"Daiei Co., Ltd." "A Daiei/Yomiuri TVProduction" "In association with Video Planning" "Nobody around!" "That's a relief!" "What the hell?" "Come over here!" "Anyone!" "What do you think you're doing?" "What're you doing?" "Hey, watch out!" "Hey, you!" "What the hell are you doing?" "Are you talking to me, retard?" "You shouldn't dump garbage here..." "Are you stupid?" "It stinks..." "What is this?" " Why are you crying?" " I'm not crying." " You're crying!" "Don't talk so self-important, you garbage!" "Watch it!" "What are you doing?" "That's dangerous." "Who are you?" "He's a cop!" "Run!" " Catch them!" " Why?" " They dumped garbage here!" " Quick, please!" " Why should I catch them?" " Aren't you a cop?" "I can't really see..." "Post Office Passbook!" "What?" "!" "It's from the Post Office." "Hey!" "What's going on?" "Mayor!" "Where've you been?" " I was asleep." " It was terrible!" "These punks came and dumped garbage and hit out as us." "Then... then this man saved us with his Post Office Passbook." "Post Office Passbook?" "Why don't you join us for a drink?" "Good idea!" " Come on, mister!" " It's on us!" " You got hit?" " 'Fraid so." " Are you okay?" " No, I got hurt." "But I got their license plate number." "Tomorrow, I'll find out who they are." "It bugs me, that punk was almost crying!" " Here." " Thanks." "You think it's dirty?" "No..." "I..." "It's all right..." "We're cleaner than we look." "We have a flush toilet, and we take baths twice a week." "Actually, some don't..." "They're afraid of catching colds if they get too clean." "Can't afford to get sick; nobody here has money to pay for a doctor." "So we make sure all the food is well-cooked." "I didn't really..." "Thank you." " Take it easy, man." " Here you are, mayor." "Thanks!" "Looks good!" "But where's the meat?" " No meat?" " Sorry?" "Gotcha!" "I'll give him a hand." " What did he do?" " Meaty-meaty!" "All right, let's drink all night!" "Let's toast!" "Cheers!" "SHANGRI-LA (JAPAN GOES BANKRUPT)" "Based on the novel by AOKI Yuji" "Screenplay by TAKAHASHI Masakuni" "AIKAWA Sho" "SANO Shiro" "TOKUI Yu" "MUROI Shigeru" ""UWAZOKO-YA DECLARES BANKRUPTCY"" "Directed by MllKE Takashi" "What's up?" "You guys are early today!" "Morning, boss." "We'll be done by lunchtime." "This time you'll give us a bonus, right?" "For sure, please!" "I'll do my best." "Take care!" "Take care!" "Who the hell do they think they are?" " Uwazoko-ya has gone bust!" " What?" "!" "So the rumours were true!" "What are we going to do?" "We depend on that contract!" "We're due 10 million yen from them at the end of the month!" "We won't get it." "It takes weeks for the Civil Rehabilitation Law to kick in." " Too slow to help us." " Then it's hopeless." "So we'll go bust too?" "That's horrible!" "I can't bear it!" "Calm down, calm down!" "We've been dealing with Uwazoko-ya since my dad's time... the chairman won't let us down." "He'll make sure we're paid at the end of the month." "Isn't that right, dad?" "I'll go see the chairman." "Are the media still outside?" "Yes, they're very persistent, I must say." "Umemoto of Umemoto Printers, sir!" "Let him in." "Sorry to come in like this, sir." " We could report you for breaking and entering!" " Pardon?" "Sorry for causing you any inconvenience, Mr. Umemoto." "Not at all, sir - you must be under terrible strain yourself." "Thank you for saying so." "How much do we owe Mr. Umemoto?" "10 million yen, sir." "Chairman, I hate to ask you for a favour... but can you please honour our month-end invoice?" " For the sake of our long friendship?" " Can we?" "No, we can't." "All the company's assets are in the hands of the Receiver." "Chairman, please!" "I don't care what happens to me, but I can't let down my five staff!" "I beg you, Chairman!" "Please!" "You heard, didn't you?" "No can do!" "Just be good and go home." "Sir..." "You thought the chairman would pay up?" "Are you stupid?" "!" "Keep me out of it!" "You can't squeeze anything out of me, whatever happens!" "We certainly don't want to cause you any trouble." "But that's exactly what you are doing!" "The loan we took out together isn't repaid yet, is it?" "And it must be repaid, no matter what... or they'll come after me for my kidneys and eyeballs!" "I'm telling you, we'll find a way!" "And what about my brother?" "He co-signed for the loan from Shako!" "They'll definitely demand the 9 million yen repayment from him." "His convenience store isn't