Chapter 73: The Forensic Pathologist's Dilemma

The atmosphere in the Metropolitan Police Department's Forensics Division is different from elsewhere.

As mentioned before, the interior of the Metropolitan Police Department has an immense flow of people and is extremely busy; the coming and going of people is so heavy it can block the path, and only places where a few high-ranking officials work, or corridors like the one in front of the Investigation Division 1 Chief's office, are slightly quieter.

Yet, the path leading to the Forensics Division is exceptionally quiet.

"Uesugi-kun is a very impressive Forensic Pathologist, isn't he? Completely different from this group in the Forensics Division." Watanabe Minami moved with graceful, lotus-like steps, taking Uesugi Muneyuki on a tour of the Metropolitan Police Department. Her way of walking felt completely different from Eirina's; it was very steady and rhythmic. "Father also mentioned that the quality of current Forensic Pathologists is worlds apart from the past. If it weren't for Uesugi-kun temporarily switching specialties..."

"Being punished is being punished; Miss Watanabe doesn't need to cover for me." Uesugi Muneyuki looked askance. "My personality is just bad at handling doctor-patient relationships; looking at the dead is indeed better than looking at the living."

"Hehe, Uesugi-kun is as straightforward as ever. Indeed, the dead will not have any objections." Watanabe Minami nodded slightly, clearly having done very serious homework on Uesugi Muneyuki's personality and way of handling things. "I am just saying, with the current rate of iteration in the Forensics Division... in the future, the autopsies of the Metropolitan Police Department might really have to rest entirely on your shoulders."

This was a very euphemistic way of saying that the Forensic Pathologists in the Forensics Division were all rotten apples.

But Uesugi Muneyuki did not refute it; in reality, he also had deep concerns about Japan's forensic system.

Japan once had five cities with specialized forensic institutions: Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, and Yokohama.

Admittedly, a Forensic Pathologist is also a Public Servant, with a stable income and no worries about food or drink, so after the war, many children from very poor families who could not afford to study popular majors chose to pursue forensic medicine. Therefore, in the earlier years, Japan's forensic strength was still quite good.

However, the difference between the forensic profession and clinical practice changed quickly as the economy improved. Most Forensic Pathologists were still earning an annual salary of around four million at the age of thirty-five, while clinical doctors generally had annual incomes of over six million by the age of 35 after the economic boom.

What is even more fatal is that, further down the line, the salary gap between the two sides widens more and more. Forensic Pathologists can almost only rely on the Seniority Wage for raises, while for clinical medicine and the like, those who have studied it know that even if one cannot be promoted to Instructor Physician, there are too many ways to make money.

Forensic medicine was originally a typical 7K profession. After the economy improved, the appeal of Public Servant status to ordinary people also weakened significantly, and the situation of Forensic Pathologists became worse and worse.

The first to cancel the forensic system was Yokohama, because they simply could not recruit anyone. Before the millennium, the last Forensic Pathologist in Yokohama had to perform over 1,300 autopsies a year, an average of 4 per day, and all were performed by him alone; it was truly an unbearable burden. After this last Forensic Pathologist resigned, the city of Yokohama took the opportunity to cancel the forensic system.

Then came Nagoya and Kobe. To this day, only Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture still have specialized forensic institutions.

Uesugi Muneyuki had followed Professor Okochi to see the Medical Examiner's Office in Tokyo, and the specifics were also hard to describe: 8 Official Forensic Pathologists with status as regular Public Servants, and about 30+ non-fixed special contract Forensic Pathologists, mostly professors and Associate Professors from the forensic departments of various universities, who only come over for half a day each week; Professor Okochi counts as one.

These 8 people are responsible for the autopsy and Dissection work of about 30+ corpses in Tokyo every day. Considering that it is impossible for these 8 Forensic Pathologists to be performing autopsies and Dissections every day and they must rotate shifts and have other things to do, in reality, they are responsible for over 50 corpses per day.

If this continues, it will be finished sooner or later.

The building is about to collapse, and a single pillar cannot support it. Uesugi Muneyuki did not intend to be that single pillar, but the predicament of Forensic Pathologists can be seen from this.

