Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

Chapter 39 Revocation of Qualification

When the question was asked, Aiba Rika was stunned.

Two years ago, when she approached Saionji Kiyoshi, she did receive guidance—that "marriage consultant" taught her how to pretend to be a gentle and considerate lady, how to cater to his preferences, and how to propose marriage at the right time.

Later, it was through that person that she met Saori Okazaki.

Her silence lasted only two seconds.

Saori Okazaki has stood up and raised her hand.

"objection--!!"

"Your Honor! This question is irrelevant to this case, and we refuse to answer it!"

The gavel struck.

"Agreed. Plaintiffs are requested to refrain from asking irrelevant questions and submit factual evidence directly."

Fujiwara Chinatsu's tone carried a hint of impatience that was barely perceptible.

Masashi Akiyama nodded, not insisting. He picked up the documents on the table, his voice steady:

"First, the factual basis for the illegal transfer of property—"

"Within a week of filing for divorce, the defendant transferred funds from my client's bank card to his own account under various pretexts. These are the relevant transfer records."

He handed over a stack of documents. The papers made a soft rustling sound in the bailiff's hands.

"In addition, there are chat logs and recordings showing the defendant's refusal to return the property. This evidence proves that the transfer of property was not a mutual agreement, but rather a unilateral and illegal act by the defendant."

Chinatsu Fujiwara flipped through the documents, her brows furrowing slightly.

The transfer records are clear, and the chat content is indeed as Akiyama Masashi described.

She nodded: "Please continue to submit factual evidence supporting the charge of fraud."

Masashi Akiyama took a USB flash drive out of his briefcase.

"Judge, this is evidence that the defendant participated in a fraud organization and carried out organized and large-scale fraud against my client."

He paused, then added something that stunned the entire audience:

"At the same time, I believe that the defendant's lawyer, Saori Okazaki, was the head of the fraud organization. All of the defendant's fraudulent activities were directed by her."

"Moreover—" his voice suddenly rose, "this organization is suspected of being an illegal cult! Attorney Okazaki's identity may be equivalent to that of a cult leader!"

"I now suspect that Attorney Okazaki not only participated in fraud, but also illegally organized a religious sect to carry out criminal activities, which is extremely egregious!"

Saori Okazaki's smile froze.

Fraudulent organization? Cult? Cult leader?

She stared at Masashi Akiyama as if she were seeing him for the first time.

This young lawyer actually disregarded legal provisions and instead attacked her in such a defamatory manner?

This is a blatant humiliation for any lawyer.

"Masashi Akiyama! Are you out of your mind?!"

She stood up abruptly, her voice shrill with anger, "That was just a regular offline lecture! Did you start resorting to sophistry because you couldn't win a direct argument?!"

"You unscrupulous lawyer! Trash! Unorthodox!"

"quiet!"

Chinatsu Fujiwara shouted angrily and glared at Saori Okazaki.

The latter turned pale and sat down sullenly.

"Play the evidence in court."

The USB flash drive was inserted into the device, and the image was projected onto a screen to the side of the courtroom.

— Saori Okazaki stood on the podium, arms raised high, while the women in the audience cheered wildly.

"Family! I am Saori Okazaki! My goal is to save all oppressed women!"

"Just listen to me, and you'll get what you deserve!"

"Divorce is not the end, it's a new beginning! It's the start of financial freedom!"

The images flashed by frame by frame. Those carefully edited clips packaged a "women's rights lecture" into some kind of fanatical collective ritual.

The women in the audience were excited, shouting "Savior!" The scene was so absurd it was almost bizarre.

The video was incredibly impactful.

Adding to the shocking charge of "organizing a cult," even seasoned court staff were momentarily stunned.

Everyone was frantically thinking: Could this charge really stand?

Saionji Ki was equally shocked.

He thought the video was just to prove that Aiba Rika's marriage motives were impure, but he never expected that Akiyama Masashi would directly target the other party's lawyer and even label him a "cult leader".

In the audience, Maki Suzuki's pen paused for a moment on the paper, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips.

"Plaintiff's attorney," Fujiwara Chinatsu's voice brought everyone back to reality, "Do you have any additional explanations regarding the evidence?"