doing well;" "he can't afford it." "Sir, can't you help?" "The law isn't there to help people in trouble, you know." "There must be some way to help him." "There are three possibilities..." "Three?" "First, you come up with the 9 million and then declare bankruptcy." "Second, your brother raises the money." "And the third?" "You and your brother both declare bankruptcy." "I guess you could call it a flush-toilet..." "Hello there!" " What are you doing?" " The laundry." " Laundry?" " Yes!" "This works like a charm, you know." " You people are so cheerful..." " That's right, thanks to the Mayor." "We'd be in the gutter without him." "We cook for everybody, so no-one starves." "And the Mayor always finds a way to settle disputes." "Who is he, this Mayor of yours?" "I don't know much about him..." "I don't really care." " Mayor, thanks for everything." " Not at all." "My pleasure." "You want to join me in a bath?" " No... no, thanks." " Come again!" "Idiot!" "What makes you think he'd want to come back?" " Mayor, sorry it took me so long." " You're back." "Want to join me?" "This is no time for jokes." " You found out who they were?" " Sure I did!" "I used to be a private eye!" "It was a piece of cake!" "The truck belongs to Watanabe Productions." "Really?" "That's a front organisation for the Seiryu mob." "It is?" "I went to their office and threatened to go to the cops." "They got really mad at me, scared me shitless!" "This means war." "War?" "They have a bike gang..." "they'll come and attack us." "Really?" "For sure." "'Suicide note'" "Nobody's home." "Must've scared them off, huh?" "Who do you think you are?" "Gotcha!" "Banzai!" "Banzai!" "Fuck you!" "Oh my God!" "Are you okay?" "No, don't pull it!" "But it hurts!" "Shit, we can't cope with this!" "He has to see a doctor." "What doctor will help us?" "I'll take care of this!" "Get a cart!" "Excuse me... you can use my car." " Are you sure?" " That's my car." "That's very kind!" "Okay, over to the car!" "Thanks very much!" "Ready to go?" " What the hell is this?" "!" " Can't breathe, man!" "Shit, what is this?" "Are you okay?" "What the hell!" "You won't get away with this!" "He'll kill the lot of you!" "Really?" "How interesting." "We don't like violence... so we'll punish you by giving you a shave." "Stop it, you retard!" "Stop it!" "So we'll have meat for dinner tonight!" "What do you think you're doing?" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "I'm sorry!" "I'll do anything you say!" "Please don't!" "Please!" "Fine!" "Then call your No. 5 brother." " Call him?" " That's right... he has to come over to collect you guys." "No way!" "That's too humiliating!" "I'd rather die!" "Really?" "Then what about this..." "Dozens of schoolgirls will be passing this way any time now..." "You can bear that?" "There's someone there already." "Don't look!" "Sorry about this..." "See?" "What do you say?" "Okay, I'll make the call." " We're there!" " Come on, this way." " You'll be okay now." "Hang on, this doesn't look right." "Internal medicine, surgery, dermatology, urology..." "Horses, cows, birds..." "Hachiko Hospital... dogs in pain..." " Isn't this an animal hospital?" " So?" "Bring him in!" "They called to say he's fine." "He got good treatment at a hospital - nothing to worry about." "Here they are now!" "Don't worry, you're in good hands!" "The war hero is back!" "Here, have a drink." " I'd better not;" "I turn nasty when I get drunk." " Never mind that!" "This is special shrimp porridge..." "try this first and drink later." " Careful, it's very hot." " Thank you." " There's plenty more; you can come back for seconds." " Thanks, I will." "What's wrong?" "I'm sorry..." "I just remembered, I haven't had anything all day." "Eat up!" "There's plenty more where that came from!" "Yes, it's really good." "Delicious!" "It tastes great!" "He wanted to kill himself?" "We'd better keep an eye on him." "I see..." "You'll stay another night?" " How is it, dear?" " Good." "There's shochu too." "No, don't declare bankruptcy." "You're broke, you declare yourself bankrupt... but you'll need money for the lawyers and the courts." "Makes no sense, does it?" "Not only that, you'll have creditors hammering on your door..." "Your assets will be sold off for a pittance... divorces, broken families, suicides... it's all too common these days." "Then what do you think we should do?" "Flee by night." "Darling!" "You're safe!" "Why shouldn't