you guys later.
See you, Reiko-san.
How are things on your end?
-They're almost done.
-Almost?
I'm concerned
about the quality of the passport.
I'll ask Nagai-san
to fine-tune it tomorrow.
You can check it tomorrow.
I'll be back in the evening.
-No water. I'll have a cola.
-Coming right up.
Did you find anything about
What's the name? Abiru?
-Abiru Holdings.
-Ah, yeah, that's right.
So, did the shithead swindlers show up?
Not yet.
I wonder
which land they're going after. Hmm.
What about you, Kubota-san?
-Yeah, I found out something.
-You have?
I thought it would take a little time
to find out about these guys,
so I started looking into Tsujimoto
Takumi, since we know who he is.
I came across the swindler
who scammed him and his father.
Oh.
The Yokohama area is my specialty.
He introduced himself
as Nishitani for the fraud,
but his real name is Saeki Kazuma.
The police haven't been able to catch him,
so I figured he fled the country.
I got a hold of the broker
who's in that business,
and, boy, that wasn't cheap at all.
After the Tsujimoto fraud case,
he got into some trouble and fled
to Manila with this fake passport.
Manila?
It's a timeless cliché that the criminals
always seek refuge in Southeast Asia.
You mentioned something about trouble?
The details were evasive.
It seems like someone tried to kill him,
so he ran.
My contact in Manila's a shady guy.
I'll ask him to dig a little deeper.
He's been on the run
for killing someone too.
-Hmm?
-Oops, meant to keep that hush-hush.
But, um, this Saeki guy doesn't have
anything to do with Tatsu-san?
He might, because your lead
could come from any direction.
Lines, seemingly irrelevant,
can end up crossing sometimes, huh?
Hmm.
So? What you got up your sleeve?
You keeping watch to see what they do?
No.
I'm gonna make a move tomorrow.
SHIORI, TOSHIMI
Up you go!
There he is.
Tsujimoto
Takumi-san?
I thought
you might visit on the anniversary
of your wife and son's passing.
I'm sorry, have we met?
I'm from the police.
What does an officer want from me?
Six months ago,
one billion yen was swindled
during a case of land fraud over in Ebisu.
-Do you know anything about that?
-No, I don't.
You're lying.
In that fraud,
you disguised yourself
as a consultant named Hideo Inoue,
faked the landowner, and swindled money
out of a real estate company.
You're a land swindler.