Original subtitles

'Bosa Terrace'?

Where?

Just below Cave Overhang. Above Overhang 3.

Above and to the left of Crescent.

The Cloud-top Route...

The first path up The Partition. The cleverest route in Japan.

You've been up?

11 years ago.

I slipped at Overhang 3.

'Rock!' I called down to him where he had the rope.

'Rock!'

And?

Direct hit. Killed him.

The last guy you'd expect.

He'd climbed Everest.

Wow.

It's below zero up there, only a third as much oxygen.

But he didn't take a picture, or plant a flag.

He just stared up into the sky.

Sometimes in the dead of winter cranes fly over Mt Everest.

At the world's highest point...

...he was watching for cranes even higher...

...than him.

I killed a great climber.

Why are you telling me this?

I've decided.

What?

We're climbing The Partition.

Not me!

Early Summer, 1985

Hey! Time to go.

Just a little bit longer!

It's time to go. We'll come back.

Come on, Jun. You've got a plane to catch.

The climb starts on the platform at Doai Station.

What?

No way!

486 steps to ground level.

I can't come next month.

Then the month after.

Mom's going to Switzerland.

Switzerland?

For an interpreter's job.

Mr Yuuki?

I'm the escort.

Aren't you a brave boy, taking a jumbo all alone!

Shall we go?

Thank you.

Just a minute...

I found this today.

For me?

Keep it and think of me.

Summer 2007 Doai Station, Gunma Prefecture

Three eighty...

Three eighty...

...four.

I've decided to try Everest next spring.

Yeah? Wow.

I wanted to go up The Partition with you first.

You and Dad were going to do it that summer.

Don't forget how old I am.

I'm 33. What does that make you?

Don't ask!

The North Kanto News

August 12th, 1985

Well?

He hasn't said yet.

But he's always wanted to visit Yasukuni.

Yuuki!

Downstairs!

You've got friends in Circulation?

He climbs.

Who?

Anzai.

Oh, him...

Maebashi, Gunma

We leave at 7:40 tonight.

We'll stay at the Guide Center, then head for The Partition first thing.

There's no backing out now.

Why me?

It happens to guys like you.

What?

You stop looking around, and start climbing faster.

You feel a kind of excitement that numbs all fear.

Not me.

You get an adrenalin rush. It's called 'climber's high'.

I like turning people onto that.

Climber's what?

'Climber's high'.

Anzai...

Call me when I page you.

It's...

...busted.

Bullshit.

Get that thing cleaned up so she backs off.

What was Boss Ito talking about?

Nothing. It's stupid. I'll be at the station.

And if not?

I'll get to the Guide Center tonight, whatever happens.

You're going climbing?

Showing him the ropes.

What about the rest of the Climbing Club?

Sorry!

What?

Why do you climb mountains, anyway?

The whole story?

Not now.

To come down.

What?

I go up to come down.

Show me what an old guy can do.

Let's close up, Sis. He'll go away.

Leave me alone!

Hey, Sis!

Allow me.

I don't need your help!

I'll try and get the company to add another million yen.

It's not the money, I said!

Then what?

Sorry.

What is it really about?

Go away!

Please.

Please!

Stop that, will you!

Please!

Please!

Please!

Get in, damn it!

Excuse me.

You're the head police reporter...

'Sayama'.

Excuse me.

Wait...

Why Yuuki?

Sir?

He won't take a desk job. Why do you tag after him?

He's a born reporter.

'A born reporter'!

So... why Yuuki?

Doesn't every small-town paper need one loose cannon?

Excuse me.

'Night.

Mah jong?

That would be cooler.

Today's high: 31.9 degrees!

The 15th? All right.

On the 15th the Prime Minister will visit...

...Yasukuni Shrine!

Is Regional doing Politics now?

We're flexible.

Newsroom...

Mr Sayama! Your office is calling.

I said I'd be right back.

I just overheard the Jiji Press guy...

It's all yours.

OK. Page me.

The Partition? Don't fall.

The Partition?

Break your neck.

Gee, thanks.

Yuu-san...

What's up?

Kawashima called.

And?

A jumbo's missing.

A jet?

Nothing on the wire yet.

We've just been handed this bulletin.

A Japan Airlines jumbo jet has vanished from radar.

This is breaking news.

Look!

JAL Flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka has vanished from radar.

The flight left Haneda Airport at 6 p.m., and was to reach Osaka at 7.

A bulletin from Kyodo News.

A Japan Airlines jumbo jet has vanished from radar...

...north of Yokota Air Base...

...around the border between Gunma and Nagano Prefectures.

Page everyone. Call Haneda.

Why here?

Who cares!

Call Japan Airlines. Get a passenger list!

Call the Gunma and Nagano police. And the fire departments.

A bulletin from Kyodo News.

JAL Flight 123 is missing with 524 people aboard.

The worst single-plane accident in aviation history.

Regional staff, I want you!

Get me a map.

A 1:50,000-scale of the border area.

Oimura here...

Check the passenger list...

For locals, right?

Back in 10.

Why?

Someone's meeting me.

Yuuki!

Back in 10!

Wait!

Chief!

Tetsu! We're setting up a special team.

The boss!

Hello?

Come on.

I'll be right back...

Anzai? Forget him. The publisher wants us.

No weak spot we can use?

The lawyer here recommends a settlement.

It's being cleaned up.

A settlement!

Sandwich!

Yes, sir.

Louder!

Coming, sir.

We're checking for local residents now.

Put the kid on it.

You're being assigned to run the JAL crash desk.

What?

You want me to run the desk?

It crashed here.

That's not for sure...

Say it's Gunma. It's ours.

How old are you now?

Nearly 40.

Yeah?

40?

Make Gunma proud of us.

Yes, sir.

That's all.

Excuse us.

Yuuki's running the crash team?

Yuuki's in charge!

Yuuki?

Set him up over here.

Give me a break!

Yuuki!

Wait for me! I'm right behind you!

Gunma Police Headquarters

JAL Missing Aircraft Operations Room

They're saying Nagano.

Then let's go.

But we'll need a base camp.

Worry about that later.

But Yo's heading for Fujioka.

He is?

They've left Osaka. We'd better move.

Where's Baku?

Baku! Let's go!

Gunma? Nagano? Which is it?

Maybe neither.

