Hiroto makes an instant connection with his boss and convinces him to help him set up a trap to find the mole who works for Tozawa. Hiroto still ignores Jake’s overtures, but Ishida warns his men not to break the peace accord signed with Tozawa. ..
Miyamoto becomes a hero for catching Shoda’s killer. Eimi senses a larger conspiracy at play here and investigates further. Miyamoto gets news of Hiroto’s preparations of arresting Tozawa. He is told that Hiroto has enough evidence to nail him. Samantha is getting scared for Polina. She requests Sato to look into the matter.
Jake and Dave meet up later that night and discuss the case. They are both interested in the Shoda family, but they are not sure if they can trust Miyamoto. Jake is worried about what he may find out, but Dave reassures him that everything is locked up and there is no way to get access to it. They decide to meet up again the next day so that Jake can take a look at the evidence himself.
Sato receives a phone call from his brother informing him that their father has suffered a heart attack. Sato visits his father but is kicked out by his mother. The family is ashamed of Sato’s association with the Yakuza and Sato feels embarrassed. Meanwhile, Tozawa prepares for his birthday celebrations. Tozawa is once again seen taking injections for his condition. At the celebrations, Miyamoto pays him a visit. Miyamoto updates him about Hiroto’s ongoing arrest plans. Tozawa instructs him to find out the details and get back to him, threatening, if he does otherwise, to expose him. ..
Jake takes out Dave to a nightclub. There he spots Misaki without the bodyguards. They dance together and leave for a restaurant. Sato and Samantha reach Akira’s workplace. He beats him and extracts the information on Polina’s whereabouts. Akira discloses that Pol’s debt was unmanageable. To repay it, she has been sent to a place called Koshina. Samantha presses Sato to get more information from the manager of the establishment. He sees Tozawa’s men in the club and decides to leave it before things take a turn for the worse.
Tozawa collapsed at his birthday celebrations, probably because of the effects of the medicine wearing off. Jake scans the morning paper for Eimi’s story on Shoda. He finds it on the second last page. He goes to Eimi’s home and they share frustrations over the paper’s priorities.
In the final sequence of the episode, Samantha goes to Jake’s apartment for help with Polina. Miyamoto, on Tozawa’s behest, breaks into the locker room in the basement, only to find an empty box with “Case Files” written over it. He discovers a hidden camera watching him and Hiroto watching the recording, his trap being a success. ..
The Episode Review
Tokyo Vice is gradually becoming more than just a show about an American reporter caught in between a burning Yakuza clan war. It is now showing the true measure of Adelsetien’s book about Tokyo and its viciousness. We have now steadily graduated to seeing on screen a stark picture of the town and its ways that do not adhere to virtues. The plot took a more relaxed turn in the episode. The only major development was the confirmation of Hiroto’s suspicions about a mole on the force. His lack of expression suggests he saw Miyamoto’s real face a long time ago.
In ‘Tokyo Vice’s universe, the choices that brought characters like Kenichi and Tatsuya to the door of the city’s criminal underbelly were their own to make. Now is the time to own up to them because the storm that awaits them will not be as sympathetic.
In the 1990s, the Japanese police and organized crime had a symbiotic relationship. The Yakuza were the most powerful gang in Japan, and they needed the police to protect them from rivals. The police would provide protection for the Yakuza, and in return, the Yakuza would provide information to the police. This arrangement worked well for both sides until one of the partners disappeared. This motif is repeated in other cities around Japan. In Osaka, for example, reporters bought information from policemen on how to get into city government buildings. In Tokyo, men like Hiroto took out policemen on lunch dates in order to gain information about their rivals. And in Kobe, men like Miyamoto became pawns to the fancies of organized crime groups.
A deeper, more pressing truth about gender biases within Japanese institutions and systems is also brought out. These biases led to the death of Shoda. Countless more suffered a similar fate. The inaction and indifference are replicated in the print world also. Eimi defending the indefensible ethics of journalism uncovered the larger hypocrisy of the town. ..
Tokyo Vice is a dark and gritty look at the world of nightlife in Japan. It has an amazing way of leveling things, making everyone on the same footing and showing us the impact of the world on its characters. Hiroto, the only conscious voice in this book, remains unchanged despite all of the changes happening in Tokyo. He is a strong and stalwart character who stands against skewed priorities.
Jake’s reluctance and despair in seeing remnants of his old life were shocking. It goes on to showcase that even he is not reliable to trust. When calling Hiroto’s home, he was not disappointed because he couldn’t get to him. He was disappointed because he wasn’t working and had no excuse to avoid meeting his friend. Jake is in denial and internally traumatized with guilt over his family and his lack of attention. The broken characters provide a window into the soulless spirit of the city. A chilling turn of events awaits us.
