Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister
Chapter 505 - 438: Governor of Hokkaido, Plans Cannot Keep Up with Changes (Seeking Monthly Passes)

Chapter 505: Chapter 438: Governor of Hokkaido, Plans Cannot Keep Up with Changes (Seeking Monthly Passes)

The governor is the chief administrator of a first-level administrative region, such as a metropolis, district, prefecture, or county, wielding considerable power. They can make any decisions they deem necessary in situations where it is not possible to convene a timely meeting; they hold veto power over the budget and ordinances enacted by local assemblies; they possess the authority to transfer, promote, and discipline government department employees at their discretion; they even have the right to establish and adjust local taxes and can declare a state of emergency in certain situations.

However, the governor’s power is also limited by the constitution and laws. For example, some decisions are subject to scrutiny by local assemblies, and major issues still require parliamentary approval.

Of course, the governor also has the power to dissolve local assemblies under specific circumstances, call for local elections, and initiate referendums for recall votes.

Therefore, local assemblies are often oppressed by the governor’s strong-armed tactics, which is why the status of local assembly members is far inferior to that of National Members of Parliament.

The Governor of Hokkaido is named Heng Lu Guangnan, who is fifty-four years old this year. At that age, one is considered in the prime of life in the officialdom. Moreover, this is already his third term as Governor of Hokkaido, and he has been in this position for a full ten years!

He was first elected in 1983. Before that, he was a journalist at the Hokkaido Broadcasting Association and then served as a Member of the House of Representatives for fourteen years. Known for being open-minded, he vigorously promoted agriculture and tourism locally, achieving remarkable success.

His achievements are not only a result of his own efforts but also the struggle of his father, who was a Member of the House of Representatives, laying a solid foundation for his political career and paving his way to success.

Having served as the top local official for a whole ten years already proves that his position is as solid as a rock. Unless he willingly moves up to another position, he could theoretically continue to be re-elected indefinitely.

In ten years, he has managed to extend his influence to all aspects of Hokkaido. Here, the words of the Cabinet may not necessarily be as effective as his.

The officialdom in Hokkaido is so corrupt, he could not possibly be unaware as the chief officer. It can only be said that the conduct flows from the top to the bottom. Without his indulgence, those below him would not dare to act so flagrantly.

For the sake of his political achievements, he is willing to disregard everything. As long as his subordinates deliver results, he simply does not care about their personal character or ethics, everything for the sake of GDP!

The Hokkaido Governor’s Office is located in Sapporo City, and Heng Lu Guangnan naturally resides in Sapporo as well. With few cars on the road at night, Fujimoto Takayoshi sped through the streets with sirens blaring, reaching his destination in just over ten minutes.

"Ding-dong!" He rang the doorbell after getting out of his car.

The nanny’s voice came through, "Mosi Mosi?"

"I am Fujimoto Takayoshi, Chief of the Hokkaido Police Headquarters. Please inform him that I have an urgent matter to discuss with the Governor!" Fujimoto Takayoshi said urgently.

The nanny spoke curtly, "The Governor has already gone to sleep. He hasn’t been sleeping well recently, please do not disturb his rest. I kindly ask you to return tomorrow."

A nanny for a high-ranking official sure knows how to handle situations.

Only someone with the backing to do so would dare speak like that.

"It’s a very important matter, and by tomorrow it will be too late. Please, I must insist that you notify him!" Fujimoto Takayoshi repeated earnestly and solemnly.

The nanny was silent for a moment, probably weighing the situation internally, and finally said, "Please wait."

About three to five minutes later, the gate of the villa opened, and the nanny said, "The Governor invites you in."

"Hi, thank you very much!" Fujimoto Takayoshi bowed to the nanny, changed into slippers at the doorway, and entered the house.

"Please have a seat for a moment. The Governor will be right down."

The nanny poured a glass of water for Fujimoto Takayoshi.

Just as Fujimoto Takayoshi’s rear was about to touch the sofa, he hastily stood up and received the glass with both hands, "Thank you."

An official who works in the presence of the prime minister might not get to meet Heng Lu Guangnan every day, but this nanny interacts with him daily and has been managing his life for over a decade. Fujimoto Takayoshi naturally did not dare to neglect her.

After sitting for about a minute or two, the sound of footsteps came from the staircase. Fujimoto Takayoshi promptly stood up and bowed deeply without even looking, "Governor!"

"Mr. Fujimoto, what is it that you rush to wake me up for?" asked Heng Lu Guangnan while yawning.

With age, his body had inevitably become slightly overweight, but he wasn’t as swollen and obese as most bureaucrats. Dressed in pajamas, clean-shaven, and wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses, he appeared scholarly and gentle.

Hearing this, Fujimoto Takayoshi bent even lower and said, "I am terribly sorry for disturbing your rest so late at night, but the situation is urgent, and I had no choice. As you may well be aware, the joint investigation team arrived, and just about twenty minutes ago, they acted on intelligence from an unknown source and raided a villa. They caught the Deputy Director of the Sapporo City Welfare Bureau and two city council members red-handed using drugs, and there was also the body of a woman who had been tortured to death. A large number of journalists appeared on the scene."

"The investigation team has made statements to the press saying that their mission in Hokkaido is to root out corruption and rigorously investigate all malpractice. Because this is a critical matter, I felt it was necessary to report to you immediately and ask for your direction."

After speaking, Fujimoto Takayoshi maintained his bowed posture without raising his head.