The Americans were tracking it, too. Someone must know!

Their radar system isn't all that accurate.

It could be a few clicks off.

That's scary!

Just a minute...

Anzai residence...

It's Yuuki. Has Anzai phoned?

Isn't he with you?

That was the plan, but a plane's crashed.

If he calls, should I send him to where the TV says?

If it's crashed in Gunma, they'll call out our Climbers Club.

I'm sure he'll be happy at the chance to work with you.

Ask him to phone me.

I will.

You're asking the Club?

We'll need people who can climb.

You'd better check with the editors first.

No.

They won't even buy us a radio!

Why not?

Reporters should bicycle through snow to the nearest phone!

Why?

Dinosaurs.

They handled the Red Army lynchings and the Okubo murders that way.

Todoroki-saurus, Oimura-tops, and Kasuya-don.

We have to communicate! Are they trying to be behind the times?

We can climb up and get the story, but we still have to bring it back.

But if we pull it off...

You think they'll shut up about 'Red-Okubo'?

Police cars are heading for Budo Pass, on the Nagano border.

No word yet, though.

Mr Yuuki.

The police have a war-room here, and now one over in Ueno, too.

OK. That'll be our forward base.

Get six reporters and photogs over there.

Let me go, too.

No. You're needed.

Kawashima's here. So's the Prefecture beat staff.

It might not be Gunma!

Yuu-san, that doesn't matter.

The world's worst plane crash is right near us.

I'm going.

Wait a bit.

Passenger 384

Roger.

Age: 9

What?

Maybe we were lucky.

What?

We weren't in charge on Red-Okubo.

Yeah.

The guys who were in charge are praying right now.

'Let it be Nagano'.

Would you be relieved?

You might say so.

This is a lot bigger.

Got one!

I found one!

One prefecture resident aboard! His son's a high-school ballplayer.

At the Nationals...

In Osaka.

They won the first game.

Get a photo!

Call Osaka!

Reopen the Local page!

Less than two hours to deadline!

Come on! Less than two hours to go!

Yuuki! Have you found the crash site yet?

Don't rush me! Go shout at the printers.

'Don't rush me, ' he says!

Sayama?

'Smoke at Budo Pass. ' Looks like it's in Gunma.

Witness accounts, and police radio from Nagano and Saitama.

Let me loose.

Go.

But get back here right away.

Roger.

Wait till dawn. I'll send a climber.

A climber?

Anzai, or uh...

...Miyata, from Advertising.

What? We're in a race here!

I'm sorry?

Just send a photographer.

Can't. They're all in Osaka.

What about the bureaus?

I'll find one. Now, listen.

Those mountains are rough. Stick close to the rescue teams.

I will.

It's Gunma!

Kanzawa!

Go meet Sayama.

Me?

August 13th

524 Aboard JAL Jumbo

Village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture

The military isn't saying. We think it's Mt Ogura.

No, it's got to be Sugeno Marsh.

Is the rescue team gone?

The police said to wait.

Nagano's started.

I wouldn't know.

The military's found it.

Where?

Gunma.

An hour ago.

The Fire Department says it's Sugeno Marsh...

...but the police say no.

Are they trying to keep the media away?

We are over the crash site!

It is a heart-rending scene!

In Gunma Prefecture...

Where's the plane?

...near the Nagano border, east of the 2112-meter Mt Ogura.

Is that part gleaming there...

...the fuselage?

Where are all the people?

They're in pieces, too?

A bulletin from Kyodo News.

JAL Flight 123 has crashed...

...on Mt Osutaka...

...southwest of Ueno Village in the south of Gunma Prefecture.

Hi.

Sayama and Kanzawa left Ueno 15 minutes ago.

Our Climbers Club members will take you guys up.

Kawashima's in charge.

I can't find Anzai, but they're all good men. They'll guide you.

We can't contact you from up there.

If there's trouble...

...beg a radio from Kyodo News.

OK, plan out your route.

You didn't hear about Mr Anzai?

He's probably having breakfast at the Guide Center.

He's at Red Cross Hospital.

He fell?

He was found unconscious just out here by the station.

Are you sure?

Someone in Circulation told me.

Kanzawa!

Are you OK?

Anzai

You've reached the Anzai residence. Please leave a message.

Mrs Anzai, it's Yuuki. Sorry to be calling so often.

I've called the hospital, but I don't know what's going on.

Could you call me when you get time?

I'll come as soon as I can.

A bulletin from Kyodo News.

From the JAL crash site on Mt Osutaka.

Survivors are reported.

Yuuki! Yuuki!

Change everything! 'The Miracle Survivors' on Page 1!

Chief!

'Miracle Survivors' on Page 1. The biggest type we've got.

Find out how many.

Of course!

Operation in Progress

They're starting to lift her out!

The girl will be air-lifted out by military helicopter.

What's wrong with those damn police?!

Why did we wait?!

Is that water safe?

How would I know?!

Can you hear me? This is Beach, over.

Do we have another battery?

Nope.

Get us some water, OK?

You seemed a bit angry.

We could have saved 20 or 30 if we'd got here faster.

But didn't your department say it was too dangerous at night?

Not the Fire Department. That was the police.

We knew it was here.

You could have left last night?

Sure!

We work out here all the time.

We know the terrain.

From Kyodo.

If our guys are late, we use this wire copy.

What?

If it's all we've got...

We need hard news, Todoroki, not 'impressions'.

What?

The ace of spades.

From the plane...

Here... that goes in.

And this, this, this...

This one, this...

There's no space!

Make some.

Pull some ads.

We can't do that!

OK.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Who said write this?

Hey! What's the matter?

He's rewriting Kyodo copy off the damn TV!

Come on, Tazawa!

Who told you to?

The City Editor. Go bitch at him!

Yuuki, wait!

Hey... Let's not embarrass ourselves, OK?

We have to. We're stuck.

You don't know that!

I'm covering your stupid ass!

Screw you!

We're running Sayama's report. We've still got eight hours.

Back to work!

Uh-oh...

Press!

Press!

Press!

Maebashi Red Cross Hospital

Anzai?

'Subarachnoid hemorrhage'.

They've operated...

...but they say he might not come out of the coma.

That's crazy!

'Persistent vegetative state'.

If it lasts more than three months, that's what they call it.