I be?" "Why are you still up?" "How can I sleep?" "I've been worried sick about you!" "The phones have been ringing off the hook!" "God!" "Who are they?" "These people are helping us." " This is my wife." " Good evening." "This is the Mayor and this is..." "the Deputy." "Mayor of?" "It's so small, it's not even on the map." "You wouldn't know it, but it's a nice, peaceful place." " Does it have a name?" " A name?" "Yes, it's..." "Shangri-La." "Shangri-La..." "Shangri-La..." "That's enough!" "Why don't you bring some tea?" "Sorry..." "I didn't know it was called..." "Shangri-La." "It came to me just then." "I've always liked the idea of Shangri-La... a utopia with no fighting." "'Deputy' was pretty good!" "Excuse me, I just couldn't remember your name!" "My name's Kuwata." "Of course it is!" "Kuwata-san..." "Kuwata-san." "He was only staying for the night..." "now he's promoted to Deputy." "And he's helping you to flee by night!" "You don't need to be at work?" "Right now, I'm making do on unemployment benefits..." "Hey, these are nice old printing machines!" "They were my Dad's dream machines." "He believed we could print full-colour flyers on them... and then... he got run over." "Mr. President, when is your payday?" "The 28th." "Then it's settled:" "You flee by night on the 27th." "Till then, keep working as if nothing's happened... two more weeks." "Sell everything you can and find a place for your family to stay." "You have your work cut out, okay?" "Darling..." "Excuse me." "Mayor, we can have fun with these machines!" "Darling, why does the family need a place to stay?" "Later, okay?" "I'll tell you later." " Aren't they the liquidators?" " What?" "!" "Darling!" "Don't you know that the liquidators will take everything?" "Even the hair off your ass!" " You mean like last night?" " Don't be silly, Darling!" "No, Darling, no..." " But Honey..." " Absolutely not!" "On behalf of..." "Chairman!" "Are you all right?" "Chairman, will you pay compensation from your private assets?" "Absolutely." "I will do whatever I can to..." "Wow!" "Lying through his teeth!" "Can't we target him?" "No, his company's declared bankrupt." "How about Dango Construction Co?" "You're kidding!" "Aren't general contractors' shares at rock bottom?" "On the contrary, Dango's stock is riding high, despite disasters like that tunnel roof collapse." "Dango Construction..." "Aren't they in tight with the Department of Public Works?" "That's right." "The shares are holding up because they have so little bad debt." "Ordinary investors are hanging on to their shares." "If it's survived two disasters, it must be a monster." "But the investors must be jittery." "Another disaster would finish the company off, and the share price would collapse." "That's it, then..." "Let's go for Dango!" "The shares are at 600 yen, and there're 1000 shares per unit." "So, I'll need 600,000 yen to get started." "Is that all?" "Consider it done." "I'll handle it, okay?" "You stupid asshole!" "Things are so bad nowadays, we worry about the odd 100 yen!" "And you want 600,000 yen!" "Go wash your face in the river and wake up, dickhead!" "All right, all right, calm down!" "You don't have it, and that's it." "Honey, you don't get it, do you?" "Don't just walk away like that!" "Take this..." "I'm sure it'll fetch 100,000 yen." "I can't." "Don't argue with me!" "Take it!" "Thanks..." "What?" "The kotatsu heater?" "Don't make me take that, please!" "I guess not... how about the car?" "It's all paid off." "150,000 yen, at a pinch..." "Shit, is this a museum?" "I beg your pardon?" "This is my workshop!" "Wow, isn't this a Heidel?" "I didn't know these printers were still around." "This must be 40 years old!" "Don't be rude about my Dad's Heidel!" "This was my Dad's dream machine!" "Mine, too!" "Sorry, sorry, I easily get worked up over the Heidel." "I see, I understand..." "So, I'll take everything except this machine." "Anything upstairs?" "So I'll come and take it all at 10pm on the 27th, right?" "Yes." "Nothing much here..." "Okay, I'll take it all off your hands for this..." "Okay?" "1,299,980 yen... 1,229,980!" "Tell you what I'll do." "I'll round it up to 1.3 million." "Only 1.3 million?" "You must be kidding!" "Did you say 'only'?" "If you don't like it, find somebody else." "I think you'd better take it;" "it's reasonable." "Reasonable?" "That's everything I own, mister." "Your wife should fetch another 500,000 yen." " What?" "!" " Just