Shikatanakatta to Yuute wa Ikan Nodesu (しかたなかったと言うてはいかんのです)

17 May, 1945

Two American POWs have been taken.

Good.

Dr. Torii, we're almost ready.

Yes.

I'm looking forward to your useful results for the country.

I hope you'll wield your skills to the fullest.

Professor, we're ready.

Umm.

Here's a crew from B-29 that carried out the indiscriminate bombing.

He may have suffered lung damage when the bullet penetrated him

so we'll perform surgery.

-Has anesthesia kicked in? -Yes.

-Okay, let's begin. Scalpel. -Yes.

-Gauze. -Yes.

I'm home.

Welcome back.

Dear?

Did something happen?

Dear?

I want to quit the university.

eh?

I can't serve Dr. Ishida as an assistant professor.

What happened?

Today, we did an operation on an American POW at the university.

Dr. Ishida ordered me to help... I thought it was for the treatment.

I didn't know anything.

Removing the right lung.

-Scissors. -Yes.

-Gauze. -Yes.

Blood pressure dropping 60. Pulse 36.

Inject the blood substitute. -Yes.

Blood pressure 80. It's back. Pulse 60.

Colonel Shindo, this is the blood substitute made from seawater.

As you can see, it's very effective.

I see.

Extraction.

One lung of a wounded POW was removed.

It was a clean lung with no burns or scars.

What do you mean?

Maybe they were trying to see how long he could survive on one lung.

Oh, no...

Look.

Humans can live with only one lung.

Okay, that's the second one.

Blood pressure dropping to 40. Pulse... not responding.

Heart massage!

Torii, there's no need for that!

Cardiac arrest.

Expired.

Starting the next surgery.

Torii! What are you doing?

Yes.

He didn't intend to let him live from the beginning...

That POW is dead like that, so as the second one.

That is an experimental operation.

Dear?

Do you think there will be another surgery?

I don't know.

Please don't participate in that kind of surgery.

I beg you.

But I can't go against Dr. Ishida...

Dear.

I don't think we should use prisoners of war for medical experiments, even if they are our enemies.

Yeah

Please promise me that you won't participate in the POW surgery.

Okay, I promise.

13 July, 1946

Dr. Ishida?

Yes, I am.

Take him away.

When the war ended, my husband was arrested by the occupying forces along with

Dr. Ishida, other doctors and soldiers.

Surgeries on American flyers were actually human experiments, weren't they?

A few days after his arrest, Dr. Ishida, the suspected mastermind, took his own life.

All of this was ordered by the military. The responsibility lies with me.

My husband and others were to be tried by Yokohama War Crimes Trials

as war criminals who performed vivisection.

The brutal incident committed by the doctors was severely condemned.

I'd like to ask Dr. Hayashida, a leading figure in medicine.

What do you think a subordinate should do when a professor, orders him to participate

in a surgery that may harm the patient's health?

If I were in that position, I wouldn't participate in such a surgery.

Medicine is to cure, not to kill.

Even if you think the military will punish you if you refuse?

Even if the surgery was ordered by the military,

I would never obey an unjust order.

27 August, 1948

Taichi Torii, Professor of Medicine at Seibu Imperial University.

has been found guilty

of all the crimes for which he's been charged.

Sentenced to be hanged by the neck.

Until his death.

He is guilty of all the crimes for which he is charged.

Sentence: Death by Hanging.

Shikatanakatta to Yuute wa Ikan Nodesu

Go in.

Thank you for your hard work.

I'm Katsuta Fuyuki.

Please ask me anything you want to know about this place.

I'm Taichi Torii.

Mr. Torii, here.

The guard delivered it to me.

It's good that he's a kind man.

Actually, you can't bring anything to death row.

How?

How did I end up here?

I'm sorry, it's Fusako.

Mom!

Fukuoka

Just in time, Fusako. Have dinner.

Thank you for even taking care of the kids' dinner.

Don't worry about it. Come on.

Fusako, you're here.

-Brother. -Umm.

Good evening, everyone.

Today, August 27th, at Yokohama War Crimes Trials,

the verdict of Seibu Imperial University vivisection case was pronounced.

In this case, 8 American POWs were mutilated by

the doctors of Seibu Imperial University School of Medicine

in May 1945 after they were subjected to experimental surgery.

It is said that all of them died.

To the 11 defendants lined up in Courtroom No. 1 of Yokohama District Court.

In this vivisection case, not only the military personnels

but also Prof. Torii of Seibu Imperial University who performed the operation and two other civilians

were sentenced to be hanged.

Dear...

Taichi has been made a professor.

It's wrong.

This verdict is wrong.

Brother, I'm going to Tokyo right away.

I'll take care of the children.

Thank you very much.

Torii, you have a visitor.

Taichi Torii.

Go right in.

Dear

I'm surprised.

Why such a verdict?

I don't know what's going on...

I feel like I've been hit in the head from behind and can't think of anything...

You were an assistant professor, but you're going to be executed as the mastermind.

Isn't something wrong?

I'm definitely not the mastermind.

That's right.

If Prof. Ishida hadn't committed suicide,

and had told the truth in court, none of this would have happened.

Prof. Ishida took responsibility for his own actions.

It's not a joke.

You're the one who's going to take the blame for this instead.

I didn't do anything to deserve the death penalty.

It's Torii.

Come in.

Are you having a visitor? I'm sorry.

I've just finished my business.

So? What do you want?

Are you going to have another surgery like the other day?

Yeah, what about it?

Shouldn't a surgery like that be done at a military hospital?

If we were involved in the surgery,

we'll be in big trouble later.

Torii

Then Prof, I'm leaving.

Excuse me.

All you have to do is follow my orders.

Please tell the military to stop bringing POWs to the university.

I think the military will listen to you.

Torii, think carefully. This is an opportunity to advance medicine.

An opportunity?

Yes.

We're dealing with B-29 flyers who repeatedly perform indiscriminate bombings.

They're prisoners of war to be executed anyway.

We'll use the U.S. soldiers who killed so many Japanese for medical advances to save the Japanese.

Don't you think that's much better than just executing them?

Prof., I still don't think this is the right thing to do.

You know what happens when you go against the military.

We'll perform the surgery. Help me!

There was nothing I could do.

Torii, it was a misery for us.

We're in this mess because of Prof. Ishida's irresponsible suicide.

Shut up!

How am I supposed to die in such a place?

I never thought Shindo would talk to me...

You know Colonel Shindo too?

Yes, I was in Western Army, too.

I see.

We have a number of people who were put here on his orders

for killing American soldiers.

They were just following orders.

Quiet!

General Okajima!

Fuyuki

May I interrupt you for a moment?

Please come in.

Excuse me.

Torii, this is Lieutenant General Okajima.

I'm Kosuke Okajima.

Do you hate military officers?

No, not at all...

Torii, thanks to General Okajima,