I had to write it down.

I don't want to memorize it.

Mr Yuuki...

Hi.

It's OK. He'll wake up. Don't worry.

Smells good, huh?

Yep. A good smell and a good morning.

Did Jun phone you?

No. When?

Last month.

He said he would.

He used to phone whenever he came back to Japan.

You don't just call up Dad and say 'By the way, my new wife's with me.'

I didn't even know he was married.

You haven't talked in five years?

Not once.

You shouted at him.

No, I didn't.

It wasn't right, and I said so.

There.

Look! Hired cars with phones!

Come on!

Hey!

We sure did!

We got some good stuff.

Give me a break! We're all beat, you know...

Where's the phone?!

We're full up.

I hear they put you in charge.

You OK?

Hear about Anzai?

I went to the hospital.

So did I.

I told his wife not to worry about a thing.

But he sure picked a bad time for it.

Anyway, are you all done?

Done?

Deadline's 12 tonight.

What?

What's going on?

There's still an hour to deadline.

Didn't you hear?

We can't extend tonight.

Press trouble. We have to use the old ones.

No one told me!

Didn't you tell him, Todoroki?

Maybe he missed it in the rush.

You bastard!

Don't!

Not now!

Sayama thinks it's 1 a.m.

Can Circulation hold off?

You screw up and we pay?

A jumbo with 524 people on board has crashed...

...in Gunma!

The vendors complained when we were late last night!

We'll have a report from the scene.

Our pride's at stake.

Talk to him, will you!

You know how it is...

Yeah, you do!

Yeah, now I know how it is!

And so does the publisher.

It's decided.

Put it to bed!

Mr Todoroki! You call yourself a newsman?!

Settle down, will you!

Didn't you say?

Sorry!

Come on!

This isn't working!

Next house!

The big papers will be...

...at the village inn.

- Yeah, tying up the phone. - So no one else will try there.

How does that help?

We'll ask to use the home phone.

That might work!

August 14th

I won't be able to face those two.

They could have gone down in this paper's history.

This moaning doesn't suit you, Mr Yuuki.

Tamaki, not now.

Someone just forgot to make sure about the presses, right?

What?

Come on!

Kiyoshi Okubo Charged In Rape-Murders

'Red Army' Leftists Take Hostage

Mr Todoroki was the star reporter 13 years ago. So what?

Me, Yuuki, Tazawa... we didn't even start to compare to him.

Tonight he was an asshole.

You've got a foul mouth for such a pretty girl.

And if I was ugly?

Anyway, men act badly when they're jealous.

Yes?

It's Sayama.

You OK?

We both got back down.

Don't be too long.

We won't.

Here goes. Ready?

'Dateline: Mt Osutaka. Reporters: Sayama, Kanzawa.

'Up on the ridge there is no place to step.'

Sayama...

'Small, white fragments of fuselage.

'Burned and shredded limbs and bodies...'

Sorry to bother you. Thank you very much.

Who are you?

Food and a bath!

It's all ready.

Hey...

We just stopped for a pee.

I know you.

North Kanto, right?

Yes. Sayama.

How's Todoroki?

The City Editor? He's fine.

Yeah?

He's City Editor? That's good.

We wanted him to take our test, but he turned us down.

Ten years ago.

Him and Yuuki, the young guy.

Is that so?

They were a great team.

It's too bad. They'd have done well in Tokyo.

Their hiring test?

Head-hunting. That's the only way they get good people.

What?

May I?

You've got 30 seconds.

A college professor I had also taught one of the crash investigators.

You took Engineering...

I could call him.

OK. Get going.

Can I ask one more thing?

Ten seconds.

Have you ever thought of quitting?

No.

Hey!

Hey!

Tamaki, go away!

What's wrong?

What's the meaning of this?!

What's going on?

My 5-column ad's gone!

Did you do that, Mr Yuuki?

Uh... sorry. I did.

You know what it was for?

A new mall. The biggest in North Kanto!

Sorry.

We worked weeks to get this ad!

You know what it was worth? 1,025,000 yen!

Oh?

You're damn right!

It's the crash...

Crash, my ass!

You reporters ought to learn what work is...

...instead of feeding off ours!

A newspaper sells news.

We produce that.

Grow up!

There would be no paper without ads, no matter what the news was!

Without news, no one would read your ads.

What did you say?!

Where are you going?!

Breakfast.

I'm not finished!

You were a reporter. You know Editorial has the last say.

So shut it.

Hey! Just because you're the publisher's pet...

Me? What about you?

Mr Yuuki!

That's why you're running the crash desk.

Your mother was his mistress!

What the hell are you doing?!

Watch your mouth, Yamada.

He's got a right to be mad!

She wasn't his mistress.

Is it true what you said?

I don't really know, but there was a U.S. base here in the Korean War...

...and lots of prostitutes.

Yeah, I've heard his mother serviced GIs.

Is the boss his...

Only GIs.

But Yuuki's always been special. The publisher treats him different.

He didn't get a puppy.

I was deeply moved when the boss gave me that dog.

That meant I'd always have a job here.

If you catch his eye, you get a puppy.

That means you're talented.

There were four survivors. We have four main stories.

Too many.

One is removal of bodies. That's about to start.

Then next-of-kin viewing the bodies, at Fujioka gym.

Then the survivors, then the cause.

It was the rear door, wasn't it?

Not the tail?

We'll use the Kyodo wire copy.

No. The investigators start today, and one of our staff took engineering.

Who?

Tamaki.

A woman?

One of the investigation team had the same professor as she did.

Give it a shot.

I will. About the bodies...

Relatives first. Lots of tears for the front page.

The removal is a story.

Just get a photo.

Go for the tears.

Stop pouting!

Wait, let's hold on here...

Todoroki, how many people can we spare?

About 20.

Give me 30.

We can't spare that many!

25, then.

Well?

All right.

Where?

Ten at the gym, five at the hospital, ten at the site...

Why ten on the mountain? Put more on the kin.

I want a 10-part series for Page 1. Think 'impressions'.

Our best reporters, a by-line story every day...

...starting with Sayama's.

Starting tomorrow.

How much can you say about flying out bodies?

That mountain took 520 lives. The stories will write themselves.

Wishful thinking.

That's better than dreams of past glories.

What?!

