Occupied City
Page 4
1948/1/28; 06.00: Sleet / Back on the street, house by house, door to door through Nagasaki 2-chōme / Waste of time / 12.00: Uniform from Mejiro tells us to report back to Special Investigation HQ immediately / Short handed / 12.30: Meeting / Recap: Detective Tomitsuka of the First Investigative Division, sent to Sendai yesterday to interview Dr Matsui Shigeru / Dr Matsui Shigeru; the name on the card presented at the Ebara branch of the Yasuda Bank / Name verified as that of a person presently employed by the Health & Welfare Ministry in Sendai / But this Dr Matsui is now sitting in the interview room down the corridor here on the second floor of the Special Investigation HQ, Mejiro Police Station, Tokyo / Because this Dr Matsui reads the newspapers / This Dr Matsui listens to the radio / This Dr Matsui knows one of his name-cards was used in the incident at the Ebara branch of the Yasuda Bank / So this morning, Dr Matsui gets on a train to Tokyo for the funeral of a relative / Upon arrival in Tokyo, Dr Matsui comes straight here / Dr Matsui Shigeru now sitting in the interview room down the corridor on the second floor of the Special Investigation HQ, Mejiro Police Station, Tokyo / Investigation HQ short handed / Detailed to the interrogation team / 13.00: Down the corridor to this Dr Matsui / This Dr Matsui sweating in his winter coat / This man has secrets / This Dr Matsui, face gaunt and pale, hands shaking and voice trembling / All men have secrets / Record of interview: ‘Last year, the Emperor made a tour of the whole country. Last spring, the Emperor travelled to the six prefectures of the Tōhoku region. Prior to the Emperor’s visit, I toured the six prefectures of the Tōhoku region, on behalf of the Health & Welfare Ministry, to determine whether these six prefectures were safe enough for the Emperor to visit. I checked for the risk of disease and epidemics in these six prefectures …’ / ‘Prior to my own tour, I had one hundred new name-cards printed …’ / ‘Where? Who by?’ / ‘In the basement of the Miyagi Prefectural Office.’ / ‘When?’ / Dr Matsui Shigeru takes out a black-bound notebook / Dr Matsui opens the black-bound notebook / ‘On 25 March 1947.’ / This Dr Matsui is a very methodical and meticulous man / This Dr Matsui has kept a record in his diary of every person with whom he exchanged name-cards / This Dr Matsui has kept all the name-cards he received in exchange for his own name-card / This Dr Matsui stares again at the name-card which lies before him on the table in the interview room / ‘Dr Matsui Shigeru, MD, an official of the Health & Welfare Ministry.’ / This Dr Matsui acknowledges that the card used by the suspect at the Ebara branch of the Yasuda Bank last autumn appears to be his / This Dr Matsui admits that the suspect may very well be one of his acquaintances / Now this Dr Matsui opens his black-bound notebook again / Now this Dr Matsui gives us the names of all his acquaintances; the names of any acquaintances to whom he may have given a name-card; the names of fellow epidemic prevention officers / All men have secrets, all men tell lies / Dr Matsui keeps coming back to one name / A fellow epidemic prevention officer currently working in the Public Hygiene Section of Miyagi Prefecture / A Mr Hoshi Shōji / 15.00: Interview suspended / Telephone calls to Tomitsuka in Sendai / Long wait / 18.00: Meeting with Chief Kita / Kita relays Tomitsuka’s report: This morning Detective Tomitsuka visited the printer in the basement of the Miyagi Prefectural Office / The printer told the detective that the card used at the Yasuda Bank is definitely one from the same batch he made for Dr Matsui, judging by the uniqueness of the font / Typed in Minchō font on Kentō paper / Also, the kanji characters used to make the name Shigeru are so rare that the printer had to put two separate characters together to print the name correctly / To make the letter the printer put and together / Hence the character for Shigeru is a bit taller than the other characters / Hence there can be no doubt this card is from the batch given to Dr Matsui Shigeru on 25 March 1947 / Late this afternoon, following the call from Tokyo, Detective Tomitsuka tracked Mr Hoshi Shōji / Mr Hoshi Shōji is now in the interview room of the Sendai Police Headquarters / But Mr Hoshi does not match the description of the Teikoku Bank suspect / And Mr Hoshi cannot think of any acquaintance of his who might match the description of the killer / However, Mr Hoshi keeps coming back to one name / The name of a former medical sergeant major who was on Dr Matsui’s staff during the war / Yet Mr Hoshi admits the man’s description does not match that of the killer / But this man is now living in Tokyo / 18.30: Back to Dr Matsui in the interview room down the corridor / This man has secrets / This Dr Matsui, sweating in his winter coat / All men have secrets / Interview resumes / ‘Do you know a former medical Sergeant Major Karajima?’ / All men tell lies / This Dr Matsui, face gaunt and pale, hands shaking and voice trembling / ‘Yes, I do …’ / 19.00: Special Investigative HQ puts out an APB for former medical Sergeant Major Karajima / Detectives told to report back to their ji-dōri questioning teams.
