August without Emperor (皇帝のいない八月)

Shochiku Presents

HIGHWAY No.4, IWATE PREFECTURE 1 AM, AUGUST 14th

Calling all patrol cars.

A car crash near Koma on Highway No.4.

Patrol cars near that area, go there.

Koma, it's far.

It's easy to get away in this fog.

Let's go.

Damn! Chase them!

This is Prefectural Police No.8.

We're chasing a truck on Highway No.4, southbound.

- Copy. Truck's number please. - Copy.

AUGUST WITHOUT EMPEROR

Produced by Shigemi Sugisaki Tokuko Mikayo, Kanji Nakagawa

Based on the Novel by Kyuzo Kobayashi

Written by Nobuo Yamada, Masayuki Shibuya, Satsuo Yamamoto

Photographed by Noritaka Sakamoto

Music by Masaru Sato

Edited by Yoshi Sugihara

Starring

Tsunehiko Watase

Sayuri Yoshinaga

Etsushi Takahashi Kei Yamamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki

Kensaku Morita, Toshiyuki Nagashima

Morio Kazama, Shinichiro Mikami Isao Hashimoto

Shigeru Koyama, Mizuho Suzuki

Eiji Okada, Hideji Otaki

Kiyoshi Atsumi

Osamu Takizawa

Shin Saburi

Tetsuro Tanba, Eitaro Ozawa Rentaro Mikuni

Directed by Satsuo Yamamoto

KAGOSHIMA 10:30 AM

SID (Military Police) Chief, Self-Defense Forces TAMEICHIRO EMI

How time flies. It's been 7 years...

since Nobuko died.

Time flies. It's just like yesterday.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

I'm Ota, 12th Squadron of Kokubun.

I'm Emi.

There's a phone call from Tokyo.

They want you to contact them immediately.

Please come with me.

Thank you.

TOKYO PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

YASUHISA TOSHIKURA Chief, Cabinet Investigation Office

Cabinet Investigation Office...

is an espionage section for the Prime Minister.

It has its eyes inside Japan and outside.

But its activity...

is kept secret from the Japanese people.

Yes.

A moment please.

From Kagoshima.

I'm Toshikura. Sorry to disrupt your trip.

There's an incident in Morioka this morning. A patrol car was burnt.

Shots from machine gun were found at the scene.

Emi, can you hear me?

I can hear you.

Iwate police contacted us.

Seidai police seals off the area and looks for evidence.

It looked like an accident caused by the fog.

No pistols of gangs. No Molotov cocktails.

Machine gun.

Please get back to Tokyo now.

I have the permission from your chief.

All right.

A helicopter will take you to Iwakuni.

A freight plane is there to take you to Tokyo.

I'll be right back.

- Sorry I'm late. - Please hold.

From your subordinate.

Special Unit Team A 16 members are missing.

Retired members of the same team, 6 missing.

What?

Please tell me the names of those missing retired members.

Alright. Masahiro Iwasaki.

Kazuto Shimura.

Tadashi Tojo.

Akimasa Fujisaki.

Akimasa Fujisaki?

Hello?

Please take me to Fukuoka first.

Yes.

HINATA SABASHI Prime Minister

"Personnel Sabashi",

Prime Minister Sabashi is famous for his resilience.

His economic policies failed and failed,

plus his covering up of country K's corruption,

diminished his popularity vastly.

Election is coming in 4 months. Conservatives and reformists are 50-50.

There are rumors that his Minsei Party is splitting up.

After lunch, a meeting with the...

town leaders of the future nuclear plant site.

- After 2... - OK.

Any updates from Toshikura?

Oh, you didn't know that.

What is it?

Never mind.

HAKATA 12 PM

Boots sold very well last year.

But the economy's bad this year.

It'll be tough.

This fall will see a wide range of short boots.

Any expectations?

Oh yes.

You see anything fresh in this?

The colour, material and technology became better. Take a look.

The overnight express is full, he's put on the waiting list.

They say there may be seats on "Sakura".

Please go to the station as soon as you can.

OK.

Sorry to get you here.

No, thanks for the business.

This ad costs too much...

You can cancel it, if you like.

What is it?

My photo will be there?

The October issue, and real big.

FUKUOKA BASE OF 4th REGIMENT

Let's hear the surveillance report of Fujisaki.

Yes.

The 1st week of August.

August 1st and 2nd. For his delivery business, he spent...

the night outside the region.

He went to Tokuyama of Yamaguchi. Setouchi Transport Co.

What he delivered is on another sheet.

He stopped at Motel Ai. He met nobody.

No surveillance on August 3rd.

August 4th. A meal with friends at Iwaki Restaurant in Nakasu.

He recently joined a fishing club. These are members.

12 of them. No special unit members.

Their names and addresses are on another sheet.

The meal cost 48,200 yen.

Here's a copy of the receipt.

This is just a list of facts!

Needless to say, special unit members are plotting something.

It's either left-wing radicals, or right-wing ones and their sympathizers.

Don't leave those in Class A,

especially Fujisaki out of your sight.

Problem is, what is he planning to do?

Can you find it out?

DEFENSE MINISTRY

The Defense Ministry is in "civilian control",

that is, it's controlled by bureaucrats.

The General Meeting of the Chiefs of Staff...

combines the army, navy and air forces.

It is a big organization...

with the functions of the pre-war Army, Navy and Home Base Ministries.

Army General MIKAMI Chief, General Meeting

In recent years, soldiers have a bigger say in things.

Chief.

The analysis of the relationships of high-ranking soldiers...

with politicians is coming out on the screen.

Here's the power structure.

From the police.

Major highways in Tokyo are being monitored. Up to 1 PM,

no such truck was found.

6,000 warehouses in Tokyo were searched.

Report at 7 PM.

Too slow. But never mind.

Information is coming in like jigsaw pieces.

Yes.

I'm Matsutani, from Army Tech Research.

Thanks for coming. Show me now.

Here's the patrol car.

Such destruction...

isn't from an auto rifle, but a machine gun.

The patrol car was moving and shot at a short distance.

Could be within 10 metres.

It was 23 degrees up from the patrol car.

Minus 12 degrees from the shooter.

On the left, patrol car's bullet holes.

On the right, machine gun bullets of our Defense Forces.

And?

The left one...

is a 5.56 mm NATO bullet.

Actually...

What?

Such bullets aren't used in Japan.

Not used in Japan?

Then what?

Hello.

Honey?

Where are you?

Hakata.

Two more jobs.

Too late for Shinkansen. I'll take the night train.

The Sakura, probably.

You have clean socks to wear?

Dirty!

No!

I'll be in Tokyo at 11:30 AM.

I'll buy you gifts.

FUKUOKA CASTLE

- No.3 on 1st floor. - Wait for me.

AKIMASA FUJISAKI

Dad.