Akihiko Chiba

	This article is about a character in Higurashi When They Cry.

MAJOR HIGURASHI SPOILER WARNING This article or section contains untagged major spoilers for all of the original Higurashi When They Cry story and possibly the console-exclusive arcs. Readers who have not completed the story are advised not to proceed further.

Akihiko Chiba
Identification Details
Japanese	千葉 明彦
Titles	Minister of Health and Welfare
General Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Politician
Affiliation	Ministry of Health and Welfare
Portrayal
First Appearance	Tokihogushi
Japanese VA	Rokurō Naya

Akihiko Chiba (千葉 明彦, Chiba Akihiko) is the main antagonist of the Advanced Story. He is a corrupt politician responsible for the Lowell Incident and the spread of the Placil drug, causing many mental illness patients to suffer problems. Chiba was also responsible for having Tomoe Minai's parents murdered when her father was investigating the incident.

Personality

Chiba is greedy and corrupt.

Background

Chiba was originally Assistant Director of the Pharmaceutical Safety Bureau. He was the mastermind behind the Lowell Incident, importing dangerous drugs like Placil into Japan and prescribing them to mental patients despite the risks it posed. He became a head of the Alphabet Project after Koizumi's death. Chiba's corruption gives him connections to many government organizations, and he is working to get elected as deputy Prime Minister of Japan.

As a consequence of Chiba’s actions, Natsumi Kimiyoshi develops an evil split personality because of her regular usage of Placil.

Relationships

• Shirou Hanada: A young Hanada was adopted by Chiba when he tried to rob him, and since became his right-hand man as a spy for Kakiuchi Station. Hanada murdered Tomoe's parents on behalf of Chiba since Tomoe's father was close to uncovering the truth behind the Lowell Incident. Hanada's wife is actually Chiba's, a mistress that he forced Hanada to live with to avoid controversies.
• Osamu Tsukada: Tsukada became Chiba's second secretary when the first one died of acute heart failure. Unbeknownst to Chiba, Tsukada was collecting detailed info on his corruption, wanting to ultimately get revenge on him for the death of his fiancee by getting him arrested.

Role in the Story

Tokihogushi

Chiba is introduced doing a political campaign, trying to garner support for Minoru Yasukawa for the House of Councilors election. He talks about wanting to reform Japan's medical system to bring it on par with the West.

The TIP "Lecture Material" describes Chiba's plans to give a speech at Saeki General Hospital about solving psychopathology.

Connecting Fragments

The Fragment "Copy Medicine" features Chiba speaking with Nomura about Hinamizawa Syndrome, the stigma against mental illness in Japan, and the refinement of Placil. Nomura convinces Chiba to sell the Placil data to Lowell Inc. so he can gain a lot of economic and political power.

Miotsukushi Ura

Tomoe and her comrades manage to gain evidence of some of Chiba's corruption and begin sending it off to the Nagoya District Proescutors Office for investigation, but Sorimachi of the Tokyo DPO informs them that Nagoya is actually working for Chiba. If they get the evidence, then they'll delay the investigation, and with elections coming up soon, it will be impossible to arrest Chiba then. Using a key Tsukada provided to her, Tomoe obtains definitive evidence pointing to Chiba's corruption and tasks Sorimachi with processing it.

After the Kaiuchi Airport raid, Chiba loses the backing of Lowell Inc, but still thinks he's in the clear. Right before he can board an airplane, a group of police officers led by Sorimachi stop him with an arrest warrant. Chiba scoffs at them, but Sorimachi proves he has definitive evidence by name-dropping a restaurant Chiba had dealings in and takes him away. The investigation ends with Chiba being tried for bribery related to foreign companies.

Miotsukushi Omote

Due to Chiba’s arrest, Tokyo loses much of their funding and opts to ditch Takano.