1948/1/29; 06.00: Cloudy, with northeasterly winds / Resume street-by-street, house-by-house, door-to-door questioning of Nagasaki 2-chōme neighbourhood with Fukushi-kun / Resident tells us of a man who always wore an armband and who repeatedly visited the house of a local widow / Rush to the house of the widow / As we knock on the front door, another pair of detectives are banging on the back door / Hot lead, obviously / Send Fukushi-kun back to HQ to report the lead immediately / Make sure we get the credit / The glory / Interview the widow / Boyfriend with the armband is a doctor with an insurance company / Good reputation / Alibi for Teigin incident / Her word / Back to HQ to use the phone / Ten calls later and the doctor turns out to be bogus / Ex-army medic, back from China, no licence / Lives in Shibusawa, down past Atsugi, on the Odakyū Line / Always carries a gun / Police Chief Kita gives the green light / Four-man arrest team / No sake, so we take a mizu-sakazuki each, a ceremonial shot of water before the battle / Pack a blanket for protection against gunshots / 12.00: Train down to Shibusawa / Bogus doctor rents a room in a big house with a grass roof close to the station / Rest of the afternoon, most of the evening, crouched in a field of tea leaves / Bored, freezing and scared / 24.00: Last train of the night and here comes the doctor / Suddenly he stops thirty metres from the house / Pisses on the bush where Detective Sudo and his partner are hiding / Rush him from the back, grab his neck / Sudo takes his legs / Few punches, handcuffs on / Haul him to the kōban in front of the station / Local uniform says, ‘Doctor! What’s going on?’ / Uniform looks at four of us and says, ‘This is an outrage! Do you know who this man is?’ / ‘Yeah! The Teigin killer!’ / That shuts him up / Examine the good doctor’s belongings / Find one Browning pistol loaded with four bullets / One for each of us / Hail the power of mizu-sakazuki! / Back up to Special Investigation HQ with suspect –
1948/1/30; 04.00: Interview with suspect / Alibi checks out / Charged with impersonation of a doctor and possession of illegal firearm / Waste of time / 06.00: Street-by-street, house-to-house, door-to-door / Nothing / Had enough of this / 18.00: Meeting of the entire Special Investigation Team / Chief of Police Kita present / All Tokyo Metropolitan Police leave cancelled / 20,000 officers mobilized nationwide / Kita predicts protracted inquiry / Prepare for long haul / Review of all significant leads to date / Repeated theories from some detectives of links to the wartime Tokumu Kikan (Special Operations Division) / Hunch based on military precision of Teikoku crime / Rumours of similar crimes in Occupied China / Further team to be formed from the Second Investigative Division to investigate links to Tokumu Kikan / Volunteer for ‘Annex’ / ‘Why you?’ / ‘Old contacts.’ / ‘Use them.’
