Authors: Hideo Yokoyama
In an instant the room filled with press. The
Asahi
,
Mainichi
,
Yomiuri
,
Tokyo
,
Sankei
and the
Toyo
. Then the local press: the
D Daily
, the
Zenken Times
,
D Television
and the
FM Kenmin
. Their overlapping faces were all hard set. Some were openly glaring, their shoulders tense and angry in a way that suggested their more recent cooperation with Mikami was weakening, too. The majority were reporters in their twenties. It was during times like this that Mikami felt an aversion for their youth, for the way it allowed for such brash behaviour. The reporters from
Kyodo News
and Jiji Press filed into the room a little behind the others. The reporter from the
NHK
was there, too, at the back of the crowd and sticking halfway into the corridor, craning his neck to see in.
All thirteen member agencies of the Press Club were in attendance.
‘Let’s get on with it.’ A surge of disgruntled voices rose from the crowd and the two men at the front, both with the
Toyo
, took a step closer. As the Press Club’s representative for the month, it was the
Toyo
’s place to lead proceedings.
‘Director Mikami. First, we’d like to hear a proper explanation for your sudden departure yesterday.’ Tejima, who had donned a suit jacket, launched the first question.
Toyo. Assistant Chief. University H. Twenty-six. No ideological background. Deadly serious. Tends to overconfidence.
Tejima’s entry in Mikami’s notebook.
‘Suwa told us you had a relative in a critical condition. Perhaps
so – but does that really justify you getting up and leaving without a single word? And as we’ve heard nothing from you since, I can’t help thinking that your treatment of us is—’
‘Sorry,’ Mikami interrupted. He hated recalling the reason he had left and to have the press asking about it.
Tejima glanced at Akikawa, who was to his side.
Toyo. Chief. University K. Twenty-nine. Left-leaning. Never gives up. De facto leader of the Press Club.
Akikawa looked nonchalant, his arms folded. He preferred to act big, let the others get on with the heavy lifting.
‘Am I correct in assuming that you’re offering an apology?’
‘That’s right.’
Tejima studied Akikawa’s expression for a second time, then turned to face the others. Ready to ask their opinion, he began, ‘Are you all—’
That’ll do, let’s get on with it.
He nodded at their silent gestures to carry on, then proceeded to open a photocopied sheet he’d been holding over Mikami’s desk.
Details of a Serious Car Accident in Oito City.
Mikami had no need to check the document. It was a copy of the press report the office had put up a day earlier. A housewife had been distracted while driving her car and hit an elderly man, resulting in severe, full-body injuries to the victim. While road accidents were common enough in themselves, the details of this particular case had become a cause of conflict with the press.
‘Let me ask again – why have you kept the identity of the female driver hidden? You must know you have an obligation to disclose her full details?’
Mikami locked his fingers and met Tejima’s icy stare. ‘As I explained yesterday, the woman is eight months pregnant. She has been in a state of extreme distress since causing the accident. We can’t know how she might react to the shock of seeing her name in the papers, on top of everything else. That is why we haven’t revealed her name.’
‘That is not a valid reason. You’ve even kept her address secret – all we have is “Oito City”. Mrs A, housewife, thirty-two years old. That’s all you’ve given us . . . how can we be sure she even exists?’
‘Of course she’s real, and that’s exactly why we must consider the effect this might have on her unborn baby. Tell me what’s wrong with that.’
They seemed to take Mikami’s counter-argument as arrogance. Tejima’s expression darkened and the room bustled angrily. ‘Since when has that been something the police have to think about? It’s an unnecessary consideration.’
‘The woman is not under arrest. The man had stepped on to the road in a place with no pedestrian crossing. And he’d been drinking.’
‘The fact remains that the driver wasn’t watching the road. And here, you describe the man’s condition as “serious”, where it should say “critical”. The old man, Meikawa, he’s in a coma, after all.’
Mikami glanced at Akikawa from the corner of his eye. How long was he planning to let Tejima rant for?