kidding!" "So, we're agreed on 1.3 million yen?" "Yes." "That's settled, then..." "1.3 million." "Mr. President, I need to ask you for a favour." "Can you lend me 600,000 yen from that for a while?" " 600,000 yen?" " Yeah." " I'm back." " Welcome back." "What's up?" "This looks like a wake." "It is a wake." "Nabe-san's husband passed away." "No!" "I'm sorry we weren't here." "It was so sudden." "I got back from the market..." "and he was gone." "Just like every other time I went shopping, he said..." ""Come back soon"." "Nabe-san..." "He looks very peaceful, you know." "How will she bury him?" "I think he was from Wakayama." "I doubt she could get him back there." "Can she even afford to cremate him?" "Mayor, how can we deal with this?" "We'll have to report it to the cops, won't we?" "No..." "They'd cut him up like a rat... and leave him in an unmarked grave." "He always told Nabe-san that he wanted to stay here..." "Even after his death..." "So we'll grant his wish and bury him here." " Isn't that against the law?" " Yes." "But what has the law ever done for us?" "We don't have to keep to every law in the land." "Don't worry, I'll take all the responsibility." "Cheer up, everybody!" "Births and deaths call for celebrations!" "Send him off with a good party!" "If it was me..." "I wouldn't like not having a grave." "Like a stray cat." "On this happy... happy occasion..." "Wakamatsu-sama... oh..." "Buddha Hannya Haramita..." "I forget the rest..." "Politicians are bad..." "You're lucky to go early..." "Buddha Hannya Haramita..." "Rest in peace..." "Nammaida... so long then..." "Cheer up, Missus, okay?" "Old man!" "Hurt yourself?" "Oh, Momoko!" "You're still alive!" "You look good." "Are you sure?" "Don't give me a hard time..." "The Mayor was worried about you." "You might have been killed somewhere." "Who were you with this time?" "He looked gentle enough, but he turned violent when he drank." "And then he was violent all the time." "This is the best place." "You have room for me?" "Your old place is taken, but Nabe-san's husband passed away." "Really?" "Yes." "See that tomb stone over there?" "Excuse me..." " Is the deputy in?" " The deputy?" "Nobody of that name here." "My brother told me to ask for the Deputy." "That's me, I'm the Deputy." " Mr. Okajima?" " How do you do?" "I'm Okajima." "Kuwata... good to meet you." "Likewise..." "My 'brother' told me to help you in any way you need." "You can ask me to do anything." "I see..." "We actually need you to buy some shares for us." "Yes, sir." " You have the seal and some proper ID on you?" " Yes." "The Mayor or I should really go, but..." "You can't risk getting caught if anything happens." "I understand." "I want you to buy 1,000 shares in Dango Construction Co." "It's at 600 yen per share, and the handling fee is 1,000 yen." "I'm much obliged to you." "By the way... do you know anyone called 'The Mayor'?" "SHOKO LOAN HELP" " I beg you, please..." " Get real!" "We can't just overlook a debt of millions of yen." "We'll go direct to the other guarantor." "After all, what's a guarantor for?" "Boss... at the interest rates you charge, you're a rich man." "Since they're sincere enough to come and pay you what they can... can't you reconsider your position?" " Please, sir!" " Please!" " That settles it, then." " You too!" "No way!" "Why should I listen to someone I don't even know?" "You don't know me?" "What?" "What are you doing?" "Didn't you say that I looked familiar?" " I..." "I imagined it." " Nice smell..." "Boss, why don't the two of us talk outside?" "You think you can scare me?" "It won't work!" "Boss... we ain't strangers." "Not so very long ago, we used to be very close." "'Close'?" "Don't you remember my face?" "How about now?" "Then I guess I have to go to these lengths to remind you..." "Oh my God!" "Shit!" "You're... you're..." "Kiyota the Hitman!" "So the Boss is ready to wait." "He is?" "I very much appreciate your sincere efforts to repay us, despite your difficulties." " We'll settle for what you've paid today;" "forget the balance." " What?" "!" "Not at all, you'll get the rest!" "We have our pride, you know." "There's nothing more to say about it!" "Clap!" "Clap!" "Clap!" "The end!" "Where's the beer?" "Boss, I have one more favour to ask." "Anything!" "Anything at all!" "Can you spare me some blank company cheques?" "I need ten of them." "Blank ones?" "Are you taking up painting or something?" "Pictures?" "!" " Blank