1948/1/31; 09.00: Rain / Ginza / Meeting with [NAME DELETED] / Old friend, ex-Tokumu Kikan, ex-big-shot in Occupied China / Post-war, new-life, new-office, still a big-shot; once a big-shot, always a big-shot / Deep bows and small talk / Tea and cigarettes / ‘You’re not here for old time’s sake, are you?’ / ‘No.’ / ‘You’re here because of that Teigin case, aren’t you?’ / ‘Yes.’ / ‘You think it’s someone who did the kind of work I did, don’t you?’ / ‘Yes.’ / ‘Well, shall I tell you why you’re wrong? Why you’re wasting your time?’ / ‘Please …’ / ‘From what I hear, the man in the bank told the manager he wa
s a doctor, yeah?’ / ‘Yes.’ / ‘And the manager obviously believed him?’ / ‘Yes.’ / ‘Because of the man’s attitude, his behaviour and his character?’ / ‘Yes.’ / ‘Well, in my experience, all the men I know, all the men I worked with over there, they don’t look good.’ / ‘No?’ / ‘No, they look rough, worn out by the lives they led over there.’ / ‘Yeah?’ / ‘Yeah, they are not the kind of men who could pass for doctors.’ / ‘Is that right?’ / ‘I know you don’t believe me. I know you think I’m only telling you this so you won’t go digging around in my past, in the pasts of my colleagues. But that’s not the case.’ / ‘I believe you.’ / ‘Well, I hope you do.’ / ‘I do.’ / ‘Forget Tokumu Kikan. Stick with the doctors. Follow the name-cards.’ / ‘Thank you.’ / Return to HQ / Tell the various chiefs to forget Tokumu Kikan / To stick with the doctors / To follow the name-cards / 18.00: Re-assigned to ji-dōri questioning team / Shit.
1948/2/1; 06.00: No days off / Rain, sleet, snow / Printed notice handed to all detectives: The Teikoku Bank has ascertained that the total money missing or stolen on 26 January from their Shiinamachi branch was ¥164,405. The Teikoku Bank have also ascertained that a cheque (number B09216) with a face value of ¥17,450, drawn in the name of a Gotō Toyoji, is also missing / Out on the streets again / Endless ji-dōri; sometimes Shiinamachi area, sometimes around Nakai, sometimes to Ebara / Different neighbourhoods, same game / Street-by-street, house-by-house, door-to-door questioning of neighbourhood with Fukushi-kun / Establish names and occupations of all residents / Establish and verify whereabouts of each resident at time of various crimes / Repeat description of suspect based on statements of survivors / Note down any possible sightings of men fitting description of suspect / Note down any suggestions as to identity of suspect based on description given to residents / Waste of time, waste of time, waste of time.
1948/2/2; 06.00: Light snow, then rain / The second floor of Mejiro Police Station / Special Investigation HQ / Meeting of the Special Investigation Team / Chief of Police Kita present / New clue: cheque number B09216 for ¥17,450, listed as missing presumed stolen from the Shiinamachi branch of the Teikoku Bank on 26 January during the mass poisoning, was cashed at approximately 14.30 on 27 January at the Itabashi branch of the Yasuda Bank / Cheque endorsed by Gotō Toyoji, 2661 Itabashi 3-chōme, Itabashi-ku / Yasuda branch manager discovered cheque matched that listed missing or stolen during the Teigin incident yesterday / Notified police / Statements taken by detectives / Descriptions by bank staff of man who cashed the cheque do not match descriptions given by survivors of the Teigin incident / Man at Itabashi branch of Yasuda Bank described as being heavyset, wearing spectacles with tortoise-shell frame, and speaking coarsely / Officers sent to address written on back of cheque / No one named Gotō Toyoji lives at this address / Occupants have no knowledge of anyone of that name.
[VARIOUS PAGES DAMAGED, DEFACED, OR MISSING FOR REASONS UNKNOWN]
1948/2/4; 06.00: Cold, rain / The second floor of Mejiro Police Station / Special Investigation HQ / Meeting of the Special Investigation Team / Chief of Police Kita present / Composite drawing of suspect based on eye-witness description of suspect by Teigin survivors distributed to all detectives, all police stations and all newspapers nationwide / First time composite drawing of a suspect has been used in history of Japanese police / Anticipate large public response / Drawing to be used by all ji-dōri questioning teams / Ordered to re-interview households and individuals already interviewed, this time with composite drawing / Note to all detectives and police officers: Poison used in the murders now believed to be cyanic silver NOT potassium cyanide / Murderer believed therefore to be highly experienced in handling and use of drugs / 07.00: Resume ji-dōri questioning with composite drawing / Same neighbourhoods, same streets, same houses, same doors, same faces, same waste of time.
