"You can't catch him? More like, you can't be bothered to catch him, right? You never bothered trying to catch that culprit who killed mom...that goddamn Owada!"
Jyun Owada is a character from Persona 5 Strikers.
Appearances
- Persona 5 Strikers: Major Character
Personality
Jyun Owada isn't much different from Masayoshi Shido in terms of ignorance and malice. His connections with Shido made him above the law and police force, allowing him to evade law enforcement and frame his underlings for his crimes.
By the time of the game, he was requesting change of hearts from Akira Konoe so he can become Shido's successor, and he was also receiving bribes from Madicce. What sets him apart and prevents him from being actually threatening is that he doesn't have any power or backing while Konoe clearly has, allowing Konoe to take advantage of his ignorance to advance his goal. He also has less control over the police unlike Shido, allowing Kaburagi and Zenkichi to turn on him as soon as they see fit.
Profile
Owada is the corrupt politician who is on his tenth term as a legislator in the National Diet and currently the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan. He also lobbied for Masayoshi Shido's campaign before and is attempting to compete for Prime Minister. In order to fulfill his goals, he cooperated with Akira Konoe to remove his political opponents (many of them being scandal-ridden politicians themselves), with the former mayor of Sapporo being one of them. Police officers suspected of opposing Owada also got their heart changed by Konoe, and all of the victims happened to set foot on Osaka where Konoe's Jail is present.
Two years ago, he killed a woman named Aoi Hasegawa in a in a hit-and-run accident, where he ran over her while being influenced by alcohol. Owada evaded arrest by framing his secretary, who died soon after (it is unclear whether the secretary's death was suicide or murder). Aoi's daughter Akane witnessed Owada causing the accident, prompting Aoi's husband Zenkichi, a police officer, to push for a more thorough investigation. However, Owada forced Hasegawa to cease his investigations, first by using his connections to halt Zenkichi's progress and then sending a threat against Akane's life. The aftermath of the incident damaged the relationship between Zenkichi and his daughter, and led Akane to develop a distrust for law enforcement.
During the story, he and the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency (who was brainwashed by Konoe) bribe Commissioner Miyako Kaburagi with a seat of the Senior Commissioner to capture the Phantom Thieves of Hearts per Konoe's orders because he considered them terrorists for hacking into EMMA and claimed that they killed the King of Okinawa. In reality, both claims are fabrications and are simply used to justify his crusade, and Konoe is only using him and he will be the only one who enforces justice via EMMA. Kaburagi, while having second thoughts, is determined to enforce justice. This was foiled when Zenkichi Hasegawa used himself as a decoy and Sae Niijima freed him quickly. Upon hearing the failure, Konoe turned to EMMA for advice. She told him not to rely on police to catch the Phantom Thieves, and advises him to use "a Jail owned by the Phantom Thieves' associate" to capture them. Konoe agrees with her proposal, putting Akane in the crossfire while being kept ignorant about Akane by EMMA.
At the end of the game, Kaburagi and Zenkichi arrest him for multiple charges, including accepting bribes from Madicce, tax evasion, vehicular manslaughter and its subsequent coverup. Suspicions also rose that he supported a treasonous group that terrorized Japan 2 years ago and had ordered the secretary's murder. With his arrest and the Conspiracy officially labeled as an Antisocial Force, his plan of being Shido's successor falls null and void.
Etymology
Jyun (純) means "pure" in Japanese and Owada (大和田) could mean "big rice field of peace".