cheques?" " That's right." "So many?" "Yep, and this is an actual Dango Construction share certificate." " This is worth 600,000 yen?" " Right." "What we need from it are the CEO's name, the company address... the big square seal and the bank-registered seal." " I see..." "I'll go to the convenience store to make a blow-up copy." " Good." " Thank you..." " Enough?" " Yes." "I see..." "I'll cut out the square seal first." "Then I'll reduce it to size and burn it onto the film." "Boy, you're good!" "And now this is burned onto the metal plate." " Look at that!" " And each one comes out like this!" " You've done a great job!" "Mayor?" " Really!" "Now we just have to punch in the amount... 500 million?" "!" "Times ten is 5 billion!" " What are they for?" " You'll see." "We really have to waste 100,000 yen?" "Yes!" "It won't look like a real lost wallet without cash in it." "Then wouldn't 90,000 yen look more believable?" "Why do you want 10,000 yen?" "I want to buy some octopus balls." "Octopus balls?" "!" "Come on, I'll buy you some!" "Oh, sorry..." "I forgot I'm broke." "Here's one." "A guy like that might keep it, not hand it in to the police..." " See?" " What's he..." "Excuse me!" "She's big!" "Don't know what to make of her..." "Personally, I like her type." "She took it!" "What the..." "Excuse me!" "I think you found my wallet..." "They're all so greedy;" "it must be the economy..." "Really..." " I think he might be the one." " How can you tell?" "He smells like me..." "See?" "See?" "Excuse me, sir..." " You just found a wallet?" " Who the hell are you?" "Just passing by..." "have you checked the contents?" "Some money, some papers..." "I'm going to hand it in at the station." " Any problem with that?" " Not at all!" "Mister, these are bank drafts... worth 500 million yen!" "Shit!" "How many of them are there?" "Ten!" "That's 5 billion yen!" "So your 10% reward will be 500 million!" "500 million?" "!" "Make sure they report it to the police and give you a receipt!" "You should call the city desk at the Daily, too... get them to write an article about it." "Otherwise, you won't get your reward." "Got it!" "Congratulations!" " Thank you!" "Thank you!" " You call them!" "The die is cast..." "It's not enough to cause the share price to plummet." "The company has to be able to pull itself back up again." "That's why we went for Dango Construction Co." "I get it!" "When the price hits rock bottom, you buy shares in bulk, right?" " That's right." " How will you pay for them?" "He's already figured that out!" "This guy is never out of ideas." "You went bust because Uwazoko-ya didn't pay you, right?" "Doesn't it bug you that chairman Karijama hasn't offered... to meet any liabilities from his own private wealth?" "You bet it does!" "So we'll have him finance our shares." "What?" "How?" "That hurt!" "Can't you be a bit gentler, lady?" "Don't be such a softie!" "If you don't like it, stop drinking and go into town for a haircut!" "We're here as volunteers!" "We can leave any time we want!" " No... don't go." " Then sit!" "Mayor, I'm back!" "Good!" "How did it go?" "I got the goods!" "Loads of real estate... registered under other people's names." "He's a real jerk, that guy..." "This is his wife's register..." "See, a restaurant in Sonezaki, a club in Kita-shinchi... and a jewellery shop in Shinsai-bashi." "I guess his brothers aren't using other people to hide their assets." "And this is the register of his secretary/mistress Saeko..." "An ultra-deluxe condo in Edoya-bashi, and a boutique and a coffee-shop in Umeda." "Oh, I took photos too..." "What are those registers?" "Well, if you want to know who owns a piece of real-estate, you go to the Registry Office, right?" "The city has to know who's liable to pay the property tax, right?" "So they compile registers for each real-estate owner." "It can't be easy to access them." "Right, you need a letter of attorney." "So you faked one?" "Yes, sir." "The thing is, you don't need an authentic seal..." "I just bought a common seal from a dime store and put it on the application." "Then I just went along to the property tax department." "The guy behind the counter did give me a funny look, but that didn't bother me." "The company that fired you must have suffered a great loss." "That's truer than you think..." "he was fired for embezzlement." " I'm sure I can dig up more." " Great!" "Go on digging!" " I have one problem." " Which