‘Director Mikami, you need to level with us. This isn’t something we can just turn a blind eye to; the potential consequences are too big. We have a duty to question the driver’s responsibility in this instance.’
Mikami returned his gaze to Tejima, who was still doggedly persevering. ‘So, you want to pass sentence on her by bandying her name around in the papers?’
‘Come on, there’s no need to put it like that. That’s not what we’re saying. What we’re saying is that it’s wrong for the police to make a unilateral decision to withhold a person’s name and address. Whether we print the driver’s name or not should be up to us, after we’ve had the chance to weigh it against the public good.’
‘Why exactly can’t we make that decision for you?’
‘Because the facts of the case become obscured. Without the details of the people involved – their names, addresses – we have no means of verifying that the information you provide is correct, or if the cases are properly closed. Also, if the Prefectural HQ gets into a routine of issuing anonymous reports, who’s to say the district stations won’t start cutting corners in their own statements? Thinking of the worst-case scenario, withholding information like this could be used to bend the truth, even as part of a police cover-up.’
‘A police cover-up . . .’
‘Listen, all we’re saying . . .’ Yamashina’s lanky frame shouldered in from the side.
Zenken Times. Provisional Chief. University F. Twenty-eight. Third son of a secretary to a member of the Diet. Charmer. Loser.
‘. . . is that when someone seems desperate to hide something, well, you start to wonder. Maybe she’s the daughter of someone important. Maybe they’re going easy because the old man was a drunk.’
‘You’re being ridiculous,’ Mikami said, his voice unwittingly loud.
Yamashina just shrugged, while other voices boiled over.
You’re the ridiculous one! Of course we’re suspicious when you insist on hiding everything! Were the names of pregnant women withheld before? No. We demand a proper explanation!
Mikami ignored the jeering. If he opened his mouth he would end up shouting, too.
‘Let’s see, Mikami,’ Akikawa said finally. He took his time, unfolding his arms. It stank of drama, as though to suggest that their star performer was about to take the stage. ‘What you’re afraid of is . . . the police coming under public censure if something were to happen to the woman or her unborn child because her name had come out in the press.’
‘That’s not it. There are simply some circumstances in which a person involved has the right to privacy.’
‘The right to privacy?’ Akikawa scoffed. ‘Let me get this
right . . . you think we should be discussing the rights of the guilty party?’
‘Yes.’
Again the room descended into commotion.
Come on! As if you understand that! Isn’t disregarding human rights a particular forte of the police? Who are you to lecture us on that?
‘I don’t understand why you’re so worked up. You know the trend in reporting is increasingly heading towards anonymity. You employ it all the time – on TV, in the papers. Why are you so against us making the decision?’
That’s just arrogance. The police don’t have the right. Don’t you understand anything about press freedom? Anonymous police reports infringe on the public’s right to know.
‘Come on, Mikami, just give us her name. We’re not going to print it if she really is in bad shape.’ Yamashina spoke over them again. This time his tone was conciliatory. ‘It’s not as if it makes any difference in the end. We’d still do our research, get her name and address, even if you were to withhold her details. I imagine it would be harder on her, too – as we know she’s pregnant – if we had to find out from her directly.’
‘Director Mikami, let’s just get this clear,’ Tejima implored, speaking up the moment Akikawa refolded his arms. His forehead was oiled with sweat. ‘Are you willing to consider giving us the woman’s identity?’
‘No.’ Mikami’s answer was immediate. Tejima’s eyes grew wide.
‘Why not?’
‘You know, she was in tears when she pleaded with the officer in charge, asking him not to talk to the press.’
‘Hey! Don’t make us out to be the bad guys.’
‘That’s how scary it is. To face having your name in the papers.’
‘That’s unwarranted. You’re just trying to shift the blame.’
‘You can say what you want. We’re not giving you her name. The decision has already been made.’
The room fell silent. Mikami stood ready for an angry backlash. But . . .
