Shi no Hasso

Shi no Hasso (Japanese: 死の発送) is a Japanese television movie that premiered on Fuji TV on May 30, 2014. The production is based on the novel Kawaita Haishoku, written by Seicho Matsumoto and originally serialized in the magazine Shukan Koron between April 10 and August 21, 1961.

Plot

The story follows reporters Takehara, played by Osamu Mukai, and Aki Tsumura, played by Manami Higa, who work for the magazine Shukan Dodongo. Their editor-in-chief assigns them to track Shohei Okase, a former bureaucrat recently released from prison. Okase had been imprisoned seven years prior for the embezzlement of 1 billion yen, of which 300 million yen remained unaccounted for by investigators. The editorial team suspects that Okase will lead them to the hidden funds.

During their surveillance, the reporters lose track of Okase near a street of high-end restaurants after he visits a racehorse training center. Shortly thereafter, Okase is discovered strangled to death in a cemetery in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture. Investigating the connection, the reporters and their editor visit the training center, where they identify the stable owner as Ryuzo Nishida and the horse owner as politician Torahei Tateyama. The investigation takes a turn when the editor-in-chief abruptly ceases his interest in the case, and a second body is discovered inside a suitcase in a forest in Mizusawa, Iwate Prefecture.

Cast

Osamu Mukai as Reporter Takehara
Manami Higa as Reporter Aki Tsumura
Akira Terao as Chief Editor Jiro Yamazaki
Ren Osugi as Lawmaker Torahei Tateyama
Susumu Terajima as Ryuzo Nishida
Takashi Yamanaka as Hideo Sueyoshi
Mayumi Asaka as Fumiko Yamazaki
Satoru Matsuo as Osamu Yokokawa
Yasuhi Nakamura as Suzuki
Toshihiro Yashiba as Shohei Okase
Yuko Ito as Tamaya
Bengal as Yoichiro Usuda
Masanobu Sakata as Kuwabara