Saigo no Shonin SP (2015)

Sakata Sadato (Kamikawa Takaya), who has his law practice in Tokyo, was a public prosecutor until 12 years ago. He resigned from his job at the District Public Prosecutors’ Office in order to carry out his own “justice”. His justice is to “let crimes be judged properly”. He specialises in criminal cases and has a reputation as a man of ability. One day, Sakata accepts a sudden and unexpected request, and sets foot in Yonezaki for the first time in many years with rookie lawyer, Kosaka Chihiro (Kurashina Kana). The person Sakata has been asked to defend is Shimazu Kuniaki (Osugi Ren), who was arrested and charged with a murder that occurred at a Yonezaki hotel. The start of the public hearing is the next day. Shimazu has extensive business in Yonezaki including a construction company, and is an influential man in the area. The victim is Hamada Mitsuko (Konno Mahiru), a woman whom he was rumoured to be having an affair with. All evidence including the fingerprints, bloodstains and security camera footage indicate that Shimazu is the criminal. He considered their relationship fooling around. Everyone believes Mitsuko pressed Shimazu to marry and that he stabbed her to death during a quarrel. However, Shimazu declares his innocence at a meeting with Sakata and Chihiro. He seems to have been searching for a capable lawyer and arrived at Sakata after indignantly dismissing his previous lawyer for wanting him to plead mitigating circumstances because that is unassailable. Chihiro assesses the case as a completely hopeless one, but Sakata has an intuition that something is being hidden behind the case and readily agrees to defend him. In truth, Yonezaki was once the district where Sakata worked as a public prosecutor and is also the place where the case that led to his resignation occurred. His superior at that time, Tsutsui Yoshio (Ibu Masato), has now been promoted to head of the Trial Division. The person in charge of this trial is Sakata’s peer, the ace public prosecutor Shouji Mao (Matsushita Yuki). The trial begins the next day. Mao reveals Mitsuko’s divorce with her husband, the general practitioner Watase Koji (Ishiguro Ken) after being immersed in the affair with Shimazu and skillfully corners the defence. She advices Sakata that it would be prudent for him to alter his tactics to seek a reduced sentence instead of recklessly insisting upon Shimazu’s innocence. Meanwhile, Sakata learns that Mitsuko’s son, an elementary school student, died in an accident seven years ago. He begins to reconsider the victim’s past in order to get through to the truth. However, there is no change in the situation which is not in his favour. Then, at the closing argument, the “last witness”, whom Sakata had summoned, takes the stand at last and an astonishing truth emerges … ..