"some."

Masashi Akiyama stood up and picked up another document.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on him—the charges were indeed shocking, but whether they could stand depended entirely on the subsequent arguments.

"I accuse lawyer Okazaki of organizing a cult, for the following reasons—"

"First, this is not an ordinary lecture, but an organization with a strict admission mechanism. Participants need to verify their qualifications and will receive a membership card after passing the review."

He held up the deep red VIP card, its gold lettering gleaming under the light:

"Different colors distinguish different levels. There is a membership process, identity badges, and an organizational structure—it fully meets the definition of an 'organization'."

"Second, deify the key figures."

He operated the equipment, playing back video clips—women in the audience chanted in unison, "Savior!" and "Only Attorney Okazaki can save us!" with expressions of fanaticism like believers.

"The organization members openly deify and promote Saori Okazaki, and she herself accepts it without question—this goes beyond the relationship between an ordinary speaker and audience."

Third, the doctrines harm society.

Masashi Akiyama's voice suddenly became sharp:

Fourth, recruiting members to commit crimes.

"Attorney Okazaki recruits members under the guise of 'helping women protect their rights,' teaching them how to exploit legal loopholes to defraud their spouses of their assets. According to my investigation, several men have suffered significant financial and emotional losses as a result."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across Okazaki Saori's pale face like a sharp blade:

"In conclusion, this organization fully meets the characteristics of a 'cult.' And as the organizer, doctrinal setter, and guide of criminal activities, Saori Okazaki—"

He spoke slowly and deliberately:

"This constitutes the crimes of organizing and leading a cult organization, and indirect principal offense of fraud."

"Your Honor, my statement is complete."

It’s over.

It's all over.

Saori Okazaki, being a lawyer, knew better than anyone that Masashi Akiyama, though seemingly arguing irrationally, was actually treading on the gray areas of legal interpretation with every word, and each point was barely self-consistent.

In criminal charges, this "barely established" is often sufficient.

When it was Saori Okazaki's turn to refute, she was already incoherent.

She tried to explain that it was just a "mutual aid group," tried to prove that the video had been maliciously edited, and tried to emphasize that she was only providing legal advice...

But all explanations seem pale and powerless in the face of those images.

She finished speaking in a daze, then sat down in a daze, with only two words remaining in her mind:

Finished!

Her legal career, her life, was completely ruined because of this man.

The court will adjourn for thirty minutes.

When the court reconvened, Fujiwara Chinatsu's expression was even more serious than before.

She whispered with the two judges before striking the gavel.

"The verdict is now announced."

The courtroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Regarding the case of plaintiff Saionji Kiyoshi suing defendant Aiba Rika for illegal transfer of property during marriage, fraud, and domestic violence, this court, after hearing the case, hereby pronounces the following judgment—"

"First, under the instigation of her lawyer, the defendant Xiang Yelijia transferred the plaintiff's assets without her knowledge and coerced her into a divorce in order to divide the property. Her purpose in marriage was impure, constituting the crime of fraud, but not the crime of illegally transferring property. The circumstances were egregious and the amount involved was huge, so she is sentenced to two years in prison."

"Secondly, the defendant's coercion of the plaintiff into undergoing sterilization did not constitute intentional harm because the plaintiff consented. However, since the fraud was established, the dissolution of the marriage is granted. The defendant must compensate the plaintiff 100 million yen and return the 1100 million yen illegally transferred in full."

"Third, regarding the plaintiff's lawyer's accusations against Saori Okazaki—"

Fujiwara Chinatsu paused, her voice heavy:

"Defendant's lawyer Saori Okazaki, by instigating others to commit fraud, constitutes indirect perpetrator and is guilty of fraud."

"The organization's offline activities possess the structure and characteristics of a criminal organization, and its doctrines are harmful to society, thus it is identified as a cult. As the organizer and leader, Saori Okazaki is guilty of organizing and leading a cult."

"He was convicted of multiple crimes and sentenced to seven years in prison, and his lawyer's license was revoked."

Chinatsu Fujiwara raised the gavel and brought it down for the last time, the sound echoing long afterward in the silent courtroom.

"Court is now adjourned!"