Mt Osutaka goes way beyond what we can imagine.

It'll take all we've got to do it justice.

We compete...

...by getting more than anybody else.

All right. Give it a shot.

You're getting greedy, Yuuki.

A front page has to say something.

You're getting feisty in your old age.

Look at you guys!

Well done.

Why didn't it run?

The new presses were down. We couldn't extend deadline.

Why didn't you say so?

I couldn't.

Tell us next time!

Sayama, come outside.

All bits and pieces, covered in oil, slippery...

Hands and feet and heads...

...and chunks of flesh, nowhere to put your feet.

And clouds of blow-flies when you came near...

A foot... a foot went sliding down...

...and the flesh... the bone came out... all white...

We couldn't see far.

We followed the noise of the helicopters.

We went up the wrong ridge and couldn't make up...

...for lost time.

A rewrite?!

If it didn't run this morning, it doesn't mean a thing!

We busted ass!

You call that a story?

What?

All I got last night was 30 lines.

So what?

You're lucky you got that much!

You're right. That was pure guts.

But you can do better.

80 lines, a hundred, as long as you like.

Everything you saw.

All right.

Wait, Mr Sayama! You've got to be kidding!

It's OK.

We'll give the man a real report from the scene.

The professor's talking to the investigators.

Should I call him?

Where is he?

I'll try his home.

Go.

Roger.

The gym where the bodies are.

Wreaths from two prime ministers, former and current.

Politics here, too?

It's a nice gesture.

I'm glad I wrote it. I feel better.

I'll read it now.

I'll go home and change.

Get some rest.

No. I need the noise right now.

Kamejima... here.

Page 1, line story.

What's wrong? Your eyes are all red.

'On Mt Osutaka...

'...the young soldier stood rigid...

'...holding a little girl tight.'

'A red dragonfly hairpin...

'A blue polka-dot dress...

'Her thin light-brown right arm...

'...hung down.

'The soldier looked at the sky. How could it be so blue?'

'How could the white clouds float there?

'How could the birds sing, and the breeze waft over the ridge?

'The soldier lowered his eyes into hell.

'Somewhere was the girl's left arm, which he had to find.'

'The scene that greeted this reporter yesterday afternoon...

'...was worse than a war.

'I can still not believe any survivors were found.'

What's wrong?

I can feel the marsh.

No more easy stuff now.

OK!

Should we rope up?

We're not at Rope-up Terrace yet.

That's where we rope up.

Let's go.

By the book, huh?

Just stupid.

OK.

I forgot to tell you yesterday, but after the operation...

...he came around for a little bit.

He said something.

'I'm right behind you.'

That was you.

That's who he was talking to.

Even now, I'm sure he's right behind you.

Anzai's different from the rest of us. He'll wake up.

Yes.

What did Boss Ito say?

That he'd do all he could.

Push for everything the company owes you. I'll help.

Thank you.

But I don't want to push...

They won't give it if you don't.

I think it was awful how they worked him so hard.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep for the last month.

Do you know someone named Minami Kuroda?

The publisher's old secretary.

They had him chasing around after her.

They did?

Mr Ito was after him every day about it.

I don't know much about it.

The Partition.

Anzai was going to quit, wasn't he.

I think he saw The Partition as a new start.

He said the opposite.

He did?

He said he was afraid.

'Then why climb it?' I asked, and he said, 'To bring Yuuki down.'

Me?

'Me from The Partition, and him from the publisher, ' he said.

'He needs a new start.'

I don't get it.

Minami, phone!

Who is it? If it's that lawyer, I'm not here.

A Mr Yuuki.

What's this about?

Be right back.

Hi.

You're looking well.

I suppose. What will you have?

Nothing, thanks.

I thought you'd quit to get married.

Now I hear it was sexual harassment...

It was more the way he talked.

How far should I go?

Nothing to your disadvantage. I won't repeat what I hear.

I just want to know about Anzai chasing you.

It's not so much to my disadvantage as to yours.

Mine?

You know what happens...

...when 'his' secretary falls for...

...one of 'his' reporters.

I liked you.

A lot.

He's as sharp as a fox, so he sensed right away.

First he told me about the mistakes you'd made when you started.

I thought they were funny, too.

But then...

Go on.

He doesn't know who his father is. He was illegitimate.

So he thinks of me as a father.

Lots of guys go to the big papers in Tokyo, but he never will.

He's my puppy.

His wife is jealous of me.

Someday you'll hate me, too.

It won't work out.

And then?

He talked about my mother?

You might as well know.

Do you know what a panpan girl was?

No, sir.

Or a yopan

I've never heard of either of them.

His mother was a yopan, a prostitute for GIs.

During the Korean War.

He carries a lot of baggage...

...doesn't he.

I'm sorry.

Why?

I feel better now we've talked.

It's my damn job!

So let's talk this out!

It won't work! There's no point!

All you love is newspapers!

Why do I have to go to Switzerland?

Where?

Zurich.

I'm jealous.

All you love is...

...newspapers!

Nakasone, from Gunma!

The first postwar Prime Minister to worship 'war heroes'.

That has to be the line story.

But even if we drop the JAL crash...

...how do we balance Nakasone and ex-Prime Minister Fukuda...

...when they're both from here and compete in the same district?

Don't make it look like we approve!

The good side and the bad side, hit them both.

Yes, sir.

He's never going to get a puppy, that's for sure.

Wait!

Mr Yuuki's secret?

I know! I know!

Then I won't say.

You sure took your time!

What's wrong? He said 4.

I saw Anzai

Forget him!

Look at this!

A survivor's talked about before the crash.

Who?

The JAL purser.

From her testimony, it looks like the tail fin.

What's this?

It's a JAL press release. Why didn't reporters talk to her?

It's the line story.

No! That's Sayama's piece.

Idiot!

This is JAL propaganda. Bury it.

In Local?!

OK, side story on Page 1.

Roger.

You're complaining about no radio?

Think about it! These two scrambled up to the site...

...then scrambled back down, all covered in mud...

...ran all over looking for a phone...

...for Sayama to call in his story.

People see that, you know.

They're impressed.

Proofs!

Put them there.

Did you do that? Nice!

Something wrong?

Drop this.

Why?

It's in bad taste.

But it's just an ad...

Let's not make more waves.

It's a JAL apology.

Drop it.

