Hajime Ogasawara (died 2019) was a Japanese right-wing political activist and the co-founder and director of Bleach Japan. In 2019, he was entrusted by his friend Ryo Aoki with investigating LDP chairman Yutaka Ogikubo's ties to the Yokohama criminal underworld, and his uncovery of the Geomijul's money counterfeiting operation enabled Aoki to force the Prime Minister of Japan to appoint him as Ogikubo's successor as party chair. As Ogasawara had been captured and interrogated by Ichiban Kasuga, however, Aoki had Ogasawara killed by the Omi Alliance and his death framed as a result of the fire at the Geomijul headquarters, causing Ogasawara to be viewed as a martyr by the public and Bleach Japan to experience renewed support.
Biography[]
Hajime Ogasawara was born in Tokyo, Japan, and he studied politics and economics at Harvard University. He befriended his classmate Ryo Aoki, motivated partly by Aoki's wealth, and he remained Aoki's supporter even after discovering his secret yakuza affiliation and his connections with the Omi Alliance. The two cofounded Bleach Japan in 2004, advocating for the "bleaching" of Japan's "gray zones" (neighborhoods where prohibitions against illicit practices like prostitution and gambling were not enforced by police). In 2010, Aoki ran for the House of Councillors, enabling Ogasawara to become director of Bleach Japan.
Ogasawara in 2019
In 2019, Ogasawara and his family moved to Yokohama as part of Aoki's planned takeover of the city. Ogasawara investigated LDP political boss Yutaka Ogikubo's seemingly endless source of funding, and he partnered with the ambitious Yokohama Liumang strategist Akira Mabuchi to instigate a gang war in order to smoke out Ogikubo's underworld business ties. Ogasawara initially opposed Mabuchi's proposed murder of soapland owner Isao Nonomiya on Seiryu-kai turf, opposing bloodshed, but Aoki approved of Mabuchi's plan in its entirety. The ensuing murder led Ichiban Kasuga and his friends to launch an investigation of the Liumang's role in the murder, and Mabuchi ultimately captured them, filmed their interrogation, and doctored the footage to make it look like they were Seiryu Clan spies. Kasuga and his friends attempted to prevent the war with the aid of the Geomijul, but Kasuga's associate Yu Nanba, who held a grudge against the Geomijul for kidnapping his brother, defected to Ogasawara and Bleach Japan after learning of the Geomijul's counterfeiting operation, which Ogikubo masterminded. Kasuga and his friends were able to thwart Bleach Japan's raid on the Geomijul headquarters, destroying the counterfeiting equipment before Ogasawara's Omi henchmen could utilize the evidence to implicate Ogikubo. Kasuga was also able to capture Ogasawara during the brawl.
Ogasawara in captivity
Ogasawara was taken to a homeless camp for interrogation, where he revealed Bleach Japan's origins and Omi ties to Kasuga and his friends. He was ultimately freed when the Omi assaulted the camp, but Aoki had Ogasawara's yakuza rescuers murder him. Ogasawara's death was publicly attributed to the fire at the Geomijul base, and Bleach Japan experienced an upsurge in popularity due to Ogasawara's perceived "martyrdom" and the non-profit's role in the supposed destruction of the Geomijul gang.
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