Takaya Okamoto

Shintaro, an Assistant Bank Division Chief at the Financial Services Agency, had been working like a dog for 33 years. But just five years before he is due for retirement, his boss framed him for accepting bribes. Shintaro was forced to retire immediately and was parachuted into a public organization, JAMS (Japan Association of Medium and Small Enterprises). Instead of a happy retirement that he had dreamt of, his out-of-the-blue retirement triggers a complete family breakup. To everyone’s surprise, his job is “to do nothing” for an annual salary of ten million yen!

Katherine Turner initially accompanied her father, Vice President of the United States, on his official trip to Japan but decided to stay longer to study the Japanese art of flower arrangement for her business back in the States. Yukio Hamaguchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and also a very good friend of Katherine’s father, assigns his nephew Ichiro to escort Katherine during her stay. Ichiro is halfhearted at first but when Katherine’s old friend Maiko becomes the victim of a murder case, Katherine and Ichiro start to reveal their talent as brilliant detectives by untangling clues and solving the case together.

In June 1945 Yamauchi Fusako goes alone to Manchuria where her husband, Setsuo, a second lieutenant of the Kwantung Army, is based. At that time, 200,000 Japanese had settled in Manchuria, a Japanese occupied territory, as settler communities. Fujita Hideo’s family worked hard to clear the wilderness, but the Soviets are lying in wait for an invasion of Manchuria from the North. Fusako is safely reunited with her husband at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army’s Fifth Training Squadron in Manchuria’s Dahushan. Setsuo also takes good care of his beloved wife, but his position is an instructor to the young soldiers who will eventually carry out suicide attacks. He wonders if he should have summoned her and speaks of these mixed feelings to his commanding officer, Michiba Kazuo, a first lieutenant. Michiba is concerned about Setsuo’s attempts to cherish his wife before the coming showdown on homeland. Fusako learns about life in Manchuria from Michiba’s wife, Etsu.

Gajirou Honda is a self-centered man who only cares about money and women. When he’s involved in a car accident, he encounters the ghosts of the deceased occupants of the other car, including the driver and three pole dancers. The four ghosts promise him a large sum of money in exchange for his help fulfilling their last wishes, thus allowing their spirits to pass over to the afterlife.

Gajirou Honda is a self-centered man who only cares about money and women. When he’s involved in a car accident, he encounters the ghosts of the deceased occupants of the other car, including the driver and three pole dancers. The four ghosts promise him a large sum of money in exchange for his help fulfilling their last wishes, thus allowing their spirits to pass over to the afterlife.

Due to the high suicide rate among youths in Japan, the government implements experiments to uncover the causes behind the high suicide rate. Children are selected and placed in a YSC facility under constant surveillance. At the age of 10, the children are then give a detonator with a red switch. They are told if they press the switch they will die immediately. Most of the children under the experiment, eventually presses the switch and dies. After the completion of the experiment 6 kids remain who did not press the switch. The 6 kids are; strong-minded Masami, weak Naoto, hot-tempered Hiro, impulsive Ryota, wheelchair bound Kimiaki and Aiko who is always thinking of her parents. These 6 kids survived even though they were pressured by project manager Tsukuda to press the switch.