But...

Take it out!

Don't we have any shame?

Or any feelings?

Right under a crash story?!

Who's the best-loved figure in Gunma?

Not Nakasone, not Fukuda. It's Chuji the bandit!

In England it's not Thatcher, it's Robin Hood.

This is the top story!

Well, uh...

Who buried it?!

People want local heroes.

We create them.

We...

What's this?

What?

Sayama's report. The line story.

Why is it on Local 2?

I don't know.

Like hell!

You-san...

Just who do you think you're talking to?

You! Show some balls!

Stop it...

Red-Okubo is history!

Kowtow now and I'll forget this.

Put it back on Page 1!

It's the Assistant Chief Editor.

Oimura did it.

He moved it?

He won't put a soldier on Page 1.

Where is he?

Upstairs.

Hey!

My apology.

Let go.

The young guys are watching. On the floor.

You owe me one. Now we're even.

This isn't over!

I'm not the family type.

Jun doesn't feel that way. He wants to see you.

Let's not talk about Jun. I'm not in the mood.

All right.

Let's rope up.

I'm in your hands.

All right.

There's no need to advertise the military.

A story with a soldier in it isn't 'advertising'.

Sir, what do you think?

About what?

A line story white-washing our 'Self-Defense Force'.

Bullshit.

Indeed.

It's not white-washing! If you'd read it...

Sayama spent 12 hours on that mountain...

The publisher has made his decision.

At least read it, please!

Let me make it the line story!

Anastasia.

Yes, sir.

Nice face, good fur...

Forget that!?

She's a bit small, though.

Read it!

Get her a big male.

This one...

These two...

As far as exercise...

...that run's big enough.

Anastasia, eh?

No dice.

Thanks for building up our hopes!

August 15th

Lead with Nakasone.

It's only been four days since the crash.

He's the first postwar PM to worship officially at Yasukuni.

Downplay that. It's not just politics or religion.

It's China and Korea.

So what? This is a domestic issue.

It's a church-and-state question.

Mr Shirakawa says he wants it as line story.

What?!

The plane crash just happened to be in Gunma.

JAL itself isn't Gunma.

But if we play up the Shrine visit, what will the Fukuda people say?

We'll have to take a stand.

That's right.

Oimura?

I think it has to be line story.

Yasukuni, but no Self-Defense Force?

Run an opposition piece and an analysis.

Like the Kyodo one?

Kishi, get us something tepid.

How tepid do you want it?

An analysis will drag us into it. Just a piece from the opposition.

Let's check upstairs again.

A paper's a living thing. It has to flow.

Everyone's fixated on the crash. No one cares about Nakasone.

That's a point.

Yuuki...

...you aren't talking.

What do you think?

I don't care.

Bullshit! You're running the whole crash coverage!

If he doesn't care, it's Nakasone.

Screw the 'flow'!

You got everyone together. You got us moving.

Now look after us!

Kamejima...

What?

Sorry I shouted.

Who cares?

Shout all you want.

Today, on the anniversary of the end of World War II...

...the Prime Minister worshiped at Yasukuni Shrine.

The shrine venerates those who led and fought for Japan in its wars.

There's the Prime Minister, with his back to the camera.

Prime Minister Nakasone and the Chief Cabinet Secretary...

...remove their shoes as they enter the shrine building.

Now comes the Welfare Minister.

They are in formal dress.

The Prime Minister's visit to Yasukuni Shrine...

...comes on the 40th anniversary...

...of the end of World War II.

Make up your mind, will you? Shrine or crash?

I need to know soon.

It's up to the Chief.

But why Nakasone? It should be the crash.

If we let it drop now...

...we'll be a joke.

Yeah! At least keep it going as long as everyone else.

It's local, after all.

Yuuki here.

I know the cause.

Who is this?

Tamaki. Remember me?

Oh... I forgot.

The rear pressure bulkhead blew.

It's a hemispherical dome at the back of the plane...

...that maintains cabin pressure.

At high altitudes, the cabin pressure...

...is higher than air pressure outside.

There's a lot of strain on that bulkhead from inside.

Get to the point.

The force...

...blew out the bulkhead. The cabin depressurized...

...and the tail fin was blown off.

Who says?

Professor Okochi.

That's his guess?

No.

The professor himself made a phone call to someone.

Whoa!

No games about sources! He called one of the investigators?

Yes.

Mr Yuuki?

OK, Tamaki. At this point, what you have is 'hearsay'.

I know.

Check...

...double-check.

I'll go to Ueno and ask an investigator.

I'll send a veteran.

I can do it!

Every other paper will be there.

A scoop's like a climb. Weight on each foot, and small steps.

This hill's too steep.

All right.

Stand by.

Roger.

Hey! This is employees only.

I'll have to ask you to leave.

I'm sorry... could I just have a paper?

There's some downstairs.

No one's there...

Take one!

Hey!

There's a vending machine by the elevator.

Thank you so much.

Here.

From the 13th to today. You can have them.

No...

That's fine. Take them.

Hey... where did it go?

What?

Who was messing with these pics?

You mean this one?

Let's go with the crash.

It stays the line story.

Wreaths from both politicians. This is our crash.

520 people died in Gunma!

Right! We go with the crash.

I don't buy it.

A pressure bulkhead? There's got to be more than that.

The investigators aren't making sense. This is a plot.

That's not true.

Good work.

Where are the investigators?

It started raining.

They all went back to Tokyo.

Just for the night?

Probably.

They said there were some Americans coming.

Kishi, any room on the International page?

Why?

Articles on Boeing and the U.S. investigation.

That's front page.

I want to use that for the families.

Hang on...

I can do two or three short ones.

And one from the Transport Ministry for Politics.

Why are you scattering them all through the paper?

I need all the space I can get.

Be ready.

We're running just as much as the big papers.

We've got to do better. That's what local papers are for.

That lady came here...

...because we'll cover the whole thing best.

OK.

Yama...

Put this in Regional.

But this is JAL.

Ueno's Southwest Region. Their Fire Department, Town Hall...

It's perfect.

Give me a break! I've already got the Southwest done.

It's gone?

Not yet.

Then open it up.

So we went with JAL? You're on a roll!

Headline?

Give me 15 minutes. I'll knock you dead.

No rush.

We might have something coming in late.

What?

