Chapter 791

Time had come to the morning of the third day, and public opinion around the world began to ferment.

At seven in the morning, NHK's morning news went on air on schedule.

Female anchor Eto Miyabi's voice was half a tone lower than usual, and her speech was a little slower, the standard posture of NHK when reporting major news: solemn, restrained, impartial.

This is the style of the NHK Broadcasting Corporation.

The television picture cut to a close-up of the doorplate of that conference room in Yokohama, then to the bullet holes, the shattered hard drives, the documents scattered on the ground, NHK's report took three minutes to lay out all the facts clearly: the Setouchi Makoto case, the silence of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, the intervention of the U. S. lieutenant colonel, the AFP video, the apology of General Uuran.

Finally, anchor Eto Miyabi spoke in a tone almost like reading a eulogy: "This incident has exposed the dual problems of the Japanese police system and the U. S. Forces Japan internally, and the relevant investigation is still ongoing."

NHK's tone is "heavy."

They emphasize "systemic failure"—why did the police system allow someone to photograph corpses for thirteen years? Why did the U. S. military allow a lieutenant colonel to run a darknet business for years? NHK does not answer these questions, but every shot is asking them.

How is this country? I ponder, I ask the established body!

NTV's morning program is completely another face.

Their anchor speaks with the vigor of a storyteller.

"Exclusive!" he shouted, "The secret of the Metropolitan Police Department's Special Mission Division! How did a twenty-six-year-old genius forensic examiner overturn the corrupt chain between the U. S. and Japan!" The screen repeatedly played the footage of Uesugi Muneyuki shaking hands with General Uuran, accompanied by stirring background music.

NTV's focus is "heroic narrative"; they don't care about systemic issues at all, only emphasizing "this is the greatest feat in Japanese police history!" "Superb, passionate, intense, orthodox, reversal!"

TBS's attitude is more calm.

They invited a retired diplomat, who spoke slowly and deliberately, as if giving a lecture at university.

"The most noteworthy thing about this matter," he said, "is not corruption itself, but the way corruption was exposed!"

"A forensic examiner, a Special Mission Division, and an AFP—this combination bypassed all official channels and laid the truth directly before the world. What does this mean? It means our existing oversight mechanisms have failed. Police policing police, military policing military—this path is impassable!"

"I dare not imagine what made Chief Uesugi make such a choice; I cannot believe how desperate he must have felt when Molant opened fire."

The commentator on TV Asahi is an old-school left-wing intellectual with white hair, speaking with a heavy Kyoto accent.

He directly faced the camera and said: "Where is this a matter of one person? Setouchi Makoto is just a root of evil, a symptom. The real lesion is at the root! You think, how could the police of Kanagawa Prefecture go thirteen years without checking the morgue? How could the U. S. base go years without an audit? In the end, it's not because of that power, with no one overseeing it! If that power has no one overseeing it, corruption is a foregone conclusion, there's no escaping it!"

Fuji TV is the smartest.

They did not do news commentary, but temporarily switched to airing a special program of "Hand of God," inviting three lawyers, two former prosecutors, and a criminal psychology professor to sit around a round table discussing "legal liability for darknet transactions."

The picture is very clean, the lighting very soft, everyone is wearing proper suits, speaking politely, as if at an academic seminar. But the subtitles keep flashing: "Darknet transaction amount may exceed one hundred million yen," "U. S. personnel involved may reach ten or more," "Japanese police system faces the biggest trust crisis in history."

Fuji TV's focus is "professional depth," "full-force promotion"; they do not manufacture emotion, but their subtitles are more damaging than any emotion: "All adaptations, all content, all inside stories, are in the Hand of God flashlight video drama version! Broadcast in July!"

"Please look forward to it!"

Tokyo TV, Asakura Riku is using the Jed Rise-Upgrade to transform.

"There's a dog! Love dogs! Get up and feed the dogs!"

"Fusion upgrade!"

"Prepare your resolve, go forth!"

"Ah~~ha~~chick chick chick~~"

"Five-road drag slow~five-road drag slow Belial~five-road drag slow chicken fight! Original form!"

