Shoutarou Harada (原田正太郎, Harada Shoutarou) is a corrupt mayor of Fukuoka at the start of the series.
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
As a former actor, Shoutarou has a handsome face despite being in his fifties. He is noted to look increasingly tired as a result of his job.
Personality[]
As mayor of a large city, Shoutarou has a reputation to uphold. He is a shady politician who builds connections with crime syndicates, and he exhibits ambition and ruthlessness in hiring killers to ensure the safety of his position. Toward his son, Yusuke, Shoutarou is critically honest yet forgiving. He understands that his son is twisted, yet he cares about his son and their family's appearances enough to bribe Yusuke's way through college and allow the purchase of trafficked women to keep his son's urges satisfied.
Background[]
Shoutarou worked as an actor in his younger years, eventually marrying and having a son, Yusuke. After becoming mayor, Shoutarou hires Munakata, Reiko Asakura, Shinohara, and Hisashi Ivanov, professional killers who will undertake the dirty yet necessary work to protect his position. Shortly before the start of the series, the mayor met with Zhang of the Kakyuu Association, a new and quickly growing crime syndicate in Fukuoka. The meeting was photographed, and the detective Takeda began looking into his connections to the underground. In the anime, he met with the Kakyuu Group's president, Long Fang Wang, rather than Zhang.
Synopsis[]
Mayor Harada Scandal Arc[]
Shoutarou gives a speech with Reiko guarding him
Shoutarou is first seen giving a speech in Kego Park. Zenji Banba and Shigematsu meet nearby, and the police officer asks Banba to look into the events surrounding the death of his senior, a detective named Takeda. He gives Banba a photo of the mayor with an unknown man and woman, and Banba notices the woman standing by Shoutarou in the park. Banba pops a child's balloon and observes Reiko's reaction, suspecting that the mayor has professional killers working for him.
After the speech, Shoutarou retires to a hotel in the company of Shinohara and his regular bodyguards. Munakata enters and makes his report, and Shoutarou makes light of his son's behavior before tasking them with keeping Yusuke's misdeeds from the public.
After Yusuke is kidnapped by Zenji Banba and Jiro Tanaka, he confesses his crimes of the rape and murder of five women, including Qiaomei Lin, and his father's knowledge and covering up of these crimes with money. His recorded confession is edited by Enokida and broadcast around Fukuoka via an electromagnetic wave hijack. Shortly after, news of Shoutarou's connections with various underground organizations is leaked, and he loses his position.