"Idiot!" Even with Heng Lu Guangnan’s composure, he couldn’t help but become furious on hearing the news. His anger was not over the fact that such a ridiculous incident had occurred under his administration, but that those three had dared to commit the act despite knowing the investigation team was in town, getting caught, and even being photographed by the press.

In those days, most journalists still had integrity. He could constrain some local media from reporting, but what about those national major media outlets? They surely wouldn’t afford him that courtesy.

This incident was now impossible to suppress.

It would certainly make headlines tomorrow and cause a huge uproar.

When you find one cockroach in your home, it means there is already a colony of them—it’s common knowledge. Therefore, citizens will definitely suspect that Hokkaido is harboring even more corrupt officials and will call for a thorough investigation.

The investigation team was indeed created for this job.

The political landscape of Hokkaido, stable for over a decade, would experience an earthquake because of this. Once the investigation pulled up a radish and brought out all the dirt, escalating the situation beyond control, it would mean the end of his tenure as governor.

Having been reelected as governor for three terms, Hokkaido had become his stronghold. He was already prepared for his next move—to step down and vie for a higher position in Congress. But certainly not abdicating his gubernatorial position in such a disgraceful manner!

Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, he looked at Fujimoto Takayoshi and said, "A bunch of clowns think they can cause trouble in Hokkaido, destroying the hard-earned good situation and affecting the happy lives of the locals with their delusional dreams! Get them out of Hokkaido quickly, and don’t stir up more trouble, Mr. Fujimoto. Can I trust you?"

"Yes! Governor, rest assured, with your support, I am confident that I can handle this trouble," Fujimoto Takayoshi answered resolutely.

Originally, he had to fight this battle alone and could only gently persuade the investigation team to leave, but now with the backing of all the bureaucrats of Hokkaido and the situation changing, his plan had to adapt accordingly.

Heng Lu Guangnan tiredly waved his hand, "You have the full authority. Keep me updated on the progress, but don’t let things get too stiff. After all, they are from Tokyo. If they can take a hint and back off, it’d be convenient for everyone."

"Yes!"

Fujimoto Takayoshi bowed and then left the room.

Heng Lu Guangnan started making phone calls continuously, issuing one order after another to different departments.

...

The Maple Club, as one of the rare high-end private clubs in Hokkaido, had not only entertainment facilities but also large conference rooms.

By the time Fujimoto Takayoshi arrived at the Maple Club, the large meeting room was already filled with people. On the conference table, there was a telephone in front of each nameplate, each representing a police station chief or deputy chief from cities in Hokkaido outside of Sapporo.

"Director!"

As he walked into the meeting room, everyone rose and bowed in unison, probably the station chiefs on the other end of the phones were saluting as well.

Fujimoto Takayoshi walked to the main seat with a serious face.

After scanning the room, he said in a deep voice, "Sit."

"Yes!" Everyone sat down again in unison.

The investigative team had been delayed by interviews with reporters and hadn’t brought the people to the police headquarters yet.

Including Aoyama Xiu Xin, everyone was still unaware of what had happened but knew it must be something very serious, so they all sat up straight with a solemn expression, placing their hands on their knees.

"There has been a change," Fujimoto Takayoshi slowly started explaining the recent events, "Just half an hour ago, the investigation team raided a villa, arresting the Deputy Director of the Sapporo City Welfare Bureau and two members of parliament for amphetamine use and the murder of a woman. A large number of reporters rushed to the scene. Hirano Hidekazu publicly claimed that their visit to Hokkaido was to ’clarify the roots and dig deep into corruption of power.’"

Gasps!

The meeting room instantly erupted into noise.

"Those three idiots have made us all suffer!"

"How did the investigation team get such accurate information to make arrests? Is someone tipping them off?"

"All that is not important! What is important is that this catalyst will shake the political field of Hokkaido."

Even Aoyama Xiu Xin was shocked; he had never anticipated such a turn of events.

Except for a few occasions.

Most of the time, plans cannot keep up with changes.

"Quiet!" Fujimoto Takayoshi slammed the table, and after the noise in the room subsided, he continued with a powerful voice, "Before coming here, I have already met with Governor Henglu. He’s furious over the investigation team’s brute force destruction of our local political ecosystem and the impact on the stable lives of our citizens, urging us to consider the bigger picture and get rid of them quickly."

Everyone was revitalized by this; the situation was bad for the other bureaucrats in Hokkaido, but for them, it was a good thing. Now the whole political circle of Hokkaido would have to unite against the investigation team.

After all, the investigation team was initially targeting their police system, and even though others might offer help, it wouldn’t be substantial—mostly they would adopt an attitude of indifference.

"Director, does that mean all our previous plans are now void?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked.

The four scapegoats had already been chosen. If they weren’t thrown to the wolves, they would harbor resentment towards the others who had voted affirmatively in private. That’d be an unstable element capable of destroying internal cohesion!

Fujimoto Takayoshi shook his head, "Not that they are completely void, rather they have been modified. We’ll move on from the initial approach of ’courtesy before force’ to ’force before courtesy.’ First, let them face a severe setback, leaving them powerless, then we can hand over a partial few for them to take back to Tokyo, which they will find more acceptable. Only now we need someone who appears important on the surface. I will discuss this further with the Governor."

Now they could take a tougher stance against the investigation team. Instead of concocting a scenario for them to triumphantly return with the scapegoats, it had changed to giving them a harsh beating first, forcing them to concede, and then sending them back to Tokyo with a small favor as a reward for their ’achievements.’

And the severity of that beating,

would depend on their level of realization.