Seishiro Munakata (died 15 March 2010) was deputy Commissioner of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department during the 2000s. In 2010, he was at the center of a policing scandal after it was revealed by the journalist Makoto Date that Munakata had manipulated and financed organized crime groups to maintain his own sense of order in Tokyo. Munakata committed suicide before he could face trial.
Biography[]
Munakata in 1985
Seishiro Munakata was born in Tokyo, Japan in the years following World War II. Growing up in American-occupied Japan, he observed how the police kept domestic order while the yakuza guarded Japan against external communist threats, and he came to develop strictly authoritarian views, believing that the police must maintain the status quo of society at all costs (even if it meant breaking the law themselves). Munakata proceeded to join the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD), rising through the ranks of its homicide department. In 1985, after noticing Junji Sugiuchi's falsification of a police report on the Ueno Seiwa hit, Munakata blackmailed Sugiuchi into introducing him to his criminal associate Isao Katsuragi from the Uenoseiwa-kai. He proceeded to blackmail Katsuragi and his Tojo-kai associate Kazuo Shibata with his knowledge about their role in authoring the near-miss of a gang war, utilizing this leverage to attempt to control the Tokyo underworld through the police. He also ordered the murder of policeman Taigi Tanimura after he uncovered the truth about the incident, motivating his son Masayoshi Tanimura to join the police and investigate his father's death.
By the late 2000s, Munakata had risen to Deputy Commissioner of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, developing a merciless reputation. His scheming only grew, using Sugiuchi as his personal hitman and having the young detective Hiroaki Arai infiltrate the Tojo-kai with the objective of supporting his rise to power. He also conspired with Ministry Intelligence Agency (MIA) Director Kyohei Jingu to use the Tojo Clan's stolen cash reserves to fund the creation of Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2, a private prison where they could dispose of yakuza who got in the way of their manipulations. While the 2005 Tojo-kai civil war resulted in Jingu's death and the loss of the 10 billion yen, Munakata was still able to build the prison using illegally appropriated police funds.
In March 2010, Munakata's schemes were jeopardized by Isao Katsuragi's scheming to break away from his control (he persuaded Yasuko Saejima to kill several Shibata-gumi officers with knowledge of the Ueno Seiwa hit in exchange for securing Taiga's release), Masayoshi Tanimura's progress in uncovering the conspiracy, and Taiga Saejima and Goh Hamazaki's escape from his private prison with a ledger containing evidence of Munakata's embezzlement. Munakata was forced to accelerate his plans to take control of the Tojo Clan, demanding that Tojo Chairman Daigo Dojima make Arai his captain in exchange for using the police to crush the Ueno Seiwa and boost the Tojo Clan's coffers. Dojima also gave Munakata evidence to lock up his lieutenant Goro Majima, who opposed Daigo's deal with the police.
Munakata cowering behind his guards
At the same time, Munakata sent Sugiuchi to kill Tanimura to stop his investigation, but Munakata was nearly able to arrest Sugiuchi after catching him in a trap. Munakata responded by sending Satoshi Hisai to kill Sugiuchi before he could surrender, and he also sent Hisai to kill Tanimura's friends Mei Zhao and Mei Hua and Tanimura himself, only for Hisai to shoot himself rather than betray Tanimura. Munakata later tasked Arai with recovering the stolen ledger from Kiryu as he met with Katsuragi at the Kabukicho Hills, leading to Arai betraying Katsuragi and obtaining the ledger; Katsuragi was killed by Yasuko shortly after. Munakata reprimanded Arai for not stealing the 100 billion yen that they could have used for the Tojo Clan, but his order for Arai to kidnap Kiryu's adoptive children as bargaining chips resulted in a disgusted Arai shooting him. As the gun had been loaded with police rubber bullets by Munakata, who did not fully trust Arai, Munakata survived, and he later led an elite police unit to execute Arai, Daigo Dojima, and Takeshi Kido on the rooftop of the Millennium Tower, where they had gone to steal the 100 billion yen left there as bait by its owner Shun Akiyama. Before Munakata could order his men to fire, a helicopter arrived carrying Akiyama, Kiryu, Saejima, and Tanimura, who broke up the standoff by picking their own enemies to fight.
Munakata's arrest
Tanimura defeated Munakata and his entire police team after a hard-fought battle, and Munakata scrambled over to a defeated Daigo to ask for his help. However, Daigo advised Munakata to prepare for what was coming. Tanimura then informed Munakata that he intended to expose him and put him in prison, but Munakata was confident of his ability to escape justice until Makoto Date arrived in a police helicopter and scattered newspaper articles containing copies of Munakata's incriminating ledger. Munakata realized that his allies in government would soon abandon him, and he shot Akiyama in the chest with a discarded revolver. Akiyama was saved by a wad of cash in his coat pocket, and a defeated Munakata, refusing to go to prison, shot himself with his own gun before he could be arrested.