Just as Jed Ultraman landed, a line of small text scrolled in the upper right corner of the screen.

"Police have cracked the case of selling corpse photos; for details, please follow subsequent reports."

After the five major TV stations finished broadcasting, newspapers began to appear.

The front-page headline of the Asahi Shimbun is "Kanagawa Prefectural Police's Thirteen Years of Silence."

The Asahi Shimbun devoted two full pages to meticulously detailing every transfer, every promotion, and every "coincidental" time point when Setouchi Makoto was not inspected during his time in Kanagawa.

The article concludes: "Thirteen years of silence is not one person's silence, but a system's silence."

This report was widely reprinted, becoming the most watched paper report of the day.

The front page of the Yomiuri Shimbun is "Special Mission Division—The Last Card of the Japanese Police."

They again detailed the origin, development, and full process of this operation of the Special Mission Division, and marked the résumé of each member, naturally focusing on Uesugi Muneyuki.

The report portrays Uesugi Muneyuki as a "lonely genius"—graduated from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, obtained a direct doctorate from the University of Tokyo, became Chief Medical Examiner of the Metropolitan Police Department at twenty-six, each label enlarged and bolded.

The last paragraph of the article is very subtle: "The appearance of Uesugi Muneyuki has its irreplaceability and contingency, and we must not only ask, if we did not have this final weapon of the Japanese Police, what should we do about many things?"

The headline of the Mainichi Shimbun is "The U. S. Lieutenant Colonel's Dirty Braids and Medal." Their reporters went to Hōkō Base and interviewed several U. S. soldiers who wished to remain anonymous.

In the report there is a wonderful passage: "Lieutenant Colonel Molant is known in the base as 'cool.' His dirty braids, his sunglasses, his SIG Sauer P320 are all objects of imitation by young soldiers."

"No one dares say he's not good, otherwise it would be racial discrimination." A lieutenant who wished to remain unnamed, Dylan-Brooks, said: "Of course, he really is cool."

"As of now, I still can't believe Molant is that kind of person; he really loves guns, his nickname in the camp is Holy Spear Ranger……oh right, I really feel strange, he clearly isn't of street origin, his father has a proper job……" A private first class who wished to remain unnamed, Steven-Adams, said: "Well, this really is strange."

The Sankei Shimbun, as always right-leaning, has its commentator focus on the "resilience of the U. S. -Japan alliance."

The shot of "General Uuran shaking hands with Uesugi Muneyuki" was repeated at least ten times, even nine times.

The editorial reads: "This is not a failure of the U. S. -Japan alliance, but a success of the U. S. -Japan alliance. An alliance capable of self-correction is a truly solid alliance! The picture of Dr. Uesugi Muneyuki shaking hands with General Uuran will become one of the most classic moments in U. S. -Japan relations history." "This is our victory, diplomatic victory, investigative victory, oversight victory! win^win" win~win~" This editorial was scolded terribly online, with some saying the Sankei Shimbun "kowtows to the U. S.," some saying they "selectively blind," but despite the scolding, this report has the highest share count.

After all, showing off is a rigid human need, and following trends to criticize or praise is the kind that requires the least cost.

The focus of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun is completely different.

Their front page is stock market trends, the social version is on page three, but the headline is shocking: "U. S. Base Economic Impact May Be Affected." The article did the math: how much tax revenue, how many job positions, how much consumption income does Hōkō Base contribute annually to Kanagawa Prefecture? If this event leads to the U. S. military reducing base scale, or if local residents' anti-base sentiment rises, economic losses could reach hundreds of billions of yen.

Meanwhile, the reaction of international media was even faster.

AFP's report is the most detailed. They not only released that video being shared worldwide, but also sent reporters to Yokohama, Tokyo, and Washington, conducting three in-depth reports.

The first is titled "Japan's Police Final Weapon," detailing the background of the establishment of the Special Mission Division and the personal experience of Uesugi Muneyuki.

The second is titled "Shadow Under the Dirty Braids," delving into the personal history of Lieutenant Colonel Molant, especially that line: "Do you know what political correctness is, what is racial discrimination?" "Do you believe me or do you believe you?"