is?" "The registers are compiled in each city and town..." "I have to get around to all of them." " So you need money for transport?" " Yes, sir." "Say, Mari!" "No Money!" "Did I mention money?" "!" " Mr. Mayor..." " What?" "Why will those forged drafts make Dango's share price drop?" "You mean you made them without knowing what they were for?" "Sorry..." "The story makes investors think the company has money problems." "Yes?" "They might be asking a discount broker to raise an emergency fund for them." "I see; that's why it had to be such a large amount." " Obvious, isn't it?" " Very." "Share prices are very sensitive to rumours..." "Just like celebrities!" "Over here!" "Welcome!" "Sorry to trouble you." "200,000 yen." "You've saved me." " What will you have?" " Nothing." "I'm leaving." "What's wrong?" "Haven't had it..." "Had what?" "Lt." ""Lt"?" "It hasn't come this month..." "I think..." "I'm pregnant." "Doesn't make sense, does it?" "Oh, I see..." "Decent guy, is he?" "None of your bees-wax, is it?" "I want to keep this one." "You know, if we'd kept ours... it would have been in kindergarten... or even elementary school by now." "I'm sorry." "Congratulations..." "Here." "No thanks." "But this is the last time..." "No more, okay?" "Hello?" "Dango's shares are collapsing!" "Down 100 yen just like that!" "It's sure to drop below 500 yen!" "Let's see, this is the second house in Arashiyama." "That's the long shot and here's a close-up." "Deluxe or what?" "Another close-up and..." "Let me see that!" "Who's this?" " Someone I met in a bar." " For real?" " Of course!" "I paid out of my own pocket, too!" " Really?" "That'll do for now." "Let's go." "The mansion's like this..." "What about the condominiums?" "Okay, I've done it." " Looks pretty good, right?" " No, not very good." "We need something really eye-catching." "Let's start over, okay?" "Shinichi, this is only for a while." "We'll all live together again." "This isn't for long." "You too, Megumi!" "Shinichi, Megumi, don't lose hope!" "Chusuke, please take good care of them!" "I will... stop bowing!" "We'll keep them safe, don't worry." "Thank you so much." "Mother, take care of yourself." "Ma, don't demand everything your own way, okay?" "Shosuke, wear your socks in bed on cold nights." " Shall we go, Grandma?" " Where to?" "We'll drive there, Grandma." "Shinichi, let's go." "Megumi, let's go." "What are you two doing?" "I can't bear to just disappear." "When I think of our staff... how they'll feel when they arrive in the morning..." "I had to do something, so I withdrew all our savings." "They'll each get 100,000 yen." "Darling, have you said in the notes that someday we'll pay them everything we owe them?" "It's nearly dawn..." "You have one last job to do..." "Fusae, shall we turn on the printer together?" "Dad, we'll do a great job!" "Please watch!" "Shall we?" ""Great Fresh Fish Festival"" "Dad!" "I did it!" "Look!" "I finally did it!" "Your dream!" "Four-colour printing!" "I did it..." "See, Dad, I did it..." "I did it..." " "Squit"?" " Oh no, a typo!" "Great job!" "And now..." " Did I wake you?" " No." " You weren't asleep, then?" " No." "It's morning... they'll be arriving for work." "And they'll find the place bare." "Maybe they'll think they're in the wrong place?" "They may think we were burgled." "Then they'll find the notes we left." "And they'll tell the others as they arrive..." "They'll all go pale..." "Why?" "Why do I have to make them go through all this?" "Stupid!" "I'm so stupid!" "They're still asleep, that couple..." "maybe they're dead?" "Let them be;" "they must be exhausted." "I guess so." "Mayor, Momoko's gone missing again." "Gone off with another man, has she?" "The girl can't help it!" " What are you making?" " Nothing." " Really?" " I'm back!" " Oh, Mr. Author is back!" "Don't be shy!" "You wrote this, right?" ""The Exploiters" No wonder you know it all!" "I knew it wouldn't take long, with an ex-private eye around." "Nah, it wasn't Ume..." "he wouldn't check up just out of curiosity." "It was Okajima." "I see." "But this is quite something..." "it won you a literary prize, right?" "But nothing came after that..." "I'd rather not talk about it." "Hey, these are our flyers." "There's a covering note with them..." ""We sincerely hope this finds you well in the early spring..."" "Basically, they're asking if they can put them in the papers." "What kind of stupid question is