What caused the crash.

That'll be huge.

It's an outside chance, but keep it in mind.

Roger.

Not a word.

Of course not!

Busy days, huh? All the letters are about the crash, too.

Who's writing?

Mainly regulars.

Could you put together some from people who aren't regulars?

The regulars would complain...

Let's give it a try.

Well, we could use some new letter-writers.

Thanks.

I'll follow them to Tokyo.

No.

Then everyone will know something's going on.

Stay there.

All right. But the bulkhead's definite.

That's just a guess!

Seven years ago that plane came down on its tail.

I think 'maintenance error'.

I don't care what you 'think'. Wait for your back-up.

Yes.

Benjiro, what are you up to?

Nothing.

You don't fool me.

Don't leer at me!

Hi. Where's Sayama?

Sorry I'm late.

Did I ask for that?

It's for tomorrow.

Kawashima's runs tomorrow.

He went up yesterday?

Yeah.

That doesn't mean anything.

The first day was the real crash site.

They've cleaned up all the bodies now.

You don't understand. You've been here, nice and cool.

Kanzawa!

OK. I'll use yours tomorrow if it's any good.

Have that printed up and I'll look at it later.

That's not fair! Your mind's made up!

It's just not fair!

Come with me.

What?

What is this?

What the organs looked like? Think of your readers!

The victims weren't from here.

So?

They won't read it. What's wrong with the truth?

What right have you got to lecture me?

You didn't run our story. What do you have against us?

Nothing.

Then why did it happen?

Wait a few years!

So I'm too new to talk?

Crap!

I get it.

You're mad because you couldn't go, because it was just us.

Yeah, it was a real experience.

Don't act high and mighty from behind your desk.

It was 520 people! 520!

Kawashima's stuff is lies. I wrote the truth.

Bodies, organs, we should have it all...

...so it won't happen again.

Bodies everywhere, as far as you could see!

Now, you listen!

520 people did not die so you could preach!

August 16th

Forget it.

It's done.

Where's Kanzawa?

Resting in the lounge.

Is he OK?

He's with Moriwaki and Nishina. He'd never seen a corpse before.

He's calmed down.

I'll take him home in a while.

Go and eat.

No, I'll stay.

What's going to happen?

Kanzawa's freaked, Tamaki's off snooping...

...and you want a new job...

Get going.

Here.

Again?

Just an hour.

Hi.

I mean 'one hour'.

Oh, shit!

Come on, sit down!

This was a great idea.

What?

It's easier to kowtow on matting.

I have no reason to.

Cheers.

Let the fight begin!

If I were from New York, I'd be at the Times.

It's just another paper.

Maebashi's got the North Kanto News, and New York's got the Times.

Yuuki, do you remember what you said to me?

Mostly.

'Show some balls', you said.

Meaning?

What I said.

Why me?

You're still living on past glories.

So?

That's why you didn't tell me about the presses.

Don't start that again!

What good would it have done? We don't have a radio.

You couldn't have told those two anyway.

You knew by late afternoon. If you'd just told me...

You'd have used Kyodo's?

Yes.

If Sayama knew we couldn't extend the deadline...

...he'd have come down sooner.

He and Kanzawa would have had a by-line article the next morning.

They'd have surpassed you.

Kyodo might have said no.

Or they might not have run into Sayama.

And he might not have made it even if they did.

It would have taken a miracle...

...for that story to run.

Now I get it.

What?

You were thinking up excuses...

...for why you were an asshole and didn't tell me.

Hey...

You killed that miracle, to save Red-Okubo.

Hey!

You started this!

You interfered because we got our asses kicked...

...on those stories.

Who kicked our asses?

The four big national papers.

We beat those guys by a mile!

At the start. Not later.

Once the stories got big enough, they sent in Tokyo staff...

...and got all the good stuff.

You think so, too?!

Todoroki's shouting. We should get in there.

Everything came from the police in Tokyo. Our hands were tied.

Tokyo beat us hands down.

The Red Army, yeah. But they'd left Gunma.

We put up a fight!

All we did was wander around in the mountains looking for them!

I almost froze to death.

We were dreaming to think we could compete.

I hated sitting around drinking, and talking about being scooped.

Up yours!

If you don't like the North Kanto, then quit!

People do.

All the good guys quit and go to Tokyo in disgust...

...while we brag about how we won!

Quiet!

Listen!

Now...

Now, you listen!

We need to talk about how often we get scooped!

Once you admit that, you're dead!

It happens, but you forget it!

Pride!

You need that!

Pride in yourself!

I'm fine!

Remember this!?

Kanzawa!

It's OK. I'll find a phone!

Wait a minute!

I just took my eyes off him for a second...

Just for a second...

Take him outside, will you?

It was in with his train pass.

What was?

The ace of spades.

He found that on Mt Osutaka.

How ironic...

Finding the card of death...

That's not what I mean.

Where have you been? I was calling you.

At least we could run an article about him!

Back to work!

The first movie I ever saw was about a journalist.

Kirk Douglas. He'd ended up in a small town...

...and gotten himself a job.

The old editor was great!

A country type, with a belt and suspenders.

That's what I imagined a father would be like.

'You strike me as a man who checks and double-checks, ' Douglas says.

And the editor says, 'Check and double-check, every word I print.'

'Check, double-check.'

He's what I wanted to be.

How does that involve the ace of spades?

The English title.

'Ace in the Hole'.

I see...

Tamaki struck gold.

What kind?

Know what a 'pressure bulkhead' is?

The half-dome at the back that keeps the cabin pressurized.

She says the pressure blew it out, and it blew off the tail fin.

Who says?

An investigator.

But so far it's just hearsay. A possible cause.

It might be wrong, or it might a world-class scoop.

It's right.

Let's assume that.

Go talk to the investigators.

Let her.

It's too big. I want to be sure.

'Check, double-check'?

'Check, double-check.'

So who?

Who's head of the panel?

Fujinami.

Get it out of him.

Right.

But this is Tamaki's story. I'm just in the background.

I know.

I'm heading back.

Take Sayama.

Fill him in.

Do I have to?

Yes.

Seeing Kanzawa dead made me think.

What?

We cover 520 deaths, but not his.

Yeah.

Let me do this.

No.

He knows nothing about aircraft.

How can he follow technical talk?