The third is titled "The Bowing General," analyzing the deep reasons for General Uuran's apology—not just because of Molant's individual crime, but because U. S. military bases worldwide are facing the same trust crisis, "Japan may just be the beginning."

AFP's three reports were reprinted by over a hundred media outlets worldwide, becoming the focus of international news that day.

The headline of the U. S. Press Association's report is "U. S. Lieutenant Colonel Suspected of Darknet Transactions, Japanese Forensic Examiner Solves the Case."

The wording is very careful, placing emphasis on "U. S. military actively cooperating with the investigation" and "General Uuran personally apologizing," while CNN and Fox News are arguing in a frenzy, donkey and elephant mutually spraying, each saying it's the other's problem, on one hand saying this is merely an isolated individual case and the release of political correctness by Obama Bull, on the other hand saying our national discipline is collapsing, is this not precisely when we need a strong president Kakaka to lead the nation forward? TASS's headline carries a hint of schadenfreude: "The Rift in the U. S. -Japan Alliance."

The Russian report focused on the "privilege issue of US military bases in Japan," listing in detail the various privileges enjoyed by US Forces Japan in Japan, such as extraterritoriality, tax exemptions, and priority access rights, and then the Russian anchor asked a very sharp question: "Are these privileges meant to protect Japan's safety, or to protect the corruption of the US military?"

"We don't have this kind of thing in Vladivostok and the South Kuril Islands!"

This report was widely reprinted by Russian domestic media and became excellent material for anti-American propaganda.

Reuters' report was the most balanced; they sent out a brief, a detailed report, and a commentary—three pieces. The brief had only two sentences, the detailed report clearly explained the background and context, and then they simply stated: "This matter will not affect the Japan-US alliance; this depends on geopolitics, not on the moral standards of a few officers."

The Old Chinese Media's report was titled "Japan Deeply Entrenched in Police Corruption Scandal, US Forces Japan Also Involved."

The wording was restrained, but between the lines it carried a tone of "Look at how messed up you guys are."

The report specifically mentioned "The long-standing bureaucratism and closed-off nature of the Japanese police system is a breeding ground for corruption," and "The extraterritoriality issue of US military overseas bases has once again drawn attention."

Selected comments from German netizens are: "Holy shit, stunning debut!" "Don't laugh, you wouldn't pass the second level even if you came!" "Ignore the risks, keep installing!" "Accidentally stumbled into the imperial household!" "Damn, why didn't you say so earlier?" "Are you pretending to be a sugar-yin person?" "He was born to be a magic pill!" The South Korean report carried a complex mix of emotions—mockery, anger, and a hint of "Thank goodness it's not us" relief. South Korean netizens' comments were almost entirely angry and mocking, while also feeling relieved—because US Forces Korea, the Second Infantry Division has long been stationed near the border with certain patrol and external duties, under relatively high-intensity management, so unlike the US Forces Japan, they don't have that much idle time or so many scandals. At ten o'clock in the morning, the US Forces Japan command held a press conference.

General Roy Uuran came out with two lieutenant generals.

All three were wearing standard military uniforms, and the stars on their shoulder boards were almost indistinguishable in color under the bombardment of flash lights. They did not sit down, but instead went straight to stand behind the podium.

"Red bean paste, private mosaic!"

The venue was so quiet that only the sound of shutters could be heard.

And that afternoon at three o'clock, the awakened Uesugi Muneyuki finally received his reward.

Cabinet special bonus: one million yen.

And Uesugi Muneyuki's answer was only one character.

￥H」」

"I just recovered for this country what is worth billions of dollars in international reputation, the trust of a police system that has lasted over a hundred years, and the dignity of an alliance!"

"But……why do I feel like I've gotten used to it?" Uesugi Muneyuki snorted and shook his head, thinking, "Well, whatever, the most important gain isn't this." But just at that moment, his phone rang.

The voice on the other end of the phone was very respectful, carrying a kind of old-fashioned, almost lost honorific usage: "Uesugi-kun, can you come to the Imperial Palace now?"

It was Director of the Imperial Household Agency Maeda Toshisuke!

"His Majesty Emperor Linkawa wants to see you."

???????? 」