that?" " Chairman!" " What?" " On the back..." " The back?" ""Hidden private assets"" ""8.3 billion yen"" ""List of hidden private assets"?" "Who the hell?" "!" "It lists the ones under my name, too." "Your wife won't like this, will she?" "Who the fuck?" "!" "Return address?" "It just says they'll be in touch." "Who's this woman with a club in Kyoto?" "Isn't there something you should be getting on with?" "I know!" "It's Umemoto Printers!" "He's doing this out of spite!" "Call him right now!" "Didn't you know, dear?" "They fled by night three days ago." "Find them anyway!" "Hire a private eye or something!" "Papa... there's a call." "I told you, no calls!" "He says he's the one who sent the flyers." "Hello?" "This is Korijima." "Nice to speak to you." "Who is this?" "Ohashi Kyosen." "[A famous TVpresenter]" "How much d'ya want?" "That's up to you." "I'll call you back in two minutes." "That guy gets right up my nose!" "He wanted to catch you unprepared." "I don't mean to press you... but who is this woman with the club in Kyoto?" "Who is she?" "Who is she?" " Leave me alone, I'm busy!" " Who is she?" "!" "He's a notorious miser..." "I'd say 5 million, tops." "No way, I'll take him up to 10 million." " You will?" " Sure!" " Who is she?" " Look, we're in deep shit!" " Who is she?" "Hello, happy to be at your service!" "Have you decided?" "How about 20 million yen?" "20 million?" "!" "That sounds about right." "Put the banknotes in a plain bag... and come to Osaka Castle Park at 4..." "Just you two." " Yeah, just stroll around there." " President!" "20 million!" "We have conditions, too..." "We'll need all the flyers, the plates, the photos... and of course the negatives!" "Stop pushing me!" "You think they're hiding somewhere?" " They can't be." " Look around, will you?" "No, I'm scared to do that." " Chairman, please!" "Be careful!" " You be careful!" "Hold it tight!" "I am!" "This will do, let's wait here." " My back hurts..." "I'm going." " What are you saying?" " They're not here, are they?" " Is that them?" " I can't tell..." " I can't see very clearly..." "The Chairman, right?" "Don't move!" "Look at us and you die!" "The money?" "You've never seen homeless people before, have you?" "Take a good look..." "Some of them are there because of the way you do business." "What makes you so sure of that?" "Let's try telling them the chairman of Uwazoko-ya is here!" "No, please don't!" "Okay, 20 million yen." "Need a receipt?" "This isn't a joke!" "All right, here are the flyers, the plates... the photos and the negatives you asked for." "But they won't hush up so much as one of your farts." "We can always take more pictures if we need to." " Are you threatening me again?" " That's up to you." "If you hang on to all your private assets..." "those flyers will be in the papers!" "Bye, now." "Shit!" "Deputy..." "can you take care of the rest?" "I remembered something I have to do." " Can I leave it to you, then?" " As you wish." "Wait!" "I caused you... a lot of trouble." "Take good care of yourself." "Wait..." "It wasn't true..." "I'm not pregnant." "It's not in here." "I just got fatter." "I'm trying... trying so hard to forget about you..." "So hard." "But I can't." "It's impossible..." "It's impossible..." "I'll keep this." " Shit!" "This is very bad!" " What's up?" "I think Momoko may have been killed!" "Look at this!" ""Young woman murdered in park" Look at this!" ""Young woman murdered in park"" "It doesn't mention her name anywhere, does it?" "But the height and the colour of her hair... and that Panda purse..." "she loved that more than anything." " Anybody could have one of those." " Really?" " Mayor, where are you going?" " To the police, of course." "Take us with you!" " Hi, Momoko!" " Mayor!" "What's the rush?" "Momoko, you're alive!" "Momoko, you..." " We were so worried!" " Why?" "What did I do?" " I came to say goodbye." " Goodbye?" "Mayor, I finally met the right guy..." "a real man." " A real man?" " He's so cool." " Who is he?" " A yakuza from Hiroshima." "A yakuza... you..." "What's wrong with a yakuza?" " Nothing..." " What's wrong?" "What?" "Momoko, are you really in love with him?" " Then, good luck!" " Thanks." "If things don't work out, I'll be back." " I'm off, then." " Going?" "There wasn't a single day we didn't worry about money." "If you could pay all the salaries..." "If the account could be settled... every day, 365 days a year..." "It's true." "For 25 years." "It's hard to credit, but this place impresses me." "To us, this place could be a real Shangri-La." "Mother and the kids..." "I wonder how they're doing?" " Hello?" " Not good!" "Dango shares are still dropping." "It's because of all this talk of a merger, I think." "Yes, heavy losses." "Are you sure you still want to wait?