‘You’ve changed, Mikami.’ Akikawa had switched tack. He placed his hands on Mikami’s desk and leaned forwards, his expression grave. ‘We expected things from you. You weren’t like your predecessor, Funaki. You never tried to ingratiate yourself with us, nor did you ever suck up to your superiors. Honestly . . . we were impressed with you after your transfer in. But then you seemed to give up, become indifferent. Now you tow the party line. What happened?’
Mikami was silent. He stared into empty space, loath for them to notice his hesitation. Akikawa continued.
‘You were the one to call Media Relations a “window”. It’s a hard pill to swallow when the same press director chooses to follow official policy blindly, like all the other officers. Without someone willing to listen to us in the outside world, someone who has the nerve to be objective and make a stand, the police will never be anything more than a closed-off black box. Are you happy with that?’
‘The window’s still there. It’s just not as big as you thought.’
Disappointment flashed over Akikawa’s face. Mikami realized that, rather than seeking to attack or condemn, Akikawa had been making a genuine appeal. His eyes were dispassionate when he returned his gaze to Mikami.
‘Okay. I want to know one more thing.’
‘What?’
‘Your
personal
opinion on anonymous reporting.’
‘Personal, official – the distinction’s irrelevant. The answer’s the same.’
‘You really believe that?’
Mikami was silent again. Akikawa said nothing. Each probed the other’s eyes. Five, ten seconds. Time seemed to slow down. Finally, Akikawa gave a deep nod.
‘Your position is clear enough.’ He looked around the
reporters behind him for a while before turning back to face Mikami. ‘Then I formally request, representing the consensus of the Press Club, that you reveal the identity of the woman. We ask this not of you but of the Prefectural HQ.’
Mikami’s eyes provided his answer:
you know the decision
.
Akikawa nodded again.
‘“Give them the woman’s name and they’ll run it in the papers.” Meaning you, the police, have no trust in us whatsoever. Yes?’
The words came out sounding like an ultimatum. Akikawa turned his back on Mikami. The reporters began to file out of the room, their heels loud.
Don’t think we’re going to stand for this.
A brooding disquiet was all that remained in the cramped room.
Had they meant to threaten him?
Mikami let out a heavy sigh; he took the copy of the press report from the desk, scrunched it up and tossed it into the bin. The confrontation had been unlike anything that had come before. Their attacks had been personal. It was the first time he’d seen them seem so thirsty for blood, and he felt all the more irritated for it. Nobody had died; it was just a car accident. News they would hardly have paid attention to if it hadn’t become embroiled in the question of anonymous reporting. It was small fry, the kind of news even local papers might not even cover these days.
The office went back to having enough room for its occupants. Suwa’s eyes were scouring the paper. He looked as if he wanted to say something but made no attempt at eye contact. Kuramae and Mikumo were both busy finishing work on the bulletin, their deadline looming. They seemed to be waiting for Mikami’s mood to settle. Or perhaps they simply felt sorry for him. All three had heard Akikawa’s words.
You’ve changed, Mikami.
Mikami lit a cigarette, crushing it after a couple of drags then drinking down the rest of his cold tea. They’d finally put it in words. For a while now, he’d had the strong suspicion that the press would eventually give up on him.
Back to square one.
He felt indignant as the realization took hold. But perhaps that was nothing more than the result of having overestimated their relationship from the beginning. It was as though he’d hallucinated
an oasis in the desert. He hadn’t forged enough of a relationship to claim it was broken. The trust between them had been frail enough for a gust of wind to sweep it away. And he would still struggle to answer if someone asked whether his built-in animosity for the press had faded during his time reforming Media Relations.
He had been unlucky, too. Anonymous reporting was tricky. It had become an issue for the police on a national basis. That his turn had come now, when the faith the press had in him had begun to erode, was particularly unfortunate. The woman’s name was in a drawer in his desk: Hanako Kikunishi. District had included it when faxing in their report, but a call had come in from the station’s second-captain within half an hour of it arriving.
Sorry to bother you. The woman’s pregnant, could you keep her anonymous this time?
Mikami called for Suwa to come over. ‘How do you think that went?’
Suwa knotted his eyebrows. ‘They did get a little worked up.’