He won't be discussing.

But...

It's one chance, yes or no.

Sayama talks to cops 365 days a year.

Plus I'm a woman?

It's what he does.

All right. I'll work with him.

You're support. Report his every move to me.

Why?

Why do I have to give him my story?!

To reach the peak, you need someone holding the rope below.

Shall I drive?

No. I want to go fast.

Papa's in a good mood today, even if Kanzawa's dead.

Who's 'Papa'?

Uh-oh...

You mean the Editor-in-Chief?

Yuuki, the old man's delighted. He loved your front page.

That was a great picture.

I'll look in at the wake tonight.

Today's front: JAL. Anything new?

A moment...

Don't.

Why not?

It won't help Kanzawa.

Silence!

To work. Yuuki...

Lead story: Gunma team wins again...

...playing up the boy's father dying on the way to see him play.

Any more JAL stuff?

U.S.-Japan investigation, state of bodies...

...and return of personal possessions.

Is that all?

Is it time to start thinking of moving on?

JAL's fine for today. Baseball and the families.

But without anything new, tomorrow we drop it.

I didn't like the morning edition.

It was JAL everywhere.

There was even a JAL story in Regional.

What's going on?

It's the one thing where we have a luxury of detail.

Where's the luxury in that?

The local paper needs more detail than anyone else.

I'll use all the space I can.

Who do you think you are?!

You're just running the JAL crash team, remember.

Not the whole damn paper.

What about the other stories?

We're just cutting back on filler.

Don't give me that shit!

Some readers like that 'filler'!

Really?

Listen!

It's variation I'm talking about. How the paper looks.

What are you talking about?

Who cares how it looks?

Meaning?

Take JAL as far as it'll go.

Even when the other papers stop...

...let's have the guts to keep on for another week.

We always do things by halves.

Maybe you.

Who?

Shut up and let me finish.

Let's see this thing through.

We'll never have this crash again.

Let's luxuriate in it.

With Editorial behind it and the jump on the other papers...

...a Newspaper Association Award isn't just a dream!

That makes sense.

Huh?

Well, let's leave it at that for today.

An idea...

Papers in the relatives' waiting area.

That middle-school gym?

There's 2,000 people there. We could give out free copies.

How many? Not 2,000.

500.

Easier said than done.

We should.

The faster the better. Let's start tomorrow.

We'll have to talk to Circulation and Accounts first.

I'll talk to Circulation.

How will that help?

It's a good idea!

Well, well!

Nice front page today.

Was that your idea...

...to balance Nakasone and Fukuda with one photo?

You really put Anzai to work, didn't you.

He was a hard worker.

For whatever you wanted.

Well, that's what staff's for.

I saw his daybook.

Oh?

Ms Kuroda's name was there.

Well, he was good at settling disputes.

And wining and dining vendors, to push more copies on them...

Hey! Don't talk that way.

I was more shocked than anyone to hear about that.

I'll need 500 extra copies for Fujioka starting tomorrow.

What?

We'll give them away free at the relatives' waiting area.

Our delivery people have a full load for the vendors already.

They can't give them out.

All the truck has to do is drop them.

Then it'll be late reaching the vendors.

A few minutes.

That's a big problem.

Everyone's up at 1 or 2 to bag the papers by hand...

...fold them up, put in the ads, and get them to the carriers.

If we're ten minutes late, the phone rings.

We've got deadlines, just like you do.

So you won't do it?

I didn't say that.

Just get it on the presses faster.

You'll do it?

If you guys aren't jerking off upstairs.

Jerking off?

Playing around with stories.

Getting all excited near deadline. Lots of fun, huh?

Anzai wrote...

...about the fun you have with your 'entertainment' budget.

That's how you can pay off Ms Kuroda.

Circulation's a real black hole!

Kid, take it easy.

This is a paper. Make a front page, mix in a few blank pages...

...and we'll still sell it.

We'll be pretty late with the paper tonight, too.

I've sent the story. We just need to confirm.

The meeting's about to start.

I'll wait here.

Tell Mr Yuuki what's happening, and confirm deadline.

Are you sure Red-Okubo won't come back to haunt us?

Just confirm it.

Right.

What?

Mr Yuuki said a scoop was like rock-climbing.

You could see it that way.

My legs are shaking.

But...

I want to climb.

Don't worry. I've got the rope.

Right.

It's Yuuki.

Yes?

It's tonight.

Length?

60 lines. Is 10 p.m. too late for a headline?

Nope.

Thanks.

Yuuki...

It's Tamaki. Mr Sayama's...

...behind the inn. He wants to confirm deadline.

1 a.m. 1:30 if you need it.

1:30 Can you do that?

Tell him.

OK.

How far to the phone?

I've laid out your futon.

Seven minutes.

Right.

Busy?

No.

Then hang in with me.

Tazawa...

This is last call for tonight.

Read that.

Who signs off?

Yesterday it would have been the Editor-in-Chief.

Skipping Oimura and Todoroki?

You don't owe Oimura, and Todoroki killed Sayama's story.

Mr Todoroki...

What?

A breaking story.

Mr Oimura, you follow bicycle racing, don't you?

What?

The cause.

Firm?

We're waiting for confirmation now.

What do we do?

Push deadline back to 1.

If that's not enough, then 1:30. I've told the reporters that.

Koichi Nakano's made of iron! He's still only 29.

He looks older.

Maebashi's a bicycle-racing town. He's a great rider.

So two press runs...

The first run can go with the baseball story.

When we get confirmation, we can stop the presses...

...and redo the front page.

The scoop will only get out to a third of the prefecture, though.

At 1:30, we'll only get out to Maebashi and area.

This story's got to get to the relatives' center in Fujioka.

Yeah.

If we hold that truck till last...

If it comes off the press at 2, it'll reach Ueno by 4.

Circulation will be mad.

I hope so.

Mr Yuuki? Can you hear me?

Slow your rate of climb.

Slowly, slowly...

Can you hear?

Careful!

Mr Yuuki!

That was a great race.

When the bell went for the last lap...

...it was Takeuchi from Gifu and the Chubu team...

'The Chubu Patton Tank', I call them...

And the Kyushu team, Nakano and Inoue, from Genkainada...

OK. The deadline's 1:30.

But put the first run to bed by 12:15.