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "!" "Nobody could have predicted talk of a merger." "The market is an animal!" "Have I got this right?" "We've invested 20 million yen... so every time the shares go down one yen, we lose 600,000 yen." "It doesn't hurt us, since it was Uwazoko-ya's money... but we have to decide whether we risk waiting for an upturn... or whether we sell and cut our losses." "I want to stick with our original plan." "So do I." "Mayor... if the share price doubles, what do you want to do?" "Well..." "What do I want to do?" "Hello?" "Have you read it?" "Now it's a mistress!" "A mistress?" "Dango's CEO has a mistress?" "This 70-year-old has been living with this woman for six years!" "She's 40 years his junior." "He separated from his wife and family long ago." "To tell you the truth, I invested 10 million yen myself!" "Oh, I'm so jealous!" "Brother, Dango is going up." "There's a rush on the shares!" "They may stop trading in them today!" "There must be some mix-up... why would there be a rush on Dango shares?" "Up to 400 yen?" "I can't believe it." "Let's keep an eye on them for a while longer." " Mayor, the market is a man!" " It is?" "That scandal about the CEO and his mistress..." "it's working positively." "How so?" "The CEO was rumoured to be dying..." "cancer of the oesophagus." "When they found out that he had a young mistress, the investors regained confidence." "Now, the wind is in our sails." "The price will go back up in no time." ""Dango Construction up by leaps and bounds!"" ""Trading stopped for third day in a row"" "We'll sell once they top 600 yen." " But it looks like it might go as high as 700 yen!" " No, don't be greedy." "Let the Deputy decide." "Okay!" "Sell now!" "Oh my!" "It smells so good!" "It's a long time since I saw this much money." "Takeda!" "200,000 yen." " Thank you." " Nabe-san..." "Thank you kindly." "Ume..." "I know how hard you worked, but equal shares, okay?" "Thank you!" "This is plenty, sir!" "Eto-san!" " How's your leg?" " Almost healed, thanks." " Right, here you are." " Thank you." "And the rest of the money... is for the President!" "Here!" " Why us?" " Take it!" "I can't do that, Mayor!" "It should be enough for you to start over, right?" "Why just for us?" "No!" "I mean it, Mayor..." "President, look over there." "Brother!" "Brother!" "Brother!" "Shosuke!" "Come home!" "Dinner's ready!" "Ma..." "Do your best!" "Just a moment!" "Mr. President, take this." " What's this?" " Farewell money!" "Hang on, here's some from me, too..." "Take this with you..." "Take it, because they want to give it." "Anytime things get hard, you can come back." "Thank you!" "We'll... we will make it!" "Thank you so much..." "Thank you for everything!" "We will start over!" "Thank you to everyone in Shangri-La!" "Haven't felt like this in a long time!" "Thanks to you, we're all broke again!" "It's all your fault!" "Get away with you!" "Actually, it's true..." "I really haven't felt this in a long time... the urge to write again." "A novel?" "Yes, this is a great story!" "Lt'll be a best-seller!" "I'll make a fortune!" "So what will you do with all the money?" "Well, let's see..." "How about..." "taking everyone for noodles?" "That sounds good!" "With dumplings too!" "Excuse me..." "Well, Mr. Author, shall we get you to your study?" ""Shangri-La"" "I can't concentrate..." "if you all..." "Of course... sorry!" "Let's leave him in peace." "English translation by Kim KAMIMURA  Tony RAYNS Subs ripped  retimed by Lord RETSUDO" "AIKAWA Sho... as The Mayor" "SANO Shiro... as The Deputy" "TOKUI Yu... as Umemoto" "KIMURA Midoriko... as Fusae" "KINOSHITA Hoka... as Ume" "ASHIYA Kogan... as Uehara" "MARO Akaji... as Korijima" "MUROI Shigeru... as Mari" "Producers:" "TOMITA Motomu  ARISHIGE Yoichi" "Producers:" "MIKI Kazushi  MATSUOKA Shusaku" "Based on the novel by AOKI Yuji" "Screenplay by TAKAHASHI Masakuni" "Director of Photography:" "YAMAMOTO Hideo" "Lighting by ONO Akira" "Production Design:" "ISHIGE Akira" "Recording by OBARA Yoshiya" "Music by ENDO Koji" "Editing by SHIMAMURA Taiji" "Directed by MllKE Takashi"