[VARIOUS PAGES DAMAGED, DEFACED, OR MISSING FOR REASONS UNKNOWN]
The Second Period (the second twenty days of the investigation; 15 February to 5 March, 1948) –
1948/2/15; 06.00: Cloudy, then overcast / The second floor of Mejiro Police Station / Special Investigation HQ / Meeting of the Special Investigation Team / Chief of Police Kita present / Overview of Investigation to date / Over 500 suspects questioned / Innumerable leads followed up / All suspects eliminated and released / All leads investigated and exhausted / Back to ji-dōri / Back to meetings / Endless ji-dōri, endless meetings / Endless wastes of time / Endlessly taking us nowhere.
[VARIOUS PAGES DAMAGED, DEFACED, OR MISSING FOR REASONS UNKNOWN]
1948/2/23; 18.00: Cold / Meeting of entire First Investigative Division at Special Investigation HQ / SCAP-Justice Ministry Liaison Officer Miyakawa reports on results of meeting with Public Safety Division of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers on 19 February 1948 / On behalf of the Investigation, Miyakawa requested the assistance of the SCAP Public Safety Division in locating a Lieutenant Hornet and a Lieutenant Parker / Both names associated with typhus disinfecting teams in the Tokyo area / Lieutenant Hornet believed to have been associated with the Toshima team in the Ōji and Katsushika Wards / Lieutenant Parker associated with the Ebara disinfecting team / Witnesses at the Ebara branch of the Yasuda Bank reported suspect as saying, ‘I came here with Lieutenant Parker in a jeep because a new typhus case happened in the vicinity.’ / At the Shiinamachi branch of the Teikoku Bank, the same individual is reported as saying, ‘I came here because there have been many dysentery cases in the area. Lieutenant Hornet will be here soon.’ / Miyakawa requested that the Public Safety Division of SCAP provide any information, names and addresses of Japanese individuals either connected with or having knowledge of the disinfecting work done by either of the above lieutenants, particularly interpreters or individuals who speak English / Miyakawa advised elimination of individuals below the age of thirty or above the age of sixty / Mr Eaton of the Public Safety Division informed Miyakawa that, having spoken with Mr Allen of the Tokyo MG Team Sanitation Control, ten low-ranking medical officers were used by the MG Team in typhus epidemic control activities in 1946 / However, at present, there are no military personnel employed by the MG Team in such work / All disinfecting work is now carried out by Japanese employees of the Tokyo Ward Offices / Furthermore, no such teams are employed by the Public Health & Welfare Department / Mr Eaton stated that some SCAP personnel are presently used in rodent control under HQ and Service Group, Repair and Utilities Division, but none by the name of Parker or Hornet / Finally, Mr Eaton stated that he would contact the AG Section of GHQ to ascertain the names and whereabouts of any lieutenants or captains by the name of Parker or Hornet who have been assigned to Japan / Meeting ends / Back to ji-dōri / Back to meetings / Ji-dōri and meetings / Endless, endless ji-dōri and endless, endless meetings / Endless, endless wastes of time / Endlessly, endlessly taking us nowhere.
[VARIOUS PAGES DAMAGED, DEFACED, OR MISSING FOR REASONS UNKNOWN]
1948/3/4; 18.00: Meeting of entire First Investigative Division at Special Investigation HQ / Police Chief Kita has requested that the Public Safety Division of SCAP assist in securing any information available pertaining to a group of former Japanese military personnel who were sent to Korea as poisoners during the war / It is believed that these persons were highly trained in preparation of various poisons / It is also believed that SCAP is investigating these persons for possible war crimes / Meeting ends / Nothing now but more ji-dōri, more meetings / More ji-dōri, more meetings / More, more ji-dōri, and more, more meetings / More, more wastes of time / More, more, taking us nowhere.
[VARIOUS PAGES DAMAGED, DEFACED, OR MISSING FOR REASONS UNKNOWN]
The Third Period (the third twenty days of the investigation; 6 March to 25 March, 1948) –