The new story just goes to Maebashi, Fujioka, and Tano.

Fine.

We'll have to stop the Fujioka/Tano truck.

We know how.

That?

That.

Times have changed.

Got a better idea?

That wasn't keirin bike racing, that was art.

That one...

And then...

...this one?

Excuse me. I'm back again.

Go ahead.

He went in six minutes ago. They're still meeting.

Right.

Got it!

I need the spare, too.

Great!

August 17th

Mr Sayama's by a toilet in the inn. Meeting still in progress.

Right.

Go back behind the place and check every 15 minutes...

Hey!

The presses are 15 minutes late!

Talk to the Chief!

Out!

Don't order me around, you damn yes-man!

Hello? Call the Chief's line, OK?

Yuuki!

Where are my keys?!

Don't rush!

Stay calm!

You can all fuck off!

Wait 15 minutes!

Get downstairs!

What?!

Even a bath won't take away the smell.

It'll last a while.

I'll see you.

Sayama, North Kanto News. It was the rear pressure bulkhead...

...wasn't it.

Yuuki...

I saw Fujinami.

And?

If he was a cop, 'yes'.

He didn't say it?

If I knew him, it'd be 'yes', but I've never seen him before.

He's a professional investigator.

I'm not sure how to read his reaction.

So it's not 100 per cent 'yes'...

It's not 100 per cent.

No...

It is.

But don't you get the feeling something's a bit strange?

Like...

...it's too good to be true?

Hello?

OK.

Well?

Yuuki?

Yuuki!

Yuuki!

Yuuki!

The proof's done.

How's this?

Yuuki...

...are we 'go'?

Print it. Our biggest scoop ever.

What are you waiting for?

Check...

...double-check.

Are you OK?

You OK?

Mr Yuuki!

Can you hear me?

I can't do it.

Yuuki!

Bulkhead Confirmed As Crash Cause

I hear you.

How are you?

Back at the wall.

But... I can't climb it.

I can't get past the overhang.

It's all right! You can.

Look in the hollow in the rock to your right.

You'll see a new silver piton.

Jun put that piton in.

Last month, when he was back...

...we came to check it out.

He said you were probably too old...

...to make this overhang...

...so he put in a new piton.

That piton is Jun!

Stretch out your hand.

You can reach it!

Mr Yuuki?

Mr Yuuki...

You came straight here?

The Mainichi has it. 'Pressure bulkhead caused crash.'

Sorry.

If not for me...

...you and Sayama would be star reporters.

I don't think your decision...

...was wrong.

I wanted to say that.

That's what I hurried here before anyone else to say.

Maybe I was just scared.

May I lie down?

The Transport Ministry confirms the pressure bulkhead blew out.

Gunma School Wins Again

Yuuki, I'd like to say one thing to you.

'Deadline restricted to 12 midnight for one month.'

Who says?

The publisher.

Not because we got scooped.

Boss Ito got to him.

Still, it's a real shame, isn't it.

If we'd gone with it, we'd be celebrating.

So, what about today?

The bulkhead is the line story.

And the baseball team's third game.

The passengers' notes, if that's in time.

What?

They've found notes people wrote to their families before the crash.

We haven't seen any yet, but they've got news value.

Run the Kyodo bulkhead story, and put it on the side.

It stays. We're not quitting just because we were scooped.

That's a pretty tough attitude for a coward.

Every time something big comes you turn and run.

On the beat you'd be told to write a story...

...and you'd always want to check again...

...and lose it time after time.

How many have you got wrong from not checking?

Shut up!

You embarrassed us all in front of the publisher!

That shithead Ito can only talk like he does...

...'cause you're gutless!

Just what do you do around here besides spout hot air?

You shake like a damn leaf!

Write it like a coward. A follow-on, nice and short.

Edit Kyodo down.

No. Our own reporters will fill the whole front page!

What?

The relatives want to know. Let's put everything into this.

OK.

Do it your way.

Riichi! Head for Tokyo.

The publisher won't like this!

Yuuki's finally ready to fight back.

August 18th

Did Bulkhead Rupture Really Cause Crash?

Excuse me.

You look well. What's up, Sayama?

I'm bringing Mr Yuuki some photos the Fire Department took.

Once a loose cannon, always a loose cannon.

The publisher!

The boss!

You know what this is?

A disgrace.

40 years! In 40 years of the North Kanto News...

...I have never seen anything so pitiful.

Who did this?

Well, I guess...

You?

I did.

The issue reflects all our opinions, sir.

Idiot!

I run the JAL desk.

Your pain interests no one.

I'm responsible.

Yuuki!

Sir...

...give him some time to think.

Fool!

What are you all pouting over?

Get off your high horses!

Or I'll switch you all with the staff in Circulation!

Kid...

...was this aimed at me?

I put out a paper.

A paper?

That's a coloring book. It's tracing.

Remember that.

Go do some thinking out in one of the bureaus.

No, I've made up my mind. This is what I came in to do.

Resignation

Look, you can come back to head office whenever you like.

I'm not telling you to quit...

Yuuki, don't!

Go to a bureau and be a wild dog instead of a pet!

Don't quit over this!

Here.

You're team leader. You're running out on JAL?

I won't...

...accept this!

Notes from the passengers.

Yeah?

What do I care?

Is that so?

Give them to the Chief.

I'll read them.

'I am truly sorry. Nothing will save me now.'

'I don't know what's wrong. It's been five minutes.'

'I never want to fly again.'

'Please God, save me.'

'There was smoke, and we went down.'

'What's going to happen?'

'Tsuyoshi, you're in charge.

'Honey, I'm sorry this had to happen.

'Goodbye.

'Take care of the children.'

'It's 6:30.

'The plane is circling, losing height.'

'I am grateful for the happy life I have had.'

'I am grateful for...

'...the happy life I have had.'

Make it the line story.

I could drive you...

No, thanks.

He put in a piton, but didn't come see me.

You could go see him.

He doesn't want to see me.

That's wrong.

Have you ever...

...even once tried to leave Gunma and go see him?

He's waiting.

He's been waiting for years.

The Southern Alps, New Zealand

'The JAL 123 Mystery' by Kazumasa Yuuki

Explanations vary for the crash of JAL123.

Some say the passenger cabin lost pressure; others say it did not.

Calls for a new investigation continue.