Date: From 8.00 p.m., 24 March 2021
Scriptwriter: Ozaka Masaya (Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Series, Signal, Chinmoku Houtei)
Director: Hoshino Kazunari
Cast: Sawamura Ikki, Yamoto Yuma, Natori Yuko, Ichikawa Ennosuke, Hira Takehiro, Hoshino Mari, Nomaguchi Toru, Okada Koki, Haba Yuichi, Tomita Yasuko, Koyanagi Yukimi
Synopsis: Ohashi Taeko (Koyanagi Yukimi), the owner of a real estate company, is stabbed to death. Yamaoka Seiji (Hira Takehiro), who rents property from Taeko and runs a restaurant serving Western food, is sent as a suspect to Higashimaru Shinsuke (Sawamura Ikki), a prosecutor working for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Yamaoka’s restaurant business has been on the decline and he confessed to the police that he killed Taeko after getting into an argument with her over the rent that he has been behind on. Higashimaru’s motto is to face suspects without having any preconceived notions. He and his assistant Kirino Keita (Yamoto Yuma) start questioning Ishimori Yoshio (Watanabe Masayuki), a security company executive who said that he saw Yamaoka flee. Then they visit Yamaoka’s restaurant and Higashimaru becomes curious about an employee called Tadokoro Mika (Hoshino Mari) who seems to be hiding something. Higashimaru believes the real criminal is someone else. Yamaoka is struck by Higashimaru’s sincere questioning and eventually begins to tell the truth. He never killed Taeko. But he was forced by the police to make a confession due to the discrepancy in the time he met her and the eyewitness’ statement. He was also told by his lawyer that it would be impossible to prove his alibi. Higashimaru is angered and vows to bring the truth to light. Meanwhile, Yamaoka happened to see the newspapers and tells Higashimaru that after he met Taeko, he passed by a man whose photograph was published inside. This person is the influential politician Murai Shuzo’s (Hotaru Yukijiro) secretary Kurata Akio (Nomaguchi Toru) whom the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has been watching because of a bribery case. Higashimaru and Kirino visit Murai’s office in order to meet Kurata. However, the next day, Higashimaru is summoned to the office of Kenzaki Ryoko (Natori Yuko), the head of the Criminal Affairs Department. Saegusa Koichi (Ichikawa Ennosuke), the ace of the Special Investigation Department, is there too. He is indignant that Higashimaru made contact with someone connected to the bribery case and jeopardised the investigation by making Kurata wary. Higashimaru pays no heed to this and single-mindedly pursues the truth of Taeko’s murder. But there is interference at an unexpected juncture … …
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/tokyochiken
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