What is even more fatal is that Japan's strange social environment has also led to the low status of Forensic Pathologists. Apart from the custom in the East Asian cultural sphere where the deceased are paramount and the deceased are heavy, and there is an unwillingness to damage the corpse, Forensic Pathologists originally had a very important function, which was not autopsy and Dissection, but injury assessment, especially for work-related injuries.

However, the environment in Japan is such that employees who suffer work-related injuries are either Regular Employees; such lifetime employees rarely fall out with the company over work-related injuries. Generally, when encountering such a situation, both sides will sit down, the boss says a number, the employee also suggests a number, and after bargaining, both sides reach a settlement and go back to work after resting well.

If one wants to have an injury assessed, it means having to go through formal procedures with the company, which is equivalent to very likely losing the status of a Regular Employee.

If a Dispatched Employee suffers a work-related injury, they are even less likely to have a Forensic Pathologist assess the injury for compensation; I will not say more on this point.

There are more injury assessments for traffic accidents, but this area involves insurance claims and has little to do with official forensic institutions, unless it involves criminal cases.

Therefore, there are few injury assessments, and autopsies are numerous and tiring; with no money and low social status, the Forensic Pathologist became a roadside weed.

"These few guys in the Forensics Division are all graduates of second-rate medical schools. They couldn't get into popular majors like clinical medicine, had no choice but to choose forensic medicine, and didn't succeed in switching majors halfway, so they finally ended up in the Metropolitan Police Department. The headquarters knows their level is not good, but there is no choice." Watanabe Minami shrugged helplessly: "Who makes people not study forensic medicine at all?"

"Am I not a person?" Uesugi Muneyuki said helplessly.

"You are different from them, Uesugi-kun." Watanabe Minami revealed a trace of sarcasm: "Compared to you, they are like a tool, or rather, they are just a group of tools responsible for pressing buttons. Outside of professional instruments, they dare not do anything, and they dare not make any judgments."

"Then I am a useful tool, huh?" Uesugi Muneyuki approached from behind and lifted a strand of hair belonging to Miss Minami: "A perfect case-solving instrument. You input the case, and I provide the results, evidence, and logical chain."

Miss Minami stopped her steps and revealed a proud, shallow smile: "Correct, Uesugi-kun, you know yourself very well!"

"Then you aren't even a tool, my Miss Minami." Uesugi Muneyuki was halfway through his sentence when he caught a glimpse of Watanabe Minami's quietly retracted smile.

"What do you mean, Uesugi-kun?" Watanabe Minami's beautiful eyes narrowed, revealing a very curious expression: "I finally understand why you received so many complaints at the hospital."

"What I mean, don't play dumb. Getting me into the Metropolitan Police Department for a concurrent position must have been your proposal to your father. So, my Miss Minami, do you have the confidence to use me well?" Uesugi Muneyuki blinked and said meaningfully: "I don't consider that much, or any social impact. Whatever there is, I will say it; whatever should be, I will do it. Don't regret it when the time comes!"

"I am just a Forensic Pathologist. Forensic Pathologists are all very simple and are born to serve the citizens." Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was indifferent.

"Our Metropolitan Police Department is the same. I am a Detective, you are a Forensic Pathologist; both serve the citizens, just with different divisions of labor." Watanabe Minami narrowed her eyes and said softly: "I am your person in charge at the Metropolitan Police Department. You handle the autopsies; I will handle everything else."

"Although the night of the building blockade at Fuji TV was short, that glory will last for a long time. That glory, I, Uesugi Muneyuki, will not enjoy alone." Uesugi Muneyuki continued: "You can rest assured about this."

"Oh? So Uesugi-kun is really generous~" The smile at the corners of Watanabe Minami's mouth remained unchanged, but her proud, glass-like face quietly added a trace of sharpness: "It sounds like there is only a transaction, nothing else?"

"Are you unable to make friends without setting conditions and transactions?" Uesugi Muneyuki looked at Watanabe Minami and said seriously, word by word: "Otherwise, why would I have agreed to come?"

"Because you have no choice, idiot~" Watanabe Minami's proud face stiffened slightly, then she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and restored her smile without leaving a trace: "Straightforward, I like talking to smart people."

"Then, are you my master?"

"How did a Spirit Origin summoning result in this? Where is my Lord Kenshin?"

The two looked at each other and smiled again. They both had a strange feeling between them, just like the mortise and tenon structure in ancient buildings; the combination between them was seamless and just right.

Perhaps we really met when we were children and played together, otherwise how could we be so in sync?

The exact same thought appeared in both of their minds simultaneously.

The future might become very interesting!

…………

The room of the Forensics Division was piled with massive amounts of document boxes. Inside every paper document box were clues to a case; some cases that had already been solved needed to be filed, and some unsolved cases were waiting for analysis.

Unlike the suit brigade of the Metropolitan Police Department, the three brothers of the Forensics Division wore heavy, unfashionable work uniforms with "Metropolitan Police Department" written on the back, the kind that is super dirt-resistant.

Except for the paper boxes on the side, the rest of the Forensics Division was filled with all kinds of instruments. The simple workstations were squeezed in the middle of a pile of instruments. The light in the room was very dim, and as soon as the door was pushed open, a stench mixed with chemicals, sweat, and the smell of running machines rushed toward them.

"Attention, everyone. This is Dr. Uesugi Muneyuki from the Forensic Pathology Department of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, who will be holding a concurrent position in the Forensics Division of this headquarters starting today." Watanabe Minami said to the three brothers inside.

"Wow, it really is Uesugi-san!"

"It's the person himself!"

Contrary to expectations, the three guys in the Forensics Division were excited beyond measure upon seeing Uesugi Muneyuki, and they all dropped what they were doing and rushed toward Uesugi Muneyuki.

"Hello everyone, I am Uesugi Muneyuki, who will be holding a concurrent position here from now on. Please treat me well." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded with a smile.

Then Watanabe Minami introduced the three official Forensic Pathologists of the Forensics Division to Uesugi Muneyuki.

Higashiyama Takeshi, a 35-year-old Forensic Pathologist uncle, looked like a brown bear, with a round face and round body, sporting a thick beard, and was actually quite cute.

Higashiyama Takeshi was forced to become a Forensic Pathologist because he was discovered to be a homosexual in medical school and faced the outcome of being fired or changing careers to the Forensic Medicine Department under the scandal. In the circle, his nickname is "Tora-chan".

Kamioka Hideo, a 28-year-old unmarried man, had a decent appearance, with a hooked nose, small eyes, and thick eyebrows.

This guy's family was extremely, extremely poor, coming from that birdless island of Shikoku, and he had severe social anxiety. Hearing that studying forensic medicine in Tokyo provided food and housing and didn't require socializing, only looking at the dead, he took this job. After working for several years, the Metropolitan Police Department arranged more than one matchmaking session for him, to no avail.

There was also one named Ishikura, 48 years old. This person doesn't need much introduction, because he had already submitted his resignation and would be leaving after the new year. From his appearance, the first impression this guy gave people was "gloomy".

He looked as dejected as if a dark cloud were hanging over his head pouring down rain, a dejection that had lost all passion for life.

Uncle Ishikura had just experienced a midlife crisis where his wife cheated and ran off with someone, he lost the custody battle for his child, and he had to pay one hundred thousand in alimony to his ex-wife every month, so he decided to resign.

He would rather have no job than pay alimony! He would rather be unemployed than ever give his ex-wife and child a single cent!

Listening to the introduction from Watanabe Minami, the expression on Uesugi Muneyuki's face was extraordinarily colorful.

As expected of the Metropolitan Police Department Forensics Division, everyone here is a talent.

But before that, he had a question he wanted to ask.

"You are all insiders, so I would like to ask, has anyone among you heard of a female doctor named Satomi Mikoto, who might also be working as a Forensic Pathologist?"

"Eh?"

"I am currently looking for her."

Japan Forensic Pathologist? Not even a dog would do it!





(End of this chapter)