Nippon Connection
Nippon Connection (English original title Rising Sun ) is the title of a novel by Michael Crichton from the year 1992. The subject of the fictional economic crime is a murder in the headquarters of the fictional Japanese company Nakamoto in Los Angeles and the meeting of the Japanese way of life and culture with the US -american . The novel is set in the late 20th century . The novel was made into a film in 1993 and in Germany under the title Rising Sun published.
action
At the celebration of Nakomato Society for the opening of its new headquarters, the Nakomato Towers in the city of Los Angeles , the building celebrities, dignitaries and local politicians are present on the 45th floor. Cheryl Lynn Austin, 23, is found dead on the 46th floor . The Los Angeles Police Department's Special Services Liaison , Lieutenant Peter J. Smith , is assigned to the case. At his request, he is supported by Captain John Connor, who is now part-time retired, who has lived in Japan and is familiar with Japanese culture .
When the two police officers arrive at Nakamoto Tower, they learn from the head of the investigation, Tom Graham, that the Japanese, led by Ishiguro, disrupted the investigation by demanding the presence of the liaison man. Despite having a reasonable suspicion that staunch racist Graham is threatening to disrupt the celebration, it is obvious to Connor that a cover-up is underway. The video tapes from the security camera on the 46th floor have disappeared and the security guards are of little help. When Smith and Connor inspect the late Austin's room, they find out that she was a mistress of the Japanese yakuza . It also appears that someone ransacked her home after Austin's death. The questioning of friends and acquaintances directs the suspicion to the wealthy playboy Eddie Sakamura from Tokyo. The two cops are persuaded to let Eddie go free because of his previous relationship with Connor. However, Connor takes the pass from him.
During the autopsy that Connor and Smith attend, the suspicion that the perpetrator must be Japanese is reinforced. Ishiguro goes to Connor and Smith and gives them authentic-looking footage from the surveillance cameras, which gives rise to the strong suspicion that Sakamura committed the murder. Believing the case resolved, Connor heads home to rest while Smith and Graham set out to arrest Sakamura. When they arrive at Sakamura's house, they are stopped by two naked women. Meanwhile, a man they believe is Eddie escapes in a Ferrari. After a chase, an accident occurs: the Ferrari goes up in flames and the man is killed.
The following day, the press condemned Smith, Graham and Connor's behavior as racist and charged them with police violence. Shortly thereafter, Smith received a call from the police chief, who officially declared the investigation over. Smith disagrees and decides to make copies of the footage at the University of Southern California. There, with the help of the Japanese student and software manipulation expert Theresa Asakuma, Smith found out that the video recordings were not original recordings but copies.
After copying the videotapes, Smith picks up Connor from a golf game with Japanese friends to take him to the University of Southern California. On the way there, they get lucrative offers from the Japanese, including an exclusive membership in an expensive golf club and real estate at low prices. They then visit Nakamoto's business partners to learn more about the perpetrator's motives. In doing so, they notice that they are pawns in a political and economic game between Americans and Japanese, and how much the US relies on Japan, which dominates American industry. During the investigation, Connor Smith explains the vast differences between Japanese and American cultures and the various underhanded business tactics the Japanese use to maintain their technological edge over the United States.
Finally, they meet with US Senator John Morton, who is considered a possible presidential candidate in the upcoming elections. Here they notice that Morton is vehemently opposed to the Japanese mechanical engineering company MicroCon in Silicon Valley.
At USC, Smith and Theresa find out the Japanese changed the tapes and cut Eddie. They roll back the changes and find out that it appears that Senator Morton is the killer and Eddie is a witness. Connor and Smith return to Smith's apartment. There they find Eddie alive. It turns out that the man who died in the accident was a Japanese employee of a security company. He was in Eddie's garage to look for the videotapes. He panicked and fled into Eddie's car, which he had the fatal accident in. When the three Senators confront Morton about this, he admits to having played a role in Austin's death and then shoots himself in the bathroom. A short time later, Ishiguro comes and threatens the three. Since Eddie reacts calmly to the threats, Connor assumes that Eddie still has a copy of the original video recording. When he later drives to Eddie's house with Smith, they find him there tortured to death. The video recording has disappeared. Connor then brings Smith home.
When Smith enters his house, he notices that Eddie brought the video tape there. When Ishiguro's people arrive, he orders his babysitter to hide himself and his daughter in the bedroom on the upper floor. Meanwhile, Connor sneaks into Smith's house with a bulletproof vest. In the subsequent shootout with Ishiguro's men, Smith is shot. The bulletproof vest saves his life.
The next day, Connor and Smith watch the video Eddie left behind. They find out that Morton has choked Austin in a sexual act at her request and Ishiguro then, after Morton and Eddie left the room, murdered Austin willfully. They then go to Nakamoto Tower to arrest Ishiguro during a meeting. Connor informs the police over the radio, knowing that the Japanese are listening to the police radio and will be prepared for the arrest. The police officers show the recordings to the participants in the meeting. When Ishiguro sees the Japanese executives leave the meeting, he commits suicide by jumping out of the building.
Connor, who has solved the case, answers Smith's questions and drops him off at his house. The plot ends with Smith making statements about America's future with Japan and observing that no one seems to take the impending dangers seriously.
characters
- Lieutenant Peter J. Smith - LAPD Special Services Officer Liason. It is scheduled for the case with connection to the Asian community. He has a two-year-old daughter named Michelle who came out of his divorced marriage.
- Lieutenant Tom Graham - LAPD homicide detective. Head of the investigation into a murder that occurred during the opening ceremony of the New Nakamoto Tower in downtown LA. Seek assistance from Smith regarding his special skills as a Special Services Officer. Has reservations about the Japanese.
- Fred Hoffmann - Watch Commander in the DHD (fictional institution in the novel) Downtown. Suggests that Smith seek assistance from former Special Services Officer Captain John Conner.
effect
With the novel Nippon Connection , Crichton caused great excitement in Japan: There the fictional plot was interpreted as an attack on the Japanese way of life.
literature
- Michael Crichton: Rising Sun: A Novel . Ballantine Books 1992, ISBN 978-0345380371 (English)
- Michael Crichton (Author), Michael Grabinger (Translator): Nippon Connection . Droemer Knaur 1992, ISBN 978-3426193150 (German)
Individual evidence
- ^ Robert A. Jones: Japanese Bashing - a Novel Tack . In: The Los Angeles Times , February 12, 1992. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ↑ a b Special Services Liaison is a fictional rank of police officer in the novel. They are entrusted by their police authority, here the LAPD, with cases that have political relevance or have to do with VIPs or non-English speakers. In contrast to civil servants who are not SSL, Special Services Liaisons (abbreviation: SSL) have special skills and knowledge, in particular special language skills. The novel makes the claim that Japanese companies with dark histories are discontinuing SSL in order to be able to use it.
- ↑ n-tv NEWS: Japan in crisis. P. 34 , accessed April 30, 2019 .