With some major cliffhangers to answer, Tokyo Vice season 2 episode 5, "Illness of the Trade," picks up right where episode 4 left off.
Jake (Ansel Elgort) calls Eimi (Rinko Kikuchi) to give her the details about Nakahara's death, then is smart enough to get out of there before the cops come. He does tip off Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) though. Once there, Katagiri talks with a fellow cop who explains there was a note and no sign of a struggle, all pointing to suicide. Katagiri knows what Nakahara's death means — Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) will end up as head of the Kansai gang.
For Samantha, Masa takes her bag and finds her camera, realizing she was stealing info. She doesn't lie, explaining her situation with the yakuza and how this could help her get out from under their thumb. Despite being angry with her, Masa lets Samantha spend the night as it is too late to drive back to Tokyo. A night's sleep gives him an idea though — he can't let the yakuza have the real estate plan with the government they're after, but there's another project run privately that could work to help her.
Good and bad partners
Sato (Sho Kasamatsu) and Hayama (Yosuke Kubozuka) are still walking back from Ota's. When Hayama tries to make it seem like everything is alright, Sato goes off, calling Hayama (who remember, is his superior) nuts. The two are about to come to blows when they spot a car coming. It's driven by a young family, who Sato manages to get a ride from.
A more positive partnership is between Jake and Katagiri, who Jake describes as Starsky and Hutch (a mid-70s cop TV show and later a Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson comedy for those who don't know), though they have different thoughts on which of them is Starsky. Jake also proves his abilities to Ngata (Miki Maya), as she notices how he sees through the press conference where the police claim Nakahara's death was a suicide.
Speaking of Ngata, she and Katagiri agree they need to make Tozawa their next target. However, Katagiri reveals the threat Tozawa made against him and his family should he investigate the crime boss again. Ngata says they'll make it seem as if Katagiri is focusing on other criminals, while they place a wiretap on Tozawa's phones to try and get incriminating info.
Tozawa has more problems than just the police, as his relationship with his wife (Makiko Watanabe) is strained, to say the least. She is upset not only because he killed Nakahara, but because he didn't consult her about it. While Tozawa's criminal influence is massive, much of his support comes from her family's legitimate businesses and she reminds him that while he was away she helped keep things moving. Her antagonizing upsets Tozawa, who storms out, taking back a necklace he had just given his wife as a gift. Later, he gives the necklace to Misaki (Ayumi Ito), his mistress, a relationship he continues to have all the power in.
Shingo catches up with Eimi about his investigation into the AV department fire. He found that Eimi's boss Baku is a member of a nationalist political group, which a company owned by Tozawa's wife is a major donor to. He doesn't think Baku works directly with the Tozawas, but he may look the other way on things, like destroying a videotape.
Samantha, meanwhile, wants Jake's help with the Masa situation, asking him to report on the location of the development, which would spoil Ishida's plan, giving them a reason to propose their new deal. Jake also mentions to her that Tozawa is back, and he promises to get revenge for Paulina. But Samantha doesn't want Jake to be reckless.
Finally, seemingly outside the major plotline, Trendy (Takaki Uda) and Jason (Aoi Takeya) are moving forward with their relationship. Being in bed together is a big deal for both, as Trendy admits Jason is the first foreigner he has been with, while Trendy is the first person Jason has been with in a while. A nice, positive relationship for the show; hope it can last.
Favors
Jake gets the development story approved by Eimi to run in the next day's paper but opts to give it to Tin Tin (Kosuke Tanaka), knowing he can use a break. Despite some tips from Jake, Tin Tin blows his meeting with the ministry official. Before he can get his story out, the Ministry announces the deal themselves, leaving Tin Tin embarrassed. He later confronts Jake, claiming Jake stabbed him in the back. Their friendship is not in a good place at all.
Elsewhere, while riding with the family, Sato reveals to Hayama he acquired guns they can use to cover up the Ota situation. But for Sato to keep quiet about what went down, Hayama has to promise to leave Sato's brother Kaito alone.
Illness of the trade
One of the reasons Jake gave the development story to Tin Tin was because he's investigating the Imperial Building where he followed Tozawa to previously. He realizes it's a medical facility, but when he can't get to see a doctor, he stakes out in the bathroom until it closes for the night. Then he is able to find medical records for Tozawa and other yakuza members, learning they all have liver disease.
Sharing these details with Eimi, she explains this is known as the "illness of the trade," the effects of alcohol and drugs on the yakuza members.
He gets more information about it by talking with Sato. Sato explains there is no organ transplant in Japan, so typically people just die. However, some go to Thailand to see a German doctor for blood transfusions. This isn't a cure though, as Sato points out typically it only gives them an extra six months.
Jake shares this information with Katagiri and Ngata, wondering what Tozawa's plan may be if he only has six months. Katagiri thinks Tozawa's imminent death is wishful thinking, saying he didn't come back to Japan and kill Nakahara just to die.
Tracking Tozawa
Unfortunately, the wiretaps aren't providing any more information on Tozawa. Katagiri and Ngata decide to follow a Tozawa man, learning they are using burner phones to conduct their business. This complicates things, as they'll have to wait a couple of weeks to get the serial numbers from the phone company. Katagiri doesn't want to wait that long, so after the Tozawa man buys the phone from the store he goes in and gets the clerk to give him the serial numbers, saying they'll be used to commit crimes. Perhaps that will let Katagiri and Ngata learn about Tozawa's big plan.
Meeting with other members of the Kansai gang, Tozawa says they need to evolve. He doesn't want to take Nakahara's place as oyabun and head of a criminal empire, but become president of a legitimate business that trades drugs and violence for influence in Japan's board rooms. He believes this will make them invulnerable to the police. While some are reluctant at first, Tozawa's plan seems to get their support.
Sato's future
Sato and Hayama deliver the guns to Ishida (Shun Sugata), telling him things went according to plan with Ota. When Ishida notices Hayama's limp, however, the gangster lies, saying he fell and pulled a muscle. Ishida then talks to Sato alone, telling him about the ministry announcing the development deal and ruining their plan, but that Samantha and Masa have invited them to a meeting at her club.
Before then, Sato runs into his mother, who says she hasn’t seen or heard from Kaito in a few days. She believes Kaito wants to be like Sato, but she wants Sato to promise to keep Kaito out of that world; he does. She then asks how Sato could have chosen the yakuza over his own family, but Sato reminds her he only joined the yakuza after his father threw him out.
At the club, Samantha nervously prepares, knowing what the meeting could mean for her. She is comforted by having Masa there though, asking that no matter what happens they have a real date later, willing to break her rule about dating clients for him.
On the ride to the club, Ishida reveals to Sato he knows he and Hayama lied about the guns. Sato admits he bought the guns against Ishida's initial wishes, but he did it to protect Chihara-kai. Ishida knows this, which is why he tells Sato he will eventually lead Chihara-kai when Ishida's time is done, skipping over Hayama. Sato is stunned by this, but ultimately thanks Ishida.
Finally at the club, Ishida does some posturing about how he does not appreciate his previous plan falling apart, but ultimately decides Samantha and Masa's new proposal is acceptable. However, the moment is disrupted when a pair of men in ski masks arrive and open fire, attempting to kill Ishida.
In the shootout, Masa is shot in the head and killed. Samantha, while keeping herself covered, notices a tattoo on one of the gunmen's wrists. Ishida is also shot. Once the assailants flee, Sato holds Ishida as he dies.
Episodes of Tokyo